²⁶ Then God said, ^(A)“Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; ^(B)let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over ^[a]all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” ²⁷ So God created man ^(C)in His own image; in the image of God He created him; ^(D)male and female He created them.

¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; ¹⁷ but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil ^(A)you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it ^(B)you^[a] shall surely ^(C)die.”

The Temptation and Fall of Man^(A)

3 Now ^(B)the serpent was ^(C)more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

² And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the ^(D)fruit of the trees of the garden; ³ but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you ^(E)touch it, lest you die.’ ”

^4 (F)Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. ⁵ For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

⁶ So when the woman ^(G)saw that the tree was good for food, that it was ^[a]pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit ^(H)and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, ^(I)and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves ^[b]coverings.

^16 (A)For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten ^(B)Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ^17 (C)For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

The Eternal Word^(A)

1 In the beginning ^(B)was the Word, and the ^(C)Word was ^(D)with God, and the Word was ^(E)God.

The Word Becomes Flesh

^14 (A)And the Word ^(B)became ^(C)flesh and dwelt among us, and ^(D)we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, ^(E)full of grace and truth.

¹⁴ Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He ^(A)Himself likewise shared in the same, ^(B)that through death He might destroy him who had the power of ^(C)death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵ and release those who ^(D)through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. ¹⁶ For indeed He does not ^[a]give aid to angels, but He does ^[b]give aid to the seed of Abraham. ¹⁷ Therefore, in all things He had ^(E)to be made like His brethren, that He might be ^(F)a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. ^18 (G)For in that He Himself has suffered, being ^[c]tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

Christ in Our Place

⁶ For when we were still without strength, ^[a]in due time ^(A)Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. ⁸ But ^(B)God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

God’s Righteousness Through Faith

²¹ But now ^(A)the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, ^(B)being witnessed by the Law ^(C)and the Prophets, ²² even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all ^[a]and on all who believe. For ^(D)there is no difference; ²³ for ^(E)all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ being justified ^[b]freely ^(F)by His grace ^(G)through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God set forth ^(H)as a ^[c]propitiation ^(I)by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over ^(J)the sins that were previously committed, ²⁶ to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.