The Creation of Man and Woman

^4 [a](A)This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in ^(B)the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven. ^5 (C)Now no shrub of the field was yet on the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, ^(D)for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to ^[b]cultivate the ground. ⁶ But a ^[c]mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole ^[d]surface of the ground. ⁷ Then the Lord God formed the man of ^(E)dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the ^(F)man became a living ^[e]person. ⁸ The Lord God planted a ^(G)garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. ⁹ Out of the ground the Lord God caused ^(H)every tree to grow that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; ^(I)the tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

¹⁰ Now a ^(J)river ^[f]flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four ^[g]rivers. ¹¹ The name of the first is Pishon; it ^[h]flows around the whole land of ^(K)Havilah, where there is gold. ¹² The gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there as well. ¹³ The name of the second river is Gihon; it ^[i]flows around the whole land of Cush. ¹⁴ The name of the third river is ^[j](L)Tigris; it ^[k]flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the ^[l](M)Euphrates.

²² Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of ^(A)Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out with his hand, and take fruit also from ^(B)the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— ²³ therefore the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. ²⁴ So ^(C)He drove the man out; and at the ^(D)east of the Garden of Eden He stationed the ^(E)cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to ^(F)the tree of life.