Genesis 1-5

New American Standard Bible 1995

The Creation

1 ^(A)In the beginning ^(B)God ^(C)created the heavens and the earth. ² 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 ^[c]moving over the ^[d]surface of the waters. ³ Then ^(H)God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was ^(I)good; and God ^(J)separated the light from the darkness. ^5 (K)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 ^[e]an ^(M)expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” ⁷ God made the ^[f]expanse, and separated ^(N)the waters which were below the ^[g]expanse from the waters ^(O)which were above the ^[h]expanse; and it was so. ⁸ God called the ^[i]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 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 ^[j](S)vegetation, ^[k]plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after ^[l]their kind ^[m]with seed in them”; and it was so. ¹² The earth brought forth ^[n]vegetation, ^[o]plants yielding seed after ^[p]their kind, and trees bearing fruit ^[q]with seed in them, after ^[r]their kind; and God saw that it was good. ¹³ There was evening and there was morning, a third day.

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

²⁰ Then God said, “Let the waters ^[ad]teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth ^[ae]in the open ^[af]expanse of the heavens.” ²¹ 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 God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” ²³ There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

^24 (AC)Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after ^[ag]their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after ^[ah]their kind”; and it was so. ²⁵ God made the ^(AD)beasts of the earth after ^[ai]their kind, and the cattle after ^[aj]their kind, and everything that creeps on 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; and let them ^(AG)rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the ^[ak]sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” ²⁷ 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 rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the ^[al]sky and over every living thing that ^[am]moves on the earth.” ²⁹ Then God said, “Behold, ^(AK)I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the ^[an]surface of all the earth, and every tree ^[ao]which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; ³⁰ and ^(AL)to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the ^[ap]sky and to every thing that ^[aq]moves on the earth ^[ar]which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so. ³¹ 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.

The Creation of Man and Woman

2 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all ^(AN)their hosts. ² By ^(AO)the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and ^(AP)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 in it He rested from all His work which God had created ^[as]and made.

^4 [at](AQ)This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in ^(AR)the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven. ^5 (AS)Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, ^(AT)for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to ^[au]cultivate the ground. ⁶ But a ^[av]mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole ^[aw]surface of the ground. ⁷ Then the Lord God formed man of ^(AU)dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and ^(AV)man became a living ^[ax]being. ⁸ The Lord God planted a ^(AW)garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. ⁹ Out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow ^(AX)every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; ^(AY)the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

¹⁰ Now a ^(AZ)river ^[ay]flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four ^[az]rivers. ¹¹ The name of the first is Pishon; it ^[ba]flows around the whole land of ^(BA)Havilah, where there is gold. ¹² The gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there. ¹³ The name of the second river is Gihon; it ^[bb]flows around the whole land of Cush. ¹⁴ The name of the third river is ^[bc](BB)Tigris; it ^[bd]flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the ^[be](BC)Euphrates.

¹⁵ Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. ¹⁶ The Lord God ^(BD)commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; ¹⁷ but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not ^[bf]eat, for in the day that you eat from it ^(BE)you will surely die.”

¹⁸ Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; ^(BF)I will make him a helper ^[bg]suitable for him.” ^19 (BG)Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the ^[bh]sky, and ^(BH)brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the ^[bi]sky, and to every beast of the field, but for ^[bj]Adam there was not found ^(BI)a helper ^[bk]suitable for him. ²¹ So the Lord God caused a ^(BJ)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 The Lord God ^[bl]fashioned into a woman ^(BK)the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. ²³ The man said,

^24 (BM)For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. ^25 (BN)And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

The Fall of Man

3 Now ^(BO)the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from ^[bq]any tree of the garden’?” ² The woman said to the serpent, “^(BP)From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; ³ but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” ^4 (BQ)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 ^(BR)you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ^6 (BS)When 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, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they ^(BT)knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves ^[br]loin coverings.

⁸ They heard the sound of ^(BU)the Lord God walking in the garden in the ^[bs]cool of the day, ^(BV)and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “^(BW)Where are you?” ¹⁰ He said, “^(BX)I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” 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 (BY)The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.” ¹³ Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “^(BZ)The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” ¹⁴ The Lord God said to the serpent,

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 ^[bx](CK)Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. ²¹ The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.

²² Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of ^(CL)Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from ^(CM)the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— ²³ therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. ²⁴ So ^(CN)He drove the man out; and at the ^(CO)east of the garden of Eden He stationed the ^(CP)cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to ^(CQ)the tree of life.

