Genesis 2:18-24
New American Standard Bible
18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; (A)I will make him a helper [a]suitable for him.” 19 (B)And out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the sky, and (C)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 [b]Adam there was not found (D)a helper [c]suitable for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a (E)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 [d]fashioned into a woman (F)the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,
“(G)At last this is bone of my bones,
And flesh of my flesh;
[e]She shall be called [f]‘woman,’
Because [g]she was taken out of [h]man.”
24 (H)For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 2:18 Lit corresponding to
- Genesis 2:20 Or man
- Genesis 2:20 Lit corresponding to
- Genesis 2:22 Lit built
- Genesis 2:23 Lit This one
- Genesis 2:23 Heb ishshah
- Genesis 2:23 Lit This one
- Genesis 2:23 Heb ish
Genesis 2:18-25
The Message
18-20 God said, “It’s not good for the Man to be alone; I’ll make him a helper, a companion.” So God formed from the dirt of the ground all the animals of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the Man to see what he would name them. Whatever the Man called each living creature, that was its name. The Man named the cattle, named the birds of the air, named the wild animals; but he didn’t find a suitable companion.
21-22 God put the Man into a deep sleep. As he slept he removed one of his ribs and replaced it with flesh. God then used the rib that he had taken from the Man to make Woman and presented her to the Man.
23-25 The Man said,
“Finally! Bone of my bone,
flesh of my flesh!
Name her Woman
for she was made from Man.”
Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife. They become one flesh.
The two of them, the Man and his Wife, were naked, but they felt no shame.
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Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson