Genesis 1

New International Version

The Beginning

1 In the beginning^(A) God created^(B) the heavens^(C) and the earth.^(D) ²Now the earth was formless^(E) and empty,^(F) darkness was over the surface of the deep,^(G) and the Spirit of God^(H) was hovering^(I) over the waters.

³And God said,^(J) “Let there be light,” and there was light.^(K) ⁴God saw that the light was good,^(L) and he separated the light from the darkness.^(M) ⁵God called^(N) the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”^(O) And there was evening, and there was morning^(P)—the first day.

⁶And God said,^(Q) “Let there be a vault^(R) between the waters^(S) to separate water from water.” ⁷So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it.^(T) And it was so.^(U) ⁸God called^(V) the vault “sky.”^(W) And there was evening, and there was morning^(X)—the second day.

⁹And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place,^(Y) and let dry ground^(Z) appear.” And it was so.^(AA) ¹⁰God called^(AB) the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters^(AC) he called “seas.”^(AD) And God saw that it was good.^(AE)

¹¹Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation:^(AF) seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.^(AG)” And it was so.^(AH) ¹²The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds^(AI) and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.^(AJ) ¹³And there was evening, and there was morning^(AK)—the third day.

¹⁴And God said, “Let there be lights^(AL) in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night,^(AM) and let them serve as signs^(AN) to mark sacred times,^(AO) and days and years,^(AP) ¹⁵and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so.^(AQ) ¹⁶God made two great lights—the greater light^(AR) to govern^(AS) the day and the lesser light to govern^(AT) the night.^(AU) He also made the stars.^(AV) ¹⁷God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, ¹⁸to govern the day and the night,^(AW) and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.^(AX) ¹⁹And there was evening, and there was morning^(AY)—the fourth day.

²⁰And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures,^(AZ) and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.”^(BA) ²¹So God created^(BB) the great creatures of the sea^(BC) and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it,^(BD) according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind.^(BE) And God saw that it was good.^(BF) ²²God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.”^(BG) ²³And there was evening, and there was morning^(BH)—the fifth day.

²⁴And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures^(BI) according to their kinds:^(BJ) the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so.^(BK) ²⁵God made the wild animals^(BL) according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds.^(BM) And God saw that it was good.^(BN)

²⁶Then God said, “Let us^(BO) make mankind^(BP) in our image,^(BQ) in our likeness,^(BR) so that they may rule^(BS) over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky,^(BT) over the livestock and all the wild animals,^[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

²⁷So God created^(BU) mankind^(BV) in his own image,^(BW)
in the image of God^(BX) he created them;
male and female^(BY) he created them.^(BZ)

²⁸God blessed them and said to them,^(CA) “Be fruitful and increase in number;^(CB) fill the earth^(CC) and subdue it. Rule over^(CD) the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.^(CE)”

²⁹Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.^(CF) ³⁰And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life^(CG) in it—I give every green plant for food.^(CH)” And it was so.

³¹God saw all that he had made,^(CI) and it was very good.^(CJ) And there was evening, and there was morning^(CK)—the sixth day.

Footnotes

Genesis 1:26 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text (see Syriac); Masoretic Text the earth

Genesis 1-2

New International Version

The Beginning

²⁷So God created^(BU) mankind^(BV) in his own image,^(BW)
in the image of God^(BX) he created them;
male and female^(BY) he created them.^(BZ)

³¹God saw all that he had made,^(CI) and it was very good.^(CJ) And there was evening, and there was morning^(CK)—the sixth day.

2 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.^(CL)

²By the seventh day^(CM) God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.^(CN) ³Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy,^(CO) because on it he rested^(CP) from all the work of creating^(CQ) that he had done.

Adam and Eve

⁴This is the account^(CR) of the heavens and the earth when they were created,^(CS) when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

⁵Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth^[b] and no plant had yet sprung up,^(CT) for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth^(CU) and there was no one to work the ground, ⁶but streams^[c] came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. ⁷Then the Lord God formed^(CV) a man^[d]^(CW) from the dust^(CX) of the ground^(CY) and breathed into his nostrils the breath^(CZ) of life,^(DA) and the man became a living being.^(DB)

⁸Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden;^(DC) and there he put the man he had formed. ⁹The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees^(DD) that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life^(DE) and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.^(DF)