Cain and Abel

4 Now the man ^[by]had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to ^[bz]Cain, and she said, “I have gotten a ^[ca]manchild with the help of the Lord.” ² Again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. And ^(CR)Abel was ^(CS)a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. ³ So it came about ^[cb]in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. ^4 (CT)Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And ^(CU)the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering; ⁵ but ^(CV)for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So ^(CW)Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. ⁶ Then the Lord said to Cain, “^(CX)Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? ^7 (CY)If you do well, ^[cc]will not your countenance be lifted up? ^(CZ)And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, ^(DA)but you must master it.” ⁸ Cain ^[cd]told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and ^(DB)killed him.

⁹ Then the Lord said to Cain, “^(DC)Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” ¹⁰ He said, “What have you done? ^(DD)The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground. ¹¹ Now ^(DE)you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. ^12 (DF)When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; ^(DG)you will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth.” ¹³ Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is too great to bear! ¹⁴ Behold, You have ^(DH)driven me this day from the face of the ground; and from Your face I will be hidden, and ^(DI)I will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth, and ^(DJ)whoever finds me will kill me.” ¹⁵ So the Lord said to him, “Therefore whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him ^(DK)sevenfold.” And the Lord ^[ce](DL)appointed a sign for Cain, so that no one finding him would slay him.

¹⁶ Then Cain went out from the presence ^(DM)of the Lord, and ^[cf]settled in the land of ^[cg]Nod, east of Eden.

¹⁷ Cain ^[ch]had relations with his wife and she conceived, and gave birth to Enoch; and he built a city, and called the name of the city Enoch, after the name of his son. ¹⁸ Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad ^[ci]became the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael ^[cj]became the father of Methushael, and Methushael ^[ck]became the father of Lamech. ¹⁹ Lamech took to himself ^(DN)two wives: 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 dwell in tents and have livestock. ²¹ His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. 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 (DQ)Adam ^[cm]had relations with his wife again; and she gave birth to a son, and named him ^[cn]Seth, for, she said, “God ^[co]has appointed me another ^[cp]offspring in place of Abel, ^(DR)for Cain killed him.” ²⁶ To Seth, to him also ^(DS)a son was born; and he called his name Enosh. Then men began ^(DT)to call ^[cq]upon the name of the Lord.

Descendants of Adam

5 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day when God created man, He made him ^(DU)in the likeness of God. ² He created them ^(DV)male and female, and He ^(DW)blessed them and named them ^[cr]Man in the day when they were created.

³ When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he ^[cs]became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth. ⁴ Then the days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years, and he had other sons and daughters. ⁵ So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died.

⁶ Seth lived one hundred and five years, and became the father of Enosh. ⁷ Then Seth lived eight hundred and seven years after he became the father of Enosh, and he had other sons and daughters. ⁸ So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died.

⁹ Enosh lived ninety years, and became the father of Kenan. ¹⁰ Then Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years after he became the father of Kenan, and he had other sons and daughters. ¹¹ So all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years, and he died.

¹² Kenan lived seventy years, and became the father of Mahalalel. ¹³ Then Kenan lived eight hundred and forty years after he became the father of Mahalalel, and he had other sons and daughters. ¹⁴ So all the days of Kenan were nine hundred and ten years, and he died.

¹⁵ Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and became the father of Jared. ¹⁶ Then Mahalalel lived eight hundred and thirty years after he became the father of Jared, and he had other sons and daughters. ¹⁷ So all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years, and he died.

¹⁸ Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and became the father of Enoch. ¹⁹ Then Jared lived eight hundred years after he became the father of Enoch, and he had other sons and daughters. ²⁰ So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years, and he died.

²¹ Enoch lived sixty-five years, and became the father of Methuselah. ²² Then Enoch ^(DX)walked with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters. ²³ So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. ^24 (DY)Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God ^(DZ)took him.

²⁵ Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and became the father of Lamech. ²⁶ Then Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years after he became the father of Lamech, and he had other sons and daughters. ²⁷ So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years, and he died.

²⁸ Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and became the father of a son. ²⁹ Now he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will ^[ct]give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from ^(EA)the ground which the Lord has cursed.” ³⁰ Then Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years after he became the father of Noah, and he had other sons and daughters. ³¹ So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years, and he died.

³² Noah was ^(EB)five hundred years old, and Noah became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.