The Fall

Now the serpent(A) 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’?(B)

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,(C) 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.’”(D)

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.(E) “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,(F) 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(G) for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband,(H) who was with her, and he ate it.(I) Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked;(J) so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.(K)

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

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

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

12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me(S)—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,(T) and I ate.”

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

“Cursed(U) are you above all livestock
    and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
    and you will eat dust(V)
    all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
    between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring[a](W) and hers;(X)
he will crush[b] your head,(Y)
    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.(Z)
Your desire will be for your husband,
    and he will rule over you.(AA)

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,’(AB)

“Cursed(AC) is the ground(AD) because of you;
    through painful toil(AE) you will eat food from it
    all the days of your life.(AF)
18 It will produce thorns and thistles(AG) for you,
    and you will eat the plants of the field.(AH)
19 By the sweat of your brow(AI)
    you will eat your food(AJ)
until you return to the ground,
    since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
    and to dust you will return.”(AK)

20 Adam[c] named his wife Eve,[d](AL) 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.(AM) 22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us,(AN) knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life(AO) and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden(AP) to work the ground(AQ) from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side[e] of the Garden of Eden(AR) cherubim(AS) and a flaming sword(AT) flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.(AU)

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 3:15 Or seed
  2. Genesis 3:15 Or strike
  3. Genesis 3:20 Or The man
  4. Genesis 3:20 Eve probably means living.
  5. Genesis 3:24 Or placed in front

11 Now the earth was corrupt(A) in God’s sight and was full of violence.(B) 12 God saw how corrupt(C) the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.(D)

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Psalm 14(A)

For the director of music. Of David.

The fool[a] says in his heart,
    “There is no God.”(B)
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
    there is no one who does good.

The Lord looks down from heaven(C)
    on all mankind
to see if there are any who understand,(D)
    any who seek God.(E)
All have turned away,(F) all have become corrupt;(G)
    there is no one who does good,(H)
    not even one.(I)

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 14:1 The Hebrew words rendered fool in Psalms denote one who is morally deficient.

Psalm 36[a]

For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord.

I have a message from God in my heart
    concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:[b](A)
There is no fear(B) of God
    before their eyes.(C)

In their own eyes they flatter themselves
    too much to detect or hate their sin.(D)
The words of their mouths(E) are wicked and deceitful;(F)
    they fail to act wisely(G) or do good.(H)
Even on their beds they plot evil;(I)
    they commit themselves to a sinful course(J)
    and do not reject what is wrong.(K)

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 36:1 In Hebrew texts 36:1-12 is numbered 36:2-13.
  2. Psalm 36:1 Or A message from God: The transgression of the wicked / resides in their hearts.

Psalm 52[a]

For the director of music. A maskil[b] of David. When Doeg the Edomite(A) had gone to Saul and told him: “David has gone to the house of Ahimelek.”

Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero?
    Why do you boast(B) all day long,(C)
    you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God?
You who practice deceit,(D)
    your tongue plots destruction;(E)
    it is like a sharpened razor.(F)
You love evil(G) rather than good,
    falsehood(H) rather than speaking the truth.[c]
You love every harmful word,
    you deceitful tongue!(I)

Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin:
    He will snatch you up and pluck(J) you from your tent;
    he will uproot(K) you from the land of the living.(L)
The righteous will see and fear;
    they will laugh(M) at you, saying,
“Here now is the man
    who did not make God his stronghold(N)
but trusted in his great wealth(O)
    and grew strong by destroying others!”

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 52:1 In Hebrew texts 52:1-9 is numbered 52:3-11.
  2. Psalm 52:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
  3. Psalm 52:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 5.

Psalm 58[a]

For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam.[b]

Do you rulers indeed speak justly?(A)
    Do you judge people with equity?
No, in your heart you devise injustice,(B)
    and your hands mete out violence on the earth.(C)

Even from birth the wicked go astray;
    from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies.
Their venom is like the venom of a snake,(D)
    like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears,
that will not heed(E) the tune of the charmer,(F)
    however skillful the enchanter may be.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 58:1 In Hebrew texts 58:1-11 is numbered 58:2-12.
  2. Psalm 58:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term

Psalm 82

A psalm of Asaph.

God presides in the great assembly;
    he renders judgment(A) among the “gods”:(B)

“How long will you[a] defend the unjust
    and show partiality(C) to the wicked?[b](D)
Defend the weak and the fatherless;(E)
    uphold the cause of the poor(F) and the oppressed.
Rescue the weak and the needy;
    deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

“The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing.(G)
    They walk about in darkness;(H)
    all the foundations(I) of the earth are shaken.

