The Seventh Day, God Rests

2 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and ^(A)all the host of them. ² And ^(B)on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. ³ So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

The Creation of Man and Woman

⁵ When no ^(D)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 ^(E)to work the ground, ⁶ and a mist^[c] was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— ⁷ then the Lord God formed the man of ^(F)dust from the ground and ^(G)breathed into his ^(H)nostrils the breath of life, and ^(I)the man became a living creature. ⁸ And the Lord God planted a ^(J)garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. ⁹ And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. ^(K)The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, ^(L)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 ^(M)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 ^(N)Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

¹⁵ The Lord God took the man ^(O)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 ^(P)you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat^[d] of it you ^(Q)shall surely die.”

¹⁸ Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; ^(R)I will make him a helper fit for^[e] him.” ^19 (S)Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed^[f] every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and ^(T)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 ^(U)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,

^24 (X)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.

Unity in the Body of Christ

4 I therefore, ^(A)a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to ^(B)walk in a manner worthy of ^(C)the calling to which you have been called, ² with all ^(D)humility and ^(E)gentleness, with ^(F)patience, ^(G)bearing with one another in love, ³ eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in ^(H)the bond of peace. ⁴ There is ^(I)one body and ^(J)one Spirit—just as you were called to the one ^(K)hope that belongs to your call— ^5 (L)one Lord, ^(M)one faith, ^(N)one baptism, ^6 (O)one God and Father of all, ^(P)who is over all and through all and in all. ⁷ But ^(Q)grace was given ^(R)to each one of us ^(S)according to the measure of Christ's gift. ⁸ Therefore it says,

⁹ (^(V)In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into ^(W)the lower regions, the earth?^{[b] 10} He who descended is the one who also ^(X)ascended ^(Y)far above all the heavens, that he might ^(Z)fill all things.) ¹¹ And ^(AA)he gave the ^(AB)apostles, the prophets, the ^(AC)evangelists, the ^(AD)shepherds^[c] and teachers,^{[d] 12 (AE)}to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for ^(AF)building up ^(AG)the body of Christ, ¹³ until we all attain to ^(AH)the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, ^(AI)to mature manhood,^[e] to the measure of the stature of ^(AJ)the fullness of Christ, ¹⁴ so that we may no longer be children, ^(AK)tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in ^(AL)deceitful schemes. ¹⁵ Rather, ^(AM)speaking the truth in love, we are to ^(AN)grow up in every way into him who is ^(AO)the head, into Christ, ^16 (AP)from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, ^(AQ)when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

The New Life

¹⁷ Now this I say and ^(AR)testify in the Lord, ^(AS)that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, ^(AT)in the futility of their minds. ¹⁸ They ^(AU)are darkened in their understanding, ^(AV)alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to ^(AW)their hardness of heart. ¹⁹ They ^(AX)have become callous and ^(AY)have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. ²⁰ But that is not the way you ^(AZ)learned Christ!— ²¹ assuming that ^(BA)you have heard about him and ^(BB)were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, ²² to ^(BC)put off ^(BD)your old self,^[f] which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through ^(BE)deceitful desires, ²³ and ^(BF)to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴ and to put on ^(BG)the new self, ^(BH)created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

²⁵ Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you ^(BI)speak the truth with his neighbor, for ^(BJ)we are members one of another. ^26 (BK)Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, ²⁷ and ^(BL)give no opportunity to the devil. ²⁸ Let the thief no longer steal, but rather ^(BM)let him labor, ^(BN)doing honest work with his own hands, so ^(BO)that he may have something to share with anyone in need. ^29 (BP)Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give ^(BQ)grace to those who hear. ³⁰ And ^(BR)do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, ^(BS)by whom you were sealed for the day of ^(BT)redemption. ^31 (BU)Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. ^32 (BV)Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, ^(BW)forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Walk in Love

5 ^(BX)Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. ² And ^(BY)walk in love, ^(BZ)as Christ loved us and ^(CA)gave himself up for us, a ^(CB)fragrant ^(CC)offering and sacrifice to God.

³ But ^(CD)sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness ^(CE)must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. ⁴ Let there be ^(CF)no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, ^(CG)which are out of place, but instead ^(CH)let there be thanksgiving. ⁵ For you may be sure of this, that ^(CI)everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (^(CJ)that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. ^6 (CK)Let no one ^(CL)deceive you with empty words, for because of these things ^(CM)the wrath of God comes upon ^(CN)the sons of disobedience. ⁷ Therefore ^(CO)do not become partners with them; ⁸ for ^(CP)at one time you were ^(CQ)darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. ^(CR)Walk as children of light ⁹ (for ^(CS)the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), ¹⁰ and ^(CT)try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. ^11 (CU)Take no part in the ^(CV)unfruitful ^(CW)works of darkness, but instead ^(CX)expose them. ¹² For ^(CY)it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. ¹³ But when ^(CZ)anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, ¹⁴ for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

^15 (DD)Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, ^16 (DE)making the best use of the time, because ^(DF)the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what ^(DG)the will of the Lord is. ¹⁸ And ^(DH)do not get drunk with wine, for that is ^(DI)debauchery, but ^(DJ)be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ addressing one another in ^(DK)psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, ^20 (DL)giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father ^(DM)in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^21 (DN)submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Wives and Husbands

^22 (DO)Wives, ^(DP)submit to your own husbands, ^(DQ)as to the Lord. ²³ For ^(DR)the husband is the head of the wife even as ^(DS)Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is ^(DT)himself its Savior. ²⁴ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit ^(DU)in everything to their husbands.

^25 (DV)Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and ^(DW)gave himself up for her, ²⁶ that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by ^(DX)the washing of water ^(DY)with the word, ²⁷ so ^(DZ)that he might present the church to himself in splendor, ^(EA)without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.^{[g] 28} In the same way ^(EB)husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, ³⁰ because ^(EC)we are members of his body. ^31 (ED)“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and ^(EE)the two shall become one flesh.” ³² This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. ³³ However, ^(EF)let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she ^(EG)respects her husband.

Lawsuits Against Believers

6 When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous ^(A)instead of the saints? ² Or do you not know that ^(B)the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? ³ Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! ⁴ So if you have such cases, ^(C)why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? ^5 (D)I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, ⁶ but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? ⁷ To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. ^(E)Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? ⁸ But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even ^(F)your own brothers!^[a]

⁹ Or do you not know that the unrighteous^[b] will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: ^(G)neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,^{[c] 10} nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And ^(H)such were some of you. But ^(I)you were washed, ^(J)you were sanctified, ^(K)you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Flee Sexual Immorality

^12 (L)“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. ^13 (M)“Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one ^(N)and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but ^(O)for the Lord, and ^(P)the Lord for the body. ¹⁴ And ^(Q)God raised the Lord and ^(R)will also raise us up ^(S)by his power. ¹⁵ Do you not know that ^(T)your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! ¹⁶ Or do you not know that he who is joined^[d] to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, ^(U)“The two will become one flesh.” ¹⁷ But he who is joined to the Lord ^(V)becomes one spirit with him. ^18 (W)Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin^[e] a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person ^(X)sins against his own body. ¹⁹ Or ^(Y)do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? ^(Z)You are not your own, ^20 (AA)for you were bought with a price. ^(AB)So glorify God in your body.