Creation

1 ^(A)In the beginning ^(B)God ^(C)created the heavens and the earth. ² And the earth was ^[a](D)formless and void, and ^(E)darkness was over the ^[b]surface of the deep, and ^(F)the Spirit of God ^(G)was hovering over the ^[c]surface of the waters. ³ Then ^(H)God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. ⁴ And God saw that the light was ^(I)good; and God ^(J)separated the light from the darkness. ^5 (K)And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And ^(L)there was evening and there was morning, one day.

⁶ Then God said, “Let there be ^[d]an ^(M)expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” ⁷ So God made the ^[e]expanse and separated ^(N)the waters which were below the ^[f]expanse from the waters ^(O)which were above the ^[g]expanse; and it was so. ⁸ And God called the ^[h]expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

⁹ Then God said, “^(P)Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let ^(Q)the dry land appear”; and it was so. ¹⁰ And God called the dry land earth, and the ^(R)gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good. ¹¹ Then God said, “Let the earth sprout ^[i](S)vegetation, ^[j]plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after ^[k]their kind ^[l]with seed in them”; and it was so. ¹² And the earth brought forth ^[m]vegetation, ^[n]plants yielding seed after ^[o]their kind, and trees bearing fruit ^[p]with seed in them, after ^[q]their kind; and God saw that it was good. ¹³ And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.

¹⁴ Then God said, “Let there be ^[r](T)lights in the ^[s](U)expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for ^(V)signs and for ^(W)seasons and for days and years; ¹⁵ and let them be for ^[t]lights in the ^[u]expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. ¹⁶ So God made the two ^[v]great lights, the ^(X)greater ^[w]light ^[x]to rule the day, and the lesser ^[y]light ^[z]to rule the night, and also ^(Y)the stars. ^17 (Z)And God placed them in the ^[aa]expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, ¹⁸ and ^[ab]to ^(AA)rule the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

²⁰ Then God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth ^[ac]across the face of the ^[ad]expanse of the heavens.” ²¹ And God created ^(AB)the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good. ²² Then God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.” ²³ And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

^24 (AC)Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after ^[ae]their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after ^[af]their kind”; and it was so. ²⁵ God made the ^(AD)beasts of the earth after ^[ag]their kind, and the cattle after ^[ah]their kind, and every creeping thing of the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.

²⁶ Then God said, “Let ^(AE)Us make ^(AF)man in Our image, according to Our likeness, so that they will have ^(AG)dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the ^[ai]sky and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” ²⁷ And God created man ^(AH)in His own image, in the image of God He created him; ^(AI)male and female He created them. ²⁸ God blessed them, and God said to them, “^(AJ)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 ^[aj]sky and over every living thing that creeps on the earth.” ²⁹ Then God said, “Behold, ^(AK)I have given to you every plant yielding seed that is on the ^[ak]surface of all the earth, and every tree ^[al]which has the fruit of the tree yielding seed; it shall be food for you; ³⁰ and ^(AL)to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the ^[am]sky and to every thing that creeps on the earth ^[an]which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so. ³¹ And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very ^(AM)good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

2 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all ^(A)their hosts. ² 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. ³ 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

^4 (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. ^5 (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. ⁶ But a ^[e]stream would rise from the earth and water the whole ^[f]surface of the ground. ⁷ 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. ⁸ And Yahweh God planted a ^(J)garden in Eden, toward the east; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. ⁹ 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,

^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.

Adam and Eve Sent Out from the Garden

3 Now ^(A)the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which Yahweh God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘^[a]You shall not eat from ^[b]any tree of the garden’?” ² And the woman said to the serpent, “^(B)From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; ³ but from the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God said, ‘You shall not eat from it, and you shall not touch it, lest you die.’” ^4 (C)And the serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! ⁵ For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and ^(D)you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ^6 (E)Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, so she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. ⁷ And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they ^(F)knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves ^[c]loin coverings.

⁸ Then they heard the sound of ^(G)Yahweh God walking in the garden in the ^[d]cool of the day, ^(H)and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh God in the midst of the trees of the garden. ⁹ Yahweh God called to the man and said to him, “^(I)Where are you?” ¹⁰ And he said, “^(J)I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” ¹¹ And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” ^12 (K)And the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave to me from the tree, and I ate.” ¹³ Then Yahweh God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “^(L)The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” ¹⁴ And Yahweh God said to the serpent,

¹⁶ To the woman He said,

¹⁷ Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’;

²⁰ Now the man called his wife’s name ^[k](X)Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. ²¹ Then Yahweh God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and He clothed them.

²² Then Yahweh God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of ^(Y)Us ^[l]to know good and evil; and now, lest he send forth his hand and take also from ^(Z)the tree of life and eat and live forever”— ²³ therefore Yahweh God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to ^[m]cultivate the ground from which he was taken. ²⁴ So ^(AA)He drove the man out; and at the ^(AB)east of the garden of Eden He stationed the ^(AC)cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to ^[n]guard the way to ^(AD)the tree of life.

