⁶ But ‘God made them male and female’^[a] from the beginning of creation.

² He created them male and female, and he blessed them and called them “human.”

⁴ They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.”

¹⁴ You cry out, “Why doesn’t the Lord accept my worship?” I’ll tell you why! Because the Lord witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows.

¹⁵ Didn’t the Lord make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are his.^[a] And what does he want? Godly children from your union. So guard your heart; remain loyal to the wife of your youth. ¹⁶ “For I hate divorce!”^[b] says the Lord, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,^[c]” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.”

The Account of Creation

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.^[a]

¹⁹ For there will be greater anguish in those days than at any time since God created the world. And it will never be so great again.

²⁰ He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him.

²¹ So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs^[a] and closed up the opening. ²² Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man.

²³ “At last!” the man exclaimed.