Genesis 4-9

New American Standard Bible

Cain and Abel

4 Now the man ^[a]had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have obtained a male child with the help of the Lord.” ² And again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now ^(A)Abel was ^(B)a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a cultivator of the ground. ³ So it came about ^[b]in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord from the fruit of the ground. ^4 (C)Abel, on his part also brought an offering, from the firstborn of his flock and from their fat portions. And ^(D)the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering; ⁵ but ^(E)for Cain and his offering He had no regard. So ^(F)Cain became very angry and his face ^[c]was gloomy. ⁶ Then the Lord said to Cain, “^(G)Why are you angry? And why is your face ^[d]gloomy? ^7 (H)If you do well, ^[e]will your face not be ^[f]cheerful? ^(I)And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; and its desire is for you, ^(J)but you must master it.” ⁸ Cain ^[g]talked to his brother Abel; and it happened that when they were in the field Cain rose up against his brother Abel and ^(K)killed him.

⁹ Then the Lord said to Cain, “^(L)Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” ¹⁰ Then He said, “What have you done? ^(M)The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to Me from the ground. ¹¹ Now ^(N)you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. ^12 (O)When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; ^(P)you will be a wanderer and a drifter on the earth.” ¹³ Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is too great to endure! ¹⁴ Behold, You have ^(Q)driven me this day from the face of the ground; and I will be hidden from Your face, and ^(R)I will be a wanderer and a drifter on the earth, and ^(S)whoever finds me will kill me.” ¹⁵ So the Lord said to him, “Therefore whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him ^(T)seven times as much.” And the Lord ^[h](U)placed a mark on Cain, so that no one finding him would kill him.

¹⁶ Then Cain left the presence ^(V)of the Lord, and ^[i]settled in the land of ^[j]Nod, east of Eden.

¹⁷ Cain ^[k]had relations with his wife and she conceived, and gave birth to Enoch; and Cain built a city, and named the city Enoch, after the name of his son. ¹⁸ Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. ¹⁹ Lamech took ^(W)two wives for himself: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other, Zillah. ²⁰ Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and have livestock. ²¹ His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and flute. ²² As for Zillah, she also gave birth to Tubal-cain, the forger of all implements of bronze and iron; and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

²³ Lamech said to his wives,

^25 (Z)Adam ^[l]had relations with his wife again; and she gave birth to a son, and named him ^[m]Seth, for, she said, “God ^[n]has appointed me another ^[o]child in place of Abel, ^(AA)because Cain killed him.” ²⁶ To Seth also ^(AB)a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then people began ^(AC)to call ^[p]upon the name of the Lord.

Descendants of Adam

5 This is the book of the generations of Adam. On the day when God created man, He made him ^(AD)in the likeness of God. ² He created them ^(AE)male and female, and He ^(AF)blessed them and named them “mankind” on the day when they were created.

³ When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth. ⁴ Then the days of Adam after he fathered Seth were eight hundred years, and he fathered other sons and daughters. ⁵ So all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died.

⁶ Now Seth lived 105 years, and fathered Enosh. ⁷ Then Seth lived 807 years after he fathered Enosh, and he fathered other sons and daughters. ⁸ So all the days of Seth were 912 years, and he died.

⁹ Now Enosh lived ninety years, and fathered Kenan. ¹⁰ Then Enosh lived 815 years after he fathered Kenan, and he fathered other sons and daughters. ¹¹ So all the days of Enosh were 905 years, and he died.

¹² Now Kenan lived seventy years, and fathered Mahalalel. ¹³ Then Kenan lived 840 years after he fathered Mahalalel, and he fathered other sons and daughters. ¹⁴ So all the days of Kenan were 910 years, and he died.

¹⁵ Now Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and fathered Jared. ¹⁶ Then Mahalalel lived 830 years after he fathered Jared, and he fathered other sons and daughters. ¹⁷ So all the days of Mahalalel were 895 years, and he died.

¹⁸ Now Jared lived 162 years, and fathered Enoch. ¹⁹ Then Jared lived eight hundred years after he fathered Enoch, and he fathered other sons and daughters. ²⁰ So all the days of Jared were 962 years, and he died.

²¹ Now Enoch lived sixty-five years, and fathered Methuselah. ²² Then Enoch ^(AG)walked with God three hundred years after he fathered Methuselah, and he fathered other sons and daughters. ²³ So all the days of Enoch were 365 years. ^24 (AH)Enoch walked with God; and he was ^[q]not, for God ^(AI)took him.

²⁵ Now Methuselah lived 187 years, and fathered Lamech. ²⁶ Then Methuselah lived 782 years after he fathered Lamech, and he fathered other sons and daughters. ²⁷ So all the days of Methuselah were 969 years, and he died.

