Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.(A)

By the seventh day(B) God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.(C) Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy,(D) because on it he rested(E) from all the work of creating(F) that he had done.

Adam and Eve

This is the account(G) of the heavens and the earth when they were created,(H) 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,(I) for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth(J) 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(K) a man[c](L) from the dust(M) of the ground(N) and breathed into his nostrils the breath(O) of life,(P) and the man became a living being.(Q)

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

10 A river(V) watering the garden flowed from Eden;(W) 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,(X) where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin[d](Y) 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;(Z) it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.(AA)

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden(AB) 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;(AC) 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,(AD) for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”(AE)

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

19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals(AG) and all the birds in the sky.(AH) He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called(AI) each living creature,(AJ) 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(AK) was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep;(AL) 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](AM) 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;(AN)
she shall be called(AO) ‘woman,’
    for she was taken out of man.(AP)

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

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

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

Heaven and Earth were finished,
    down to the last detail.

2-4 By the seventh day
    God had finished his work.
On the seventh day
    he rested from all his work.
God blessed the seventh day.
    He made it a Holy Day
Because on that day he rested from his work,
    all the creating God had done.

This is the story of how it all started,
    of Heaven and Earth when they were created.

Adam and Eve

5-7 At the time God made Earth and Heaven, before any grasses or shrubs had sprouted from the ground—God hadn’t yet sent rain on Earth, nor was there anyone around to work the ground (the whole Earth was watered by underground springs)—God formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive—a living soul!

8-9 Then God planted a garden in Eden, in the east. He put the Man he had just made in it. God made all kinds of trees grow from the ground, trees beautiful to look at and good to eat. The Tree-of-Life was in the middle of the garden, also the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil.

10-14 A river flows out of Eden to water the garden and from there divides into four rivers. The first is named Pishon; it flows through Havilah where there is gold. The gold of this land is good. The land is also known for a sweet-scented resin and the onyx stone. The second river is named Gihon; it flows through the land of Cush. The third river is named Hiddekel and flows east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

15 God took the Man and set him down in the Garden of Eden to work the ground and keep it in order.

16-17 God commanded the Man, “You can eat from any tree in the garden, except from the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil. Don’t eat from it. The moment you eat from that tree, you’re dead.”

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.

The Seventh Day—Rest

So the ·sky [heavens], the earth, and all ·that filled them [L their hosts] were ·finished [completed]. By the seventh day God ·finished [completed] the work he had been doing, so he ·rested [or ceased] from all his work [L he had done]. God blessed the seventh day and ·made it a holy day [consecrated it; set it apart], because on that day he ·rested [or ceased] from all the work he had done in creating [1:1] the world.

The First People

·This is the story [L These are the generations; C introduces a new section of the book; see also 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10, 27; 25:12, 19; 36:1, 9] of the creation of the ·sky [heavens] and the earth. When the ·Lord God [Yahweh Elohim; C Elohim is the common term for God; Lord (capital letters) represents the divine name YHWH, usually pronounced “Yahweh”; see Ex. 3:14–15] first made the earth and the ·sky [heavens], there were still no plants on the earth. Nothing was growing in the fields because the Lord God had not yet made it rain on the land. And there was no person to ·care for [or till; work] the ground, but a ·mist [or stream] would rise up from the earth and water all the ground.

Then the Lord God took dust from the ground and formed a man from it [C there is wordplay between “ground” (adama) and “man” (adam)]. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nose, and the man became a living person. ·Then the Lord God [or The Lord God had] planted a garden in the east [C probably east of Palestine], in a place called Eden [C related to a word meaning “luxurious”], and put the man he had formed into it. The Lord God caused every ·beautiful [L desirous to see] tree and every tree that was good for food to grow out of the ground. In the middle of the garden, God put the tree ·that gives life [T of life] and also the tree ·that gives the knowledge [T of the knowledge] of good and evil.

10 A river flowed through Eden and watered the garden. From there the river ·branched out [divides] to become four ·rivers [L heads]. 11 The first river, named Pishon [C otherwise unknown], flows around the whole land of Havilah [C otherwise unknown], where there is gold. 12 The gold of that land is excellent. Bdellium [C a sweet-smelling resin like myrrh] and onyx [C a precious stone] are also found there. 13 The second river, named Gihon [C a small stream in Jerusalem (1 Kin. 1:33), but here perhaps referring to another river], flows around the whole land of Cush [C often referring to Ethiopia, but here likely a place in Mesopotamia; see 10:7]. 14 The third river, named Tigris [C a major river in Mesopotamia], flows out of Assyria [C in northern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq)] toward the east. The fourth river is the Euphrates [C a major river in Mesopotamia; the location of Eden is uncertain, but this passage suggests Mesopotamia].

15 The Lord God [L took and] put ·the man [or Adam; 1:27] in the garden of Eden to ·care for [or till] it and ·work [take care of; look after] it. 16 The Lord God commanded him, “You may eat the fruit from ·any tree [or all the trees] in the garden, 17 but you must not eat the fruit from the tree ·which gives the [T of the] knowledge of good and evil [C eating from this tree would make Adam, not God, the determiner of right and wrong]. If you ever eat fruit from that tree, you will [L certainly] die!”

The First Woman

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper [C in the sense of a partner or ally; the word does not imply subordinate status; see Ps. 79:9] who ·is right for [is suitable for; corresponds with] him.”

19 From the ground God formed every ·wild animal [L animal of the field] and every bird in the ·sky [heavens], and he brought them to the man ·so the man could name them [L to see what he would call them]. Whatever the man called each living thing, that became its name. 20 The man gave names to all the ·tame animals [beasts; livestock], to the birds in the ·sky [heavens], and to all the ·wild animals [L animals of the field]. But ·Adam [or the man; 1:27] did not find a helper that was right for him [2:18]. 21 So the Lord God caused ·the man to sleep very deeply [L a deep sleep to fall on the man/Adam], and while he was asleep, God removed one of the man’s ·ribs [or sides]. Then God closed up the man’s skin at the place where he took the ·rib [or side]. 22 The Lord God used the ·rib [or side] from the man to ·make [L build; construct] a woman, and then he brought the woman to the man.

23 And the man said,

“·Now, this is someone whose bones came from my bones,
    whose body came from my body [L At last, this is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh].
·I will call her [L She will be called] ‘woman [C Hebrew ‘ishshah],’
    because she was taken out of man [C Hebrew ‘ish].”

24 So a man will leave his father and mother [C in the sense of a new primary loyalty] and be united with his wife, and the two will become one ·body [T flesh].

25 The man and his wife were naked, but they were not ashamed.