⁹ The Lord God caused to grow out of the ground every tree pleasing in appearance and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden,^(A) as well as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.^(B)

⁶ Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.^{(A) 7} Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

Sin’s Consequences

⁸ Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze,^[a] and they hid themselves from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.^{(B) 9} So the Lord God called out to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

¹⁰ And he said, “I heard You^[b] in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”

¹¹ Then He asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

¹² Then the man replied,^(C) “The woman You gave to be with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate.”

¹³ So the Lord God asked the woman, “What is this you have done?”

And the woman said, “It was the serpent. He deceived me, and I ate.”^(D)

¹⁴ Then the Lord God said to the serpent:

¹⁶ He said to the woman:

¹⁷ And He said to Adam, “Because you listened to your wife’s voice and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘Do not eat from it’:

²⁰ Adam named his wife Eve^[e] because she was the mother of all the living. ²¹ The Lord God made clothing out of skins for Adam and his wife, and He clothed them.

²² The Lord God said, “Since man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil, he must not reach out, take from the tree of life, eat, and live forever.”^{(L) 23} So the Lord God sent him away from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. ²⁴ He drove man out and stationed the cherubim and the flaming, whirling sword east of the garden of Eden to guard the way to the tree of life.^(M)

Cain Murders Abel

4 Adam was intimate with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. She said, “I have had a male child with the Lord’s help.”^{[a] 2} Then she also gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel became a shepherd of flocks, but Cain worked the ground. ³ In the course of time Cain presented some of the land’s produce as an offering to the Lord.^{(A) 4} And Abel also presented an offering—some of the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions.^(B) The Lord had regard for Abel and his offering,^{(C) 5} but He did not have regard for Cain and his offering. Cain was furious, and he looked despondent.^[b]

⁶ Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you furious?^(D) And why do you look despondent?^{[c] 7} If you do what is right, won’t you be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”^(E)

⁸ Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”^[d] And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.^(F)

Judgment Decreed

⁵ When the Lord saw that man’s wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every scheme his mind thought of was nothing but evil all the time,^{(A) 6} the Lord regretted that He had made man on the earth,^(B) and He was grieved in His heart.

⁸ Noah, however, found favor in the sight of the Lord.^(A)

²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.^(A)

⁹ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive^(A) us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.