²⁸ Now Lamech lived 182 years, and fathered a son. ²⁹ And he named him Noah, saying, “This one will give us comfort from our work and from the hard labor of our hands caused by ^(AJ)the ground which the Lord has cursed.” ³⁰ Then Lamech lived 595 years after he fathered Noah, and he fathered other sons and daughters. ³¹ So all the days of Lamech were 777 years, and he died.

³² Now after Noah was ^(AK)five hundred years old, Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

The Corruption of Mankind

6 Now it came about, when mankind began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, ² that the sons of God saw that the daughters of mankind were ^[r]beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. ³ Then the Lord said, “^(AL)My Spirit will not ^[s]remain with man forever, ^[t](AM)because he is also flesh; ^[u]nevertheless his days shall be 120 years.” ⁴ The ^[v](AN)Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of mankind, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

⁵ Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that ^(AO)every intent of the thoughts of ^[w]their hearts was only evil continually. ⁶ So ^(AP)the Lord was sorry that He had made mankind on the earth, and He was ^(AQ)grieved ^[x]in His heart. ⁷ Then the Lord said, “^(AR)I will wipe out mankind whom I have created from the face of the land; mankind, and animals as well, and crawling things, and the birds of the sky. For ^(AS)I am sorry that I have made them.” ⁸ But ^(AT)Noah ^(AU)found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

⁹ These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a ^(AV)righteous man, ^[y](AW)blameless in his generation. Noah ^(AX)walked with God. ¹⁰ And Noah fathered three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

¹¹ Now the earth was ^(AY)corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was ^(AZ)filled with violence. ¹² And God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for ^[z](BA)humanity had corrupted its way upon the earth.

¹³ Then God said to Noah, “^(BB)The end of ^[aa]humanity has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of ^[ab]people; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth. ¹⁴ Make for yourself an ark of ^[ac]gopher wood; you shall make the ark with compartments, and ^[ad]cover it inside and out with pitch. ¹⁵ This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark shall be ^[ae]three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. ¹⁶ You shall make a ^[af]window for the ark, and finish it to a ^[ag]cubit from ^[ah]the top; and put the door of the ark on the side; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. ¹⁷ Now behold, ^(BC)I Myself am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which there is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish. ¹⁸ But I will establish ^(BD)My covenant with you; and ^(BE)you shall enter the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. ^19 (BF)And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. ^20 (BG)Of the birds according to their kind, and of the animals according to their kind, of every crawling thing of the ground according to its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. ²¹ As for you, take for yourself some of every ^(BH)food that is edible, and gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and them.” ^22 (BI)So Noah did these things; according to everything that God had commanded him, so he did.

The Flood

7 Then the Lord said to Noah, “Enter the ark, you and all your household, for you alone I have seen to be ^(BJ)righteous before Me in this generation. ² You shall take ^[ai]with you ^[aj]seven pairs of every ^(BK)clean animal, a male and his female; and two of the animals that are not clean, a male and his female; ³ also of the birds of the sky, ^[ak]seven pairs, male and female, to keep their ^[al]offspring alive on the face of all the earth. ⁴ For after ^(BL)seven more days, I will send rain on the earth for ^(BM)forty days and forty nights; and I will wipe out from the face of the land ^(BN)every living thing that I have made.” ⁵ So ^(BO)Noah acted in accordance with everything that the Lord had commanded him.

⁶ Now Noah was ^(BP)six hundred years old when the flood of water ^[am]came upon the earth. ⁷ Then ^(BQ)Noah and his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives with him entered the ark because of the waters of the flood. ^8 (BR)Of clean animals and animals that are not clean and birds and everything that crawls on the ground, ⁹ they all went into the ark to Noah ^[an]by twos, male and female, as God had commanded Noah. ¹⁰ Now it came about after ^(BS)the seven days, that the waters of the flood ^[ao]came upon the earth. ¹¹ In the ^(BT)six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all ^(BU)the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the ^[ap]floodgates of the sky were opened. ^12 (BV)The rain ^[aq]fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights.

¹³ On this very same day ^(BW)Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark, ¹⁴ they and every animal according to its kind, and all the livestock according to ^[ar]their kind, and every crawling thing that crawls on the earth according to its kind, and every bird according to its kind, ^[as]all sorts of birds. ¹⁵ So they went into the ark to Noah, ^(BX)by twos of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. ¹⁶ Those that entered, male and female of all flesh, entered as God had commanded him; and the Lord closed the door behind him.

¹⁷ Then the flood ^[at]came upon the earth for ^(BY)forty days, and the water increased and lifted up the ark, so that it rose above the earth. ¹⁸ The water prevailed and increased greatly upon the earth, and the ark ^[au]floated on the ^[av]surface of the water. ¹⁹ And the water prevailed more and more upon the earth, so that all the high mountains ^[aw]everywhere under the heavens were covered. ²⁰ The water prevailed ^[ax]fifteen cubits higher, ^(BZ)and the mountains were covered. ²¹ So ^(CA)all ^[ay]creatures that moved on the earth perished: birds, livestock, animals, and every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind; ²² of all that was on the dry land, all ^(CB)in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died. ²³ So He wiped out ^[az]every living thing that was upon the face of the land, from mankind to animals, to crawling things, and the birds of the sky, and they were wiped out from the earth; and only ^(CC)Noah was left, together with those that were with him in the ark. ^24 (CD)The water prevailed upon the earth for 150 days.

