^4 [a](A)This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in ^(B)the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven. ^5 (C)Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, ^(D)for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to ^[b]cultivate the ground. ⁶ But a ^[c]mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole ^[d]surface of the ground. ⁷ Then the Lord God formed man of ^(E)dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and ^(F)man became a living ^[e]being. ⁸ The Lord God planted a ^(G)garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. ⁹ Out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow ^(H)every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; ^(I)the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

¹⁰ Now a ^(J)river ^[f]flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four ^[g]rivers. ¹¹ The name of the first is Pishon; it ^[h]flows around the whole land of ^(K)Havilah, where there is gold. ¹² The gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there. ¹³ The name of the second river is Gihon; it ^[i]flows around the whole land of Cush. ¹⁴ The name of the third river is ^[j](L)Tigris; it ^[k]flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the ^[l](M)Euphrates.

¹⁵ Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. ¹⁶ The Lord God ^(N)commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; ¹⁷ but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not ^[m]eat, for in the day that you eat from it ^(O)you will surely die.”

¹⁸ Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; ^(P)I will make him a helper ^[n]suitable for him.” ^19 (Q)Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the ^[o]sky, and ^(R)brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the ^[p]sky, and to every beast of the field, but for ^[q]Adam there was not found ^(S)a helper ^[r]suitable for him. ²¹ So the Lord God caused a ^(T)deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. ²² The Lord God ^[s]fashioned into a woman ^(U)the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. ²³ The man said,

^24 (W)For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. ^25 (X)And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

The Fall of Man

3 Now ^(A)the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from ^[a]any tree of the garden’?” ² The woman said to the serpent, “^(B)From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; ³ but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” ^4 (C)The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! ⁵ For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and ^(D)you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ^6 (E)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 desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they ^(F)knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves ^[b]loin coverings.

⁸ They heard the sound of ^(G)the Lord God walking in the garden in the ^[c]cool of the day, ^(H)and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “^(I)Where are you?” ¹⁰ He said, “^(J)I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” ¹¹ And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” ^12 (K)The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.” ¹³ Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “^(L)The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” ¹⁴ The Lord God said to the serpent,

¹⁷ Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’;