The Garden of Eden

2 Thus the heavens and the earth, and ^(A)all the host of them, were finished. ^2 (B)And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. ³ Then God ^(C)blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

^4 (D)This is the ^[a]history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, ⁵ before any ^(E)plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the Lord God had not ^(F)caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man ^(G)to till the ground; ⁶ but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.

⁷ And the Lord God formed man of the ^(H)dust of the ground, and ^(I)breathed into his ^(J)nostrils the breath of life; and ^(K)man became a living being.

Life in God’s Garden

⁸ The Lord God planted ^(L)a garden ^(M)eastward in ^(N)Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. ⁹ And out of the ground the Lord God made ^(O)every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. ^(P)The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and ^(Q)evil.

¹⁰ Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. ¹¹ The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts ^(R)the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. ¹² And the gold of that land is good. ^(S)Bdellium and the onyx stone are there. ¹³ The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. ¹⁴ The name of the third river is ^(T)Hiddekel;^[b] it is the one which goes toward the east of ^[c]Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

¹⁵ Then the Lord God took ^[d]the man and put him in the garden of Eden to ^[e]tend and keep it. ¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; ¹⁷ but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil ^(U)you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it ^(V)you^[f] shall surely ^(W)die.”

¹⁸ And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; ^(X)I will make him a helper comparable to him.” ^19 (Y)Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and ^(Z)brought them to ^[g]Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.

²¹ And the Lord God caused a ^(AA)deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. ²² Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He ^[h]made into a woman, ^(AB)and He ^(AC)brought her to the man.

²³ And Adam said:

^24 (AF)Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and ^(AG)be^[k] joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

^25 (AH)And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ^(AI)ashamed.

Marriage and Divorce^(A)

10 Then ^(B)He arose from there and came to the region of Judea by the other side of the Jordan. And multitudes gathered to Him again, and as He was accustomed, He taught them again.

^2 (C)The Pharisees came and asked Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” testing Him.

³ And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?”

⁴ They said, ^(D)“Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her.”

⁵ And Jesus answered and said to them, “Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this ^[a]precept. ⁶ But from the beginning of the creation, God ^(E)‘made them male and female.’ ^7 (F)‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, ⁸ and the two shall become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹ Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

¹⁰ In the house His disciples also asked Him again about the same matter. ¹¹ So He said to them, ^(G)“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. ¹² And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

Jesus Blesses Little Children^(H)

^13 (I)Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. ¹⁴ But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for ^(J)of such is the kingdom of God. ¹⁵ Assuredly, I say to you, ^(K)whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will ^(L)by no means enter it.” ¹⁶ And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.

All Things Made New

21 Now ^(A)I saw a new heaven and a new earth, ^(B)for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. ² Then I, ^[a]John, saw ^(C)the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared ^(D)as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, ^(E)the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. ^4 (F)And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; ^(G)there shall be no more death, ^(H)nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

⁵ Then ^(I)He who sat on the throne said, ^(J)“Behold, I make all things new.” And He said ^[b]to me, “Write, for ^(K)these words are true and faithful.”

⁶ And He said to me, ^(L)“It^[c] is done! ^(M)I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. ^(N)I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. ⁷ He who overcomes ^[d]shall inherit all things, and ^(O)I will be his God and he shall be My son. ^8 (P)But the cowardly, ^[e]unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in ^(Q)the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

The New Jerusalem^(R)

⁹ Then one of ^(S)the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came ^[f]to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you ^(T)the ^[g]bride, the Lamb’s wife.” ¹⁰ And he carried me away ^(U)in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me ^(V)the ^[h]great city, the ^[i]holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, ^11 (W)having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. ¹² Also she had a great and high wall with ^(X)twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: ^13 (Y)three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.

¹⁴ Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and ^(Z)on them were the ^[j]names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. ¹⁵ And he who talked with me ^(AA)had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. ¹⁶ The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand ^[k]furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. ¹⁷ Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.