The Flood Subsides

8 But ^(CE)God remembered Noah and all the animals and all the livestock that were with him in the ark; and ^(CF)God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water subsided. ² Also ^(CG)the fountains of the deep and the ^[ba]floodgates of the sky were closed, and ^(CH)the rain from the sky was restrained; ³ and the water receded steadily from the earth, and at the end ^(CI)of 150 days the water decreased. ⁴ Then in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, ^(CJ)the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat. ⁵ And the water decreased steadily until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains became visible.

⁶ Then it came about at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the ^(CK)window of the ark which he had made; ⁷ and he sent out a raven, and it ^[bb]flew here and there until the water was dried up ^[bc]from the earth. ⁸ Then he sent out a ^[bd]dove, to see if the water was low on the ^[be]surface of the land; ⁹ but the dove found no resting place for the sole of its foot, so it returned to him in the ark, for the water was on the ^[bf]surface of all the earth. Then he put out his hand and took it, and brought it into the ark to himself. ¹⁰ So he waited another seven days longer; and again he sent out the dove from the ark. ¹¹ And the dove came to him in ^[bg]the evening, and behold, in its ^[bh]beak was a fresh olive leaf. So Noah knew that the water was low on the earth. ¹² Then he waited another seven days longer, and sent out ^(CL)the dove; but it did not return to him again.

¹³ Now it came about in the ^(CM)six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first of the month, that the water was dried up ^[bi]from the earth. Then Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and behold, the ^[bj]surface of the ground had dried up. ¹⁴ And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry. ¹⁵ Then God spoke to Noah, saying, ¹⁶ “Go out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. ¹⁷ Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you, birds and animals and every crawling thing that crawls on the earth, that they may ^[bk](CN)breed abundantly on the earth, and ^(CO)be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” ¹⁸ So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him. ¹⁹ Every animal, every crawling thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out ^[bl]by their families from the ark.

²⁰ Then Noah built ^(CP)an altar to the Lord, and took some of every kind of ^(CQ)clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered ^(CR)burnt offerings on the altar. ²¹ The Lord ^(CS)smelled the soothing aroma, and the Lord said ^[bm]to Himself, “I will never again ^(CT)curse the ground on account of man, for ^(CU)the ^[bn]intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; ^(CV)and I will never again ^[bo]destroy every living thing, as I have done.

Covenant of the Rainbow

9 Then God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “^(CY)Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. ² The fear of you and the terror of you will be on every animal of the earth and on every bird of the sky; on everything that crawls on the ground, and on all the fish of the sea. They are handed over to you. ³ Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I have given everything to you, ^(CZ)as I gave the green plant. ⁴ But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, ^(DA)its blood. ⁵ I certainly will require ^[bp](DB)your lifeblood; ^[bq](DC)from every animal I will require it. And ^[br]from every person, ^[bs]from every man as his brother I will require the life of a person.

⁸ Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, ⁹ “Now behold, ^(DG)I Myself am establishing My covenant with you, and with your ^[bu]descendants after you; ¹⁰ and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the livestock, and every animal of the earth with you; of all that comes out of the ark, every animal of the earth. ¹¹ I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall ^(DH)never again be eliminated by the waters of a flood, ^(DI)nor shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth.” ¹² God said, “This is ^(DJ)the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for ^[bv]all future generations; ¹³ I have set My ^(DK)rainbow in the cloud, and it shall ^[bw]serve as a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. ¹⁴ It shall come about, when I make a cloud appear over the earth, that the rainbow will be seen in the cloud, ¹⁵ and ^(DL)I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and ^(DM)never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. ¹⁶ When the rainbow is in the cloud, then I will look at it, to remember the ^(DN)everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” ¹⁷ And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

¹⁸ Now the sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth; and ^(DO)Ham was the father of Canaan. ¹⁹ These three were the sons of Noah, and ^(DP)from these the whole earth was ^[bx]populated.

²⁰ Then Noah began ^[by]farming and planted a vineyard. ²¹ He drank some of the wine and ^(DQ)became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent. ²² Ham, the father of Canaan, ^(DR)saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. ²³ But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it on both their shoulders and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were ^[bz]turned away, so that they did not see their father’s nakedness. ²⁴ When Noah awoke from his wine, he knew what his youngest son had done to him. ²⁵ So he said,

²⁶ He also said,

²⁸ Noah lived 350 years after the flood. ²⁹ So all the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.