Daniel’s Terrifying Vision of a Man

10 In the third year of ^(A)Cyrus king of Persia, a word was revealed to ^(B)Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar; and the ^(C)word was true and one of great ^[a]conflict, but he understood the word and had an ^(D)understanding of what had appeared.

² In those days, I, Daniel, had been ^(E)mourning for three entire ^[b]weeks. ³ I ^(F)did not eat any ^[c]tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all until the entire three ^[d]weeks were fulfilled.

⁴ And on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, while I was by the bank of the great ^(G)river, that is, the ^[e]Tigris, ⁵ I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a certain man ^(H)dressed in linen, whose loins were ^(I)girded with a belt of pure ^(J)fine gold of Uphaz. ⁶ His body also was like ^[f]beryl, his face ^[g]had the appearance of lightning, ^(K)his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude. ⁷ Now I, Daniel, ^(L)alone saw the vision that appeared, but the ^(M)men who were with me did not see the vision that appeared; nevertheless, a great ^(N)terror fell on them, and they ran away to hide themselves. ⁸ So I alone ^(O)remained and saw this great vision that appeared; yet ^(P)no might remained in me, for my outward splendor turned to ^[h]a deathly pallor, and I retained no might. ⁹ But I heard the sound of his words; and as soon as I heard the sound of his words, I ^(Q)fell into a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground.

Daniel Is Strengthened

¹⁰ Then behold, a hand ^(R)touched me and set me shaking on my ^[i]hands and knees. ¹¹ And he said to me, “O ^(S)Daniel, man of ^[j]high esteem, ^(T)understand the words that I am about to speak to you and ^(U)stand ^[k]upright, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up ^(V)trembling. ¹² Then he said to me, “^(W)Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you gave your heart to understand this and to ^(X)humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response ^(Y)to your words. ¹³ But the ^[l]prince of the kingdom of Persia was ^[m]standing against me for twenty-one days; then behold, ^(Z)Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me. Now I had been left there with the kings of Persia. ¹⁴ Now I have come to ^(AA)give you an understanding of what will happen to your people in the ^[n](AB)last days, for the vision pertains to ^(AC)the days yet future.” ¹⁵ Now when he had spoken to me according to these words, I ^[o]turned my face toward the ground and became ^(AD)speechless.

¹⁶ And behold, ^(AE)one ^[p]in the likeness of the sons of men was ^(AF)touching my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke and said to him who was standing before me, “O my lord, as a result of the vision that appeared, ^(AG)pains have come upon me, and I have retained no might. ¹⁷ Now ^(AH)how can such a servant of my lord talk with such as my lord? As for me, right now ^(AI)no might stands within me, nor does any breath remain within me.”

¹⁸ Then this one with the appearance of a man touched me again and ^(AJ)strengthened me. ¹⁹ And he said, “O man of ^[q]high esteem, ^(AK)do not be afraid. Peace ^[r]be with you; gather ^(AL)strength and be strong!” Now as soon as he spoke to me, I received strength and said, “May my lord speak, for you have ^(AM)strengthened me.” ²⁰ Then he said, “Do you know why I came to you? But I shall now return to fight against the ^[s]prince of Persia; so I am going forth, and behold, the ^[t](AN)prince of ^[u]Greece is about to come. ²¹ However, I will tell you what is ^[v]inscribed in the writing of ^(AO)truth. Now there is no one who ^[w]exerts strength with me against these forces except ^(AP)Michael your prince.

David Becomes Saul’s Armor Bearer

^14 (A)Now the Spirit of Yahweh departed from Saul, and ^(B)an evil spirit from Yahweh terrorized him. ¹⁵ Saul’s servants then said to him, “Behold now, an evil spirit from God is terrorizing you. ¹⁶ Let our lord now speak to your servants who are before you. Let them seek a man who is a skillful musician on the harp; and it shall be that when the evil spirit from God is on you, ^(C)he shall play the harp with his hand, and you will be well.” ¹⁷ So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me now a man who can play well and bring him to me.” ¹⁸ Then one of the young men answered and said, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician, ^(D)a mighty man of valor, a warrior, one who is understanding in speech, and man of fine form; and ^(E)Yahweh is with him.” ¹⁹ So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David who is with the flock.” ²⁰ And Jesse ^(F)took a donkey loaded with bread and a wineskin of wine and a young goat and sent them to Saul by David his son. ²¹ Then David came to Saul and ^(G)stood before him; and ^[a]Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor bearer. ²² So Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David now stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight.” ²³ Thus it happened that whenever ^(H)the evil spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the harp and play it with his hand; and Saul would be refreshed and be well, and the evil spirit would depart from him.

¹⁰ Now it happened on the next day that ^(A)an evil spirit from God ^[a]came mightily upon Saul, and ^(B)he raved in the midst of the house. Now David was playing the harp with his hand, ^[b](C)as usual; and ^[c](D)a spear was in Saul’s hand. ^11 (E)Then Saul hurled the spear for he thought, “I will ^[d]pin David to the wall.” But David ^[e]escaped from his presence twice.