Genesis 2
Common English Bible
2 The heavens and the earth and all who live in them were completed. 2 On the sixth [a] day God completed all the work that he had done, and on the seventh day God rested from all the work that he had done. 3 God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all the work of creation.[b] 4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
World’s creation in the garden
On the day the Lord God made earth and sky— 5 before any wild plants appeared on the earth, and before any field crops grew, because the Lord God hadn’t yet sent rain on the earth and there was still no human being[c] to farm the fertile land, 6 though a stream rose from the earth and watered all of the fertile land— 7 the Lord God formed the human[d] from the topsoil of the fertile land[e] and blew life’s breath into his nostrils. The human came to life. 8 The Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east and put there the human he had formed. 9 In the fertile land, the Lord God grew every beautiful tree with edible fruit, and also he grew the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 A river flows from Eden to water the garden, and from there it divides into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first river is the Pishon. It flows around the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 That land’s gold is pure, and the land also has sweet-smelling resins and gemstones. [f] 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon. It flows around the entire land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris, flowing east of Assyria; and the name of the fourth river is the Euphrates.
15 The Lord God took the human and settled him in the garden of Eden to farm it and to take care of it. 16 The Lord God commanded the human, “Eat your fill from all of the garden’s trees; 17 but don’t eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because on the day you eat from it, you will die!” 18 Then the Lord God said, “It’s not good that the human is alone. I will make him a helper that is perfect for him.” 19 So the Lord God formed from the fertile land all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky and brought them to the human to see what he would name them. The human gave each living being its name. 20 The human named all the livestock, all the birds in the sky, and all the wild animals. But a helper perfect for him was nowhere to be found.
21 So the Lord God put the human into a deep and heavy sleep, and took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh over it. 22 With the rib taken from the human, the Lord God fashioned a woman and brought her to the human being. 23 The human[g] said,
“This one finally is bone from my bones
and flesh from my flesh.
She will be called a woman[h]
because from a man[i] she was taken.”
24 This is the reason that a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife, and they become one flesh. 25 The two of them were naked, the man and his wife, but they weren’t embarrassed.
Footnotes
- Genesis 2:2 LXX, Sam, Syr; MT seventh
- Genesis 2:3 Or from all his work, which God created to do
- Genesis 2:5 Or man (Heb adam)
- Genesis 2:7 Heb adam
- Genesis 2:7 Heb adamah
- Genesis 2:12 Heb uncertain
- Genesis 2:23 Or man (Heb adam)
- Genesis 2:23 Or wife (Heb ishshah)
- Genesis 2:23 Or husband (Heb ish)
Genesis 2
Contemporary English Version
2 So the heavens and the earth and everything else were created.
The Seventh Day
2 (A)(B) By the seventh day God had finished his work, and so he rested. 3 God blessed the seventh day and made it special, because on that day he rested from his work.
4 That's how God created the heavens and the earth.
The Garden of Eden
When the Lord God made the heavens and the earth, 5 no grass or plants were growing anywhere. God had not yet sent any rain, and there was no one to work the land. 6 But streams[a] came up from the ground and watered the earth.
7 (C) The Lord God took some soil from the ground and made a man.[b] God breathed life into the man, and the man started breathing. 8 The Lord made a garden in a place called Eden, which was in the east, and he put the man there.
9 (D) The Lord God filled the garden with all kinds of beautiful trees and fruit trees. Two other trees were in the middle of the garden. One of these gave life—the other gave the wisdom to know the difference between right and wrong.
10 From Eden a river flowed out to water the garden, then it divided into four rivers. 11 The first one is the Pishon River that flows through the land of Havilah, 12 where pure gold, rare perfumes, and precious stones are found. 13 The second is the Gihon River that winds through Ethiopia.[c] 14 The Tigris River that flows east of Assyria is the third, and the fourth is the Euphrates River.
15 The Lord God put the man in the Garden of Eden to take care of it and to look after it. 16 But the Lord told him, “You may eat fruit from any tree in the garden, 17 except the one that has the power to let you know the difference between right and wrong. If you eat any fruit from that tree, you will die before the day is over!”
18 The Lord God said, “It isn't good for the man to live alone. I will make a suitable partner for him.” 19-20 So the Lord took some soil and made animals and birds. He brought them to the man to see what names he would give each of them. Then the man named the tame animals and the birds and the wild animals. That's how they got their names.
None of these was the right kind of partner for the man. 21 So the Lord God made him fall into a deep sleep, and he took out one of the man's ribs. Then after closing the man's side, 22 the Lord made a woman out of the rib.
The Lord God brought her to the man, 23 and the man exclaimed,
“Here is someone like me!
She is part of my body,
my own flesh and bones.
She came from me, a man.
So I will name her Woman!”[d]
24 (E) That's why a man will leave his own father and mother. He marries a woman, and the two of them become like one person.
25 Although the man and his wife were both naked, they were not ashamed.
Footnotes
- 2.6 streams: Or “mist.”
- 2.7 man: In Hebrew “man” comes from the same word as “ground.”
- 2.13 Ethiopia: The Hebrew text has “Cush,” which was a region south of Egypt that included parts of the present countries of Ethiopia and Sudan.
- 2.23 a man … Woman: In Hebrew the words “man” and “woman” are similar.
Genesis 2
New King James Version
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:
“This is now (AD)bone of my bones
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called [i]Woman,
Because she was (AE)taken out of [j]Man.”
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.
Footnotes
- Genesis 2:4 Heb. toledoth, lit. generations
- Genesis 2:14 Or Tigris
- Genesis 2:14 Heb. Ashshur
- Genesis 2:15 Or Adam
- Genesis 2:15 cultivate
- Genesis 2:17 Lit. dying you shall die
- Genesis 2:19 Or the man
- Genesis 2:22 Lit. built
- Genesis 2:23 Heb. Ishshah
- Genesis 2:23 Heb. Ish
- Genesis 2:24 Lit. cling
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