“I said, ‘You are “gods”;(J)
    you are all sons of the Most High.’
But you will die(K) like mere mortals;
    you will fall like every other ruler.”

Rise up,(L) O God, judge(M) the earth,
    for all the nations are your inheritance.(N)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 82:2 The Hebrew is plural.
  2. Psalm 82:2 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,(A)
    each of us has turned to our own way;(B)
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity(C) of us all.

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49 “‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom:(A) She and her daughters were arrogant,(B) overfed and unconcerned;(C) they did not help the poor and needy.(D) 50 They were haughty(E) and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.(F)

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This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Judah,(A)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because they have rejected the law(B) of the Lord
    and have not kept his decrees,(C)
because they have been led astray(D) by false gods,[a](E)
    the gods[b] their ancestors followed,(F)
I will send fire(G) on Judah
    that will consume the fortresses(H) of Jerusalem.(I)

Judgment on Israel

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Israel,
    even for four, I will not relent.(J)
They sell the innocent for silver,
    and the needy for a pair of sandals.(K)
They trample on the heads of the poor
    as on the dust of the ground
    and deny justice to the oppressed.
Father and son use the same girl
    and so profane my holy name.(L)
They lie down beside every altar
    on garments taken in pledge.(M)
In the house of their god
    they drink wine(N) taken as fines.(O)

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 2:4 Or by lies
  2. Amos 2:4 Or lies

20 He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. 21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed,(A) malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”

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34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.(A)

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44 You belong to your father, the devil,(A) and you want to carry out your father’s desires.(B) He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.(C)

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21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.(A) 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools(B) 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images(C) made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

24 Therefore God gave them over(D) in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.(E) 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie,(F) and worshiped and served created things(G) rather than the Creator—who is forever praised.(H) Amen.(I)

26 Because of this, God gave them over(J) to shameful lusts.(K) Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones.(L) 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.(M)

28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over(N) to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips,(O) 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;(P) 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love,(Q) no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death,(R) they not only continue to do these very things but also approve(S) of those who practice them.

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No One Is Righteous

What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage?(A) Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin.(B) 10 As it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one;
11     there is no one who understands;
    there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away,
    they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
    not even one.”[a](C)
13 “Their throats are open graves;
    their tongues practice deceit.”[b](D)
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”[c](E)
14     “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”[d](F)
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16     ruin and misery mark their ways,
17 and the way of peace they do not know.”[e](G)
18     “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”[f](H)

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 3:12 Psalms 14:1-3; 53:1-3; Eccles. 7:20
  2. Romans 3:13 Psalm 5:9
  3. Romans 3:13 Psalm 140:3
  4. Romans 3:14 Psalm 10:7 (see Septuagint)
  5. Romans 3:17 Isaiah 59:7,8
  6. Romans 3:18 Psalm 36:1

23 for all have sinned(A) and fall short of the glory of God,

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Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ

12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man,(A) and death through sin,(B) and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned(C)

13 To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law.(D) 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam,(E) who is a pattern of the one to come.(F)

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18 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people,(A) so also one righteous act resulted in justification(B) and life(C) for all people. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man(D) the many were made sinners,(E) so also through the obedience(F) of the one man the many will be made righteous.

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23 For the wages of sin is death,(A) but the gift of God is eternal life(B) in[a] Christ Jesus our Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 6:23 Or through

19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality,(A) impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.(B) I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.(C)

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Made Alive in Christ

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,(A) in which you used to live(B) when you followed the ways of this world(C) and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air,(D) the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.(E) All of us also lived among them at one time,(F) gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a](G) and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.

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Footnotes

  1. Ephesians 2:3 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit.

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,(A) but against the rulers, against the authorities,(B) against the powers(C) of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.(D)

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Be alert and of sober mind.(A) Your enemy the devil prowls around(B) like a roaring lion(C) looking for someone to devour. Resist him,(D) standing firm in the faith,(E) because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.(F)

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If we claim to be without sin,(A) we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.(B) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins(C) and purify us from all unrighteousness.(D) 10 If we claim we have not sinned,(E) we make him out to be a liar(F) and his word is not in us.(G)

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The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent(A) called the devil,(B) or Satan,(C) who leads the whole world astray.(D) He was hurled to the earth,(E) and his angels with him.

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