²⁸ And God blessed them. And God said to them, ^(A)“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” ²⁹ And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. ^(B)You shall have them for food. ³⁰ And ^(C)to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.

⁹ Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, ^(A)“I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?” ¹⁰ And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood ^(B)is crying to me from the ground. ¹¹ And now ^(C)you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. ¹² When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” ¹³ Cain said to the Lord, “My ^(D)punishment is greater than I can bear.^{[a] 14} Behold, ^(E)you have driven me today away from the ground, and ^(F)from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, ^(G)and whoever finds me will kill me.” ¹⁵ Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him ^(H)sevenfold.” And the Lord ^(I)put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him.

¹³ And God said to Noah, ^(A)“I have determined to make an end of all flesh,^[a] for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. ¹⁴ Make yourself an ark of gopher wood.^[b] Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. ¹⁵ This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits,^[c] its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. ¹⁶ Make a roof^[d] for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. ^17 (B)For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. ¹⁸ But ^(C)I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you. ¹⁹ And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. ²⁰ Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. ²¹ Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them.” ^22 (D)Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.

The Call of Abram

12 Now ^(A)the Lord said^[a] to Abram, “Go from your country^[b] and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. ^2 (B)And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ^3 (C)I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and ^(D)in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”^[c]

^3 (A)But God came to Abimelech ^(B)in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife.” ⁴ Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, ^(C)“Lord, will you kill an innocent people? ⁵ Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” ⁶ Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning ^(D)against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. ⁷ Now then, return the man's wife, ^(E)for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you ^(F)and all who are yours.”

¹⁷ And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. ¹⁸ Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”

²² The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?”^[a] So she went ^(A)to inquire of the Lord. ²³ And the Lord said to her,

God's Promise to Isaac

26 Now there was a famine in the land, besides ^(A)the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to ^(B)Abimelech king of the ^(C)Philistines. ² And the Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell ^(D)in the land of which I shall tell you. ^3 (E)Sojourn in this land, and ^(F)I will be with you and will bless you, for ^(G)to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish ^(H)the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. ^4 (I)I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And ^(J)in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, ⁵ because ^(K)Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”

Jacob's Dream

¹⁰ Jacob left ^(A)Beersheba and went toward ^(B)Haran. ¹¹ And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. ¹² And he ^(C)dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder^[a] set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, ^(D)the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! ¹³ And behold, ^(E)the Lord stood above it^[b] and said, ^(F)“I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. ^(G)The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. ¹⁴ Your offspring shall be like ^(H)the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and ^(I)your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. ¹⁵ Behold, ^(J)I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and ^(K)will bring you back to this land. For I will ^(L)not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”