¹⁰A river^(DG) watering the garden flowed from Eden;^(DH) from there it was separated into four headwaters. ¹¹The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah,^(DI) where there is gold. ¹²(The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin^[e]^(DJ) and onyx are also there.) ¹³The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush.^[f] ¹⁴The name of the third river is the Tigris;^(DK) it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.^(DL)

¹⁵The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden^(DM) to work it and take care of it. ¹⁶And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;^(DN) ¹⁷but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,^(DO) for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”^(DP)

¹⁸The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”^(DQ)

¹⁹Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals^(DR) and all the birds in the sky.^(DS) He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called^(DT) each living creature,^(DU) that was its name. ²⁰So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

But for Adam^[g] no suitable helper^(DV) was found. ²¹So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep;^(DW) and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs^[h] and then closed up the place with flesh. ²²Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib^[i]^(DX) he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

²³The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;^(DY)
she shall be called^(DZ) ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.^(EA)”

²⁴That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united^(EB) to his wife, and they become one flesh.^(EC)

²⁵Adam and his wife were both naked,^(ED) and they felt no shame.

Footnotes

Genesis 1:26 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text (see Syriac); Masoretic Text the earth
Genesis 2:5 Or land; also in verse 6
Genesis 2:6 Or mist
Genesis 2:7 The Hebrew for man (adam) sounds like and may be related to the Hebrew for ground (adamah); it is also the name Adam (see verse 20).
Genesis 2:12 Or good; pearls
Genesis 2:13 Possibly southeast Mesopotamia
Genesis 2:20 Or the man
Genesis 2:21 Or took part of the man’s side
Genesis 2:22 Or part

Genesis 18

New International Version

The Three Visitors

18 The Lord appeared to Abraham^(A) near the great trees of Mamre^(B) while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent^(C) in the heat of the day. ²Abraham looked up^(D) and saw three men^(E) standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.^(F)

³He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes,^(G) my lord,^[a] do not pass your servant^(H) by. ⁴Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet^(I) and rest under this tree. ⁵Let me get you something to eat,^(J) so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.”

“Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.”

⁶So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three seahs^[b] of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread.”^(K)

⁷Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf^(L) and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. ⁸He then brought some curds^(M) and milk^(N) and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them.^(O) While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.

⁹“Where is your wife Sarah?”^(P) they asked him.

“There, in the tent,^(Q)” he said.

¹⁰Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year,^(R) and Sarah your wife will have a son.”^(S)

Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. ¹¹Abraham and Sarah were already very old,^(T) and Sarah was past the age of childbearing.^(U) ¹²So Sarah laughed^(V) to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord^(W) is old, will I now have this pleasure?”

¹³Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’^(X) ¹⁴Is anything too hard for the Lord?^(Y) I will return to you at the appointed time next year,^(Z) and Sarah will have a son.”^(AA)

¹⁵Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.”

But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.”

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶When the men^(AB) got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. ¹⁷Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham^(AC) what I am about to do?^(AD) ¹⁸Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation,^(AE) and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.^[c] ¹⁹For I have chosen him^(AF), so that he will direct his children^(AG) and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord^(AH) by doing what is right and just,^(AI) so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”^(AJ)

²⁰Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom^(AK) and Gomorrah is so great^(AL) and their sin so grievous^(AM) ²¹that I will go down^(AN) and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”

²²The men^(AO) turned away and went toward Sodom,^(AP) but Abraham remained standing before the Lord.^[d]^(AQ) ²³Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?^(AR) ²⁴What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare^[e] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?^(AS) ²⁵Far be it from you to do such a thing^(AT)—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous^(AU) and the wicked alike.^(AV) Far be it from you! Will not the Judge^(AW) of all the earth do right?”^(AX)

²⁶The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.^(AY)”

²⁷Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes,^(AZ) ²⁸what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?”

“If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”

²⁹Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?”

He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.”

³⁰Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry,^(BA) but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?”

He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

³¹Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?”

He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”

³²Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more.^(BB) What if only ten can be found there?”

He answered, “For the sake of ten,^(BC) I will not destroy it.”

³³When the Lord had finished speaking^(BD) with Abraham, he left,^(BE) and Abraham returned home.^(BF)

Footnotes

Genesis 18:3 Or eyes, Lord
Genesis 18:6 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
Genesis 18:18 Or will use his name in blessings (see 48:20)
Genesis 18:22 Masoretic Text; an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition but the Lord remained standing before Abraham
Genesis 18:24 Or forgive; also in verse 26