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Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all (A)their hosts. And [a]on (B)the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and (C)He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it He rested from all His work which God had created [b]in making it.

The Generations of the Heavens and the Earth

(D)These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in (E)the day that [c]Yahweh God made earth and heaven. (F)Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet grown, (G)for Yahweh God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no man to [d]cultivate the ground. But a [e]stream would rise from the earth and water the whole [f]surface of the ground. Then Yahweh God formed man of (H)dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and so the (I)man became a living [g]being. And Yahweh God planted a (J)garden in Eden, toward the east; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground Yahweh God caused to grow (K)every tree that is (L)desirable in appearance and good for food; (M)the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

10 Now a (N)river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four [h]rivers. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one that [i]went around the whole land of (O)Havilah, where there is gold. 12 Now the gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there. 13 And the name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one that [j]went around the whole land of Cush. 14 And the name of the third river is [k](P)Tigris; it is the one that went east of [l]Asshur. And the fourth river is the [m](Q)Euphrates.

15 Then Yahweh God took the man and [n]set him in the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. 16 And Yahweh God (R)commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may surely eat; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat from it; for in the day that you eat from it (S)you will surely die.”

18 Then Yahweh God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; (T)I will make him a helper [o]suitable for him.” 19 (U)And out of the ground Yahweh God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the [p]sky, and He (V)brought each to the man to see what he would call it; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. 20 And the man gave names to all the cattle and to the birds of the [q]sky and to every beast of the field; but for [r]Adam there was not found (W)a helper [s]suitable for him. 21 So Yahweh God caused a (X)deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. 22 And Yahweh God [t]fashioned (Y)the rib, which He had taken from the man, into a woman, and He brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,

(Z)This one finally is bone of my bones,
And flesh of my flesh;
This one shall be called [u]Woman,
Because this one was taken out of [v]Man.”

24 (AA)Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother, and cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. 25 (AB)And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 2:2 Or by
  2. Genesis 2:3 Lit to make
  3. Genesis 2:4 The personal covenant name of God, a form of I AM WHO I AM, cf. Ex 3:14-15
  4. Genesis 2:5 Lit serve
  5. Genesis 2:6 Or mist
  6. Genesis 2:6 Lit face of
  7. Genesis 2:7 Lit soul
  8. Genesis 2:10 Lit heads
  9. Genesis 2:11 Lit surrounds
  10. Genesis 2:13 Lit surrounds
  11. Genesis 2:14 Heb Hiddekel
  12. Genesis 2:14 Or Assyria
  13. Genesis 2:14 Heb Perath
  14. Genesis 2:15 Or caused him to rest
  15. Genesis 2:18 Lit corresponding to
  16. Genesis 2:19 Lit heavens
  17. Genesis 2:20 Lit heavens
  18. Genesis 2:20 Or man
  19. Genesis 2:20 Lit corresponding to
  20. Genesis 2:22 Lit built
  21. Genesis 2:23 Heb Ishshah
  22. Genesis 2:23 Heb Ish

The Seventh Day—Rest

So the sky, the earth and all that filled them were finished. By the seventh day God finished the work he had been doing. So on the seventh day he rested from all his work. God blessed the seventh day and made it a holy day. He made it holy because on that day he rested. He rested from all the work he had done in creating the world.

The First People

This is the story of the creation of the sky and the earth. When the Lord God made the earth and the sky, there were no plants on the earth. Nothing was growing in the fields. The Lord God had not yet made it rain on the land. And there was no man to care for the ground. But a mist often rose from the earth and watered all the ground.

Then the Lord God took dust from the ground and formed man from it. The Lord breathed the breath of life into the man’s nose. And the man became a living person. Then the Lord God planted a garden in the East, in a place called Eden. He put the man he had formed in that garden. The Lord God caused every beautiful tree and every tree that was good for food to grow out of the ground. In the middle of the garden, God put the tree that gives life. And he put there the tree that gives the knowledge of good and evil.

10 A river flowed through Eden and watered the garden. From that point the river was divided. It had four streams flowing into it. 11 The name of the first stream is Pishon. It flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 That gold is good. Bdellium and onyx[a] are also there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon. It flows around the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Tigris. It flows out of Assyria toward the east. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

15 The Lord God put the man in the garden of Eden to care for it and work it. 16 The Lord God commanded him, “You may eat the fruit from any tree in the garden. 17 But you must not eat the fruit from the tree which gives the knowledge of good and evil. If you ever eat fruit from that tree, you will die!”

The First Woman

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is right for him.”

19 From the ground God formed every wild animal and every bird in the sky. He brought them to the man so the man could name them. Whatever the man called each living thing, that became its name. 20 The man gave names to all the tame animals, to the birds in the sky and to all the wild animals. But Adam[b] did not find a helper that was right for him. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to sleep very deeply. While the man was asleep, God took one of the ribs from the man’s body. Then God closed the man’s skin at the place where he took the rib. 22 The Lord God used the rib from the man to make a woman. Then the Lord brought the woman to the man.

23 And the man said,

“Now, this is someone whose bones came from my bones.
    Her body came from my body.
I will call her ‘woman,’
    because she was taken out of man.”

24 So a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife. And the two people will become one body.

25 The man and his wife were naked, but they were not ashamed.

Footnotes

  1. 2:12 bdellium and onyx Bdellium is an expensive, sweet-smelling resin like myrrh. And onyx is a gem.
  2. 2:20 Adam This is the name of the first man. It also means “humans,” including men and women.