The Creation of Man and Woman

(A)These are the generations
of the heavens and the earth when they were created,
in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

When no (B)bush of the field[a] was yet in the land[b] and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man (C)to work the ground, and a mist[c] was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— then the Lord God formed the man of (D)dust from the ground and (E)breathed into his (F)nostrils the breath of life, and (G)the man became a living creature. And the Lord God planted a (H)garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. (I)The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, (J)and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

10 A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of (K)Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. 14 And the name of the third river is the (L)Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

15 The Lord God took the man (M)and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (N)you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat[d] of it you (O)shall surely die.”

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; (P)I will make him a helper fit for[e] him.” 19 (Q)Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed[f] every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and (R)brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam[g] there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a (S)deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made[h] into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,

“This at last is (T)bone of my bones
    and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
    because she was (U)taken out of Man.”[i]

24 (V)Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

The Fall

Now (W)the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You[j] shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, (X)‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” (Y)But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So 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 to be desired to make one wise,[k] she took of its fruit (Z)and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, (AA)and he ate. (AB)Then the eyes of both were opened, (AC)and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool[l] of the day, and the man and his wife (AD)hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”[m] 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, (AE)because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, (AF)“The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, (AG)“The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

14 The Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this,
    cursed are you above all livestock
    and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
    and (AH)dust you shall eat
    all the days of your life.
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring[n] and (AI)her offspring;
(AJ)he shall bruise your head,
    and you shall bruise his heel.”

16 To the woman he said,

“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
    (AK)in pain you shall bring forth children.
(AL)Your desire shall be contrary to[o] your husband,
    but he shall (AM)rule over you.”

17 And to Adam he said,

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
    and have eaten of the tree
(AN)of which I commanded you,
    ‘You shall not eat of it,’
(AO)cursed is the ground because of you;
    (AP)in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
    and you shall eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your face
    you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
    for out of it you were taken;
(AQ)for you are dust,
    and (AR)to dust you shall return.”

20 The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.[p] 21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

22 Then the Lord God said, (AS)“Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand (AT)and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden (AU)to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the (AV)cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 2:5 Or open country
  2. Genesis 2:5 Or earth; also verse 6
  3. Genesis 2:6 Or spring
  4. Genesis 2:17 Or when you eat
  5. Genesis 2:18 Or corresponding to; also verse 20
  6. Genesis 2:19 Or And out of the ground the Lord God formed
  7. Genesis 2:20 Or the man
  8. Genesis 2:22 Hebrew built
  9. Genesis 2:23 The Hebrew words for woman (ishshah) and man (ish) sound alike
  10. Genesis 3:1 In Hebrew you is plural in verses 1–5
  11. Genesis 3:6 Or to give insight
  12. Genesis 3:8 Hebrew wind
  13. Genesis 3:9 In Hebrew you is singular in verses 9 and 11
  14. Genesis 3:15 Hebrew seed; so throughout Genesis
  15. Genesis 3:16 Or shall be toward (see 4:7)
  16. Genesis 3:20 Eve sounds like the Hebrew for life-giver and resembles the word for living

Adam and Eve

This is the account(A) of the heavens and the earth when they were created,(B) when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth[a] and no plant had yet sprung up,(C) for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth(D) and there was no one to work the ground, but streams[b] came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. Then the Lord God formed(E) a man[c](F) from the dust(G) of the ground(H) and breathed into his nostrils the breath(I) of life,(J) and the man became a living being.(K)

Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden;(L) and there he put the man he had formed. The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees(M) that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life(N) and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.(O)

10 A river(P) watering the garden flowed from Eden;(Q) from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah,(R) where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin[d](S) and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush.[e] 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris;(T) it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.(U)

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden(V) to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;(W) 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,(X) for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”(Y)

18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”(Z)

19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals(AA) and all the birds in the sky.(AB) He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called(AC) each living creature,(AD) that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

But for Adam[f] no suitable helper(AE) was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep;(AF) and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs[g] and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib[h](AG) he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

23 The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones
    and flesh of my flesh;(AH)
she shall be called(AI) ‘woman,’
    for she was taken out of man.(AJ)

24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united(AK) to his wife, and they become one flesh.(AL)

25 Adam and his wife were both naked,(AM) and they felt no shame.

The Fall

Now the serpent(AN) was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?(AO)

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,(AP) but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”(AQ)

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.(AR) “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,(AS) knowing good and evil.”

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable(AT) for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband,(AU) who was with her, and he ate it.(AV) Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked;(AW) so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.(AX)

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking(AY) in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid(AZ) from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”(BA)

10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid(BB) because I was naked;(BC) so I hid.”

11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked?(BD) Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?(BE)

12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me(BF)—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me,(BG) and I ate.”

14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,

“Cursed(BH) are you above all livestock
    and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
    and you will eat dust(BI)
    all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
    between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring[i](BJ) and hers;(BK)
he will crush[j] your head,(BL)
    and you will strike his heel.”

16 To the woman he said,

“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;
    with painful labor you will give birth to children.(BM)
Your desire will be for your husband,
    and he will rule over you.(BN)

17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’(BO)

“Cursed(BP) is the ground(BQ) because of you;
    through painful toil(BR) you will eat food from it
    all the days of your life.(BS)
18 It will produce thorns and thistles(BT) for you,
    and you will eat the plants of the field.(BU)
19 By the sweat of your brow(BV)
    you will eat your food(BW)
until you return to the ground,
    since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
    and to dust you will return.”(BX)

20 Adam[k] named his wife Eve,[l](BY) because she would become the mother of all the living.

21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.(BZ) 22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us,(CA) knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life(CB) and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden(CC) to work the ground(CD) from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side[m] of the Garden of Eden(CE) cherubim(CF) and a flaming sword(CG) flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.(CH)

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 2:5 Or land; also in verse 6
  2. Genesis 2:6 Or mist
  3. Genesis 2:7 The Hebrew for man (adam) sounds like and may be related to the Hebrew for ground (adamah); it is also the name Adam (see verse 20).
  4. Genesis 2:12 Or good; pearls
  5. Genesis 2:13 Possibly southeast Mesopotamia
  6. Genesis 2:20 Or the man
  7. Genesis 2:21 Or took part of the man’s side
  8. Genesis 2:22 Or part
  9. Genesis 3:15 Or seed
  10. Genesis 3:15 Or strike
  11. Genesis 3:20 Or The man
  12. Genesis 3:20 Eve probably means living.
  13. Genesis 3:24 Or placed in front

These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,

And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.

But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;

12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.

13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.

14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

18 And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

19 And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;

22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.

And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

13 And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.