²⁶ Then God said, “Let us^(A) make man^[a] in^[b] our image, according to our likeness.^(B) They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl^[c] on the earth.”^(C)

²⁸ God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth,^(E) and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.” ²⁹ God also said, “Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This will be food for you,^{(F) 30} for all the wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth—everything having the breath of life in it—I have given^[d] every green plant for food.”^(G) And it was so. ³¹ God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed.^(H) Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.

The Temptation and the Fall

3 Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?” ^(A)

² The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. ³ But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’”^(B)

⁴ “No! You will certainly not die,” the serpent said to the woman.^{(C) 5} “In fact, God knows that when^[a] you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ⁶ The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.^{(D) 7} Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Sin’s Consequences

⁸ Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze,^[b] and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.^{(E) 9} So the Lord God called out to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

¹⁰ And he said, “I heard you^[c] in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”

¹¹ Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

¹² The man replied,^(F) “The woman you gave to be with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate.”

¹³ So the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?”

And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”^(G)

¹⁴ So the Lord God said to the serpent:

¹⁵ This saying is trustworthy^(A) and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world^(B) to save sinners”^(C)—and I am the worst of them.^{(D) 16} But I received mercy^(E) for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate his extraordinary patience^(F) as an example to those who would believe in him for eternal life.^{(G) 17} Now to the King^(H) eternal,^(I) immortal,^(J) invisible, the only^[a] God,^(K) be honor^(L) and glory^(M) forever and ever. Amen.^(N)