The Creation of Man and Woman

^4 [a](A)This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in ^(B)the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven. ^5 (C)Now no shrub of the field was yet on the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, ^(D)for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to ^[b]cultivate the ground. ⁶ But a ^[c]mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole ^[d]surface of the ground. ⁷ Then the Lord God formed the man of ^(E)dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the ^(F)man became a living ^[e]person. ⁸ The Lord God planted a ^(G)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 ^(H)every tree to grow that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; ^(I)the tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

¹⁰ Now a ^(J)river ^[f]flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four ^[g]rivers. ¹¹ The name of the first is Pishon; it ^[h]flows around the whole land of ^(K)Havilah, where there is gold. ¹² The gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there as well. ¹³ The name of the second river is Gihon; it ^[i]flows around the whole land of Cush. ¹⁴ The name of the third river is ^[j](L)Tigris; it ^[k]flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the ^[l](M)Euphrates.

¹⁵ Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and tend it. ¹⁶ The Lord God ^(N)commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may freely eat; ¹⁷ but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not ^[m]eat, for on the day that you eat from it ^(O)you will certainly die.”

¹⁸ Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; ^(P)I will make him a helper ^[n]suitable for him.” ^19 (Q)And out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the sky, and ^(R)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 livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every animal of the field, but for ^[o]Adam there was not found ^(S)a helper ^[p]suitable for him. ²¹ So the Lord God caused a ^(T)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 the Lord God ^[q]fashioned into a woman ^(U)the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. ²³ Then the man said,

^24 (W)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 (X)And the man and his wife were both naked, but they were not ashamed.

Scene in Heaven

4 After ^(A)these things I looked, and behold, ^(B)a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, ^(C)like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “^(D)Come up here, and I will ^(E)show you what must take place after these things.” ² Immediately I was ^(F)in the ^[a]Spirit; and behold, ^(G)a throne was standing in heaven, and ^(H)someone was sitting on the throne. ³ And He who was sitting was like a ^(I)jasper stone and a ^(J)sardius in appearance; and there was a ^[b](K)rainbow around the throne, like an ^(L)emerald in appearance. ^4 (M)Around the throne were ^(N)twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw ^(O)twenty-four elders ^(P)sitting, clothed in ^(Q)white garments, and ^(R)golden crowns on their heads.

The Throne and Worship of the Creator

⁵ Out from the throne *came ^(S)flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were ^(T)seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are ^[c](U)the seven spirits of God; ⁶ and before the throne there was something like a ^(V)sea of glass, like crystal; and in the ^[d]center and ^(W)around the throne, ^(X)four living creatures ^(Y)full of eyes in front and behind. ^7 (Z)The first living creature was like a lion, the second creature like a calf, the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. ⁸ And the ^(AA)four living creatures, each one of them having ^(AB)six wings, are ^(AC)full of eyes around and within; and ^(AD)day and night ^[e]they do not cease to say,

⁹ And when the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to Him who ^(AH)sits on the throne, to ^(AI)Him who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰ the ^(AJ)twenty-four elders will ^(AK)fall down before Him who ^(AL)sits on the throne, and they will worship ^(AM)Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their ^(AN)crowns before the throne, saying,

Jesus’ Teaching about Divorce

10 ^(A)Setting out from there, Jesus *went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan; crowds *gathered to Him again, and, ^(B)as He was accustomed, He once more began to teach them.

² And some Pharisees came up to Jesus, testing Him, and began questioning Him whether it was lawful for a man to ^[a]divorce his wife. ³ And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?” ⁴ They said, “^(C)Moses permitted a man to write a ^[b]certificate of divorce and ^[c]send his wife away.” ⁵ But Jesus said to them, “^[d](D)Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. ⁶ But ^(E)from the beginning of creation, God ^(F)created them male and female. ^7 (G)For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother^[e], ^8 (H)and the two shall become one flesh; so they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹ Therefore, what God has joined together, no person is to separate.”

¹⁰ And in the house the disciples again began questioning Him about this. ¹¹ And He *said to them, “^(I)Whoever ^[f]divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her; ¹² and ^(J)if she herself ^[g]divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery.”

Jesus Blesses Little Children

^13 (K)And they were bringing children to Him so that He would touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Allow the children to come to Me; do not ^[h]forbid them, ^(L)for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵ Truly I say to you, ^(M)whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” ¹⁶ And He ^(N)took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.