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Genesis 2:4-3:8
Contemporary English Version
Genesis 2:4-3:8
Contemporary English Version
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 (A) 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 (B) 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 (C) 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.
The First Sin
3 (D) The snake was sneakier than any of the other wild animals that the Lord God had made. One day it came to the woman and asked, “Did God tell you not to eat fruit from any tree in the garden?”
2 The woman answered, “God said we could eat fruit from any tree in the garden, 3 except the one in the middle. He told us not to eat fruit from that tree or even to touch it. If we do, we will die.”
4 “No, you won't!” the snake replied. 5 “God understands what will happen on the day you eat fruit from that tree. You will see what you have done, and you will know the difference between right and wrong, just as God does.”
6 The woman stared at the fruit. It looked beautiful and tasty. She wanted the wisdom that it would give her, and she ate some of the fruit. Her husband was there with her, so she gave some to him, and he ate it too. 7 At once they saw what they had done, and they realized they were naked. Then they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.
8 Late in the afternoon, when the breeze began to blow, the man and woman heard the Lord God walking in the garden. So they hid behind some trees.
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 2:4-3:8
New International Version
Genesis 2:4-3:8
New International Version
Adam and Eve
4 This is the account(A) of the heavens and the earth when they were created,(B) when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
5 Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth[a] and no plant had yet sprung up,(C) for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth(D) and there was no one to work the ground, 6 but streams[b] came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7 Then the Lord God formed(E) a man[c](F) from the dust(G) of the ground(H) and breathed into his nostrils the breath(I) of life,(J) and the man became a living being.(K)
8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden;(L) and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees(M) that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life(N) and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.(O)
10 A river(P) watering the garden flowed from Eden;(Q) from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah,(R) where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin[d](S) and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush.[e] 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris;(T) it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.(U)
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden(V) to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;(W) 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,(X) for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”(Y)
18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”(Z)
19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals(AA) and all the birds in the sky.(AB) He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called(AC) each living creature,(AD) that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.
But for Adam[f] no suitable helper(AE) was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep;(AF) and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs[g] and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib[h](AG) he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
23 The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;(AH)
she shall be called(AI) ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.(AJ)”
24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united(AK) to his wife, and they become one flesh.(AL)
25 Adam and his wife were both naked,(AM) and they felt no shame.
The Fall
3 Now the serpent(AN) was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?(AO)”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,(AP) 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”(AQ)
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.(AR) 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,(AS) knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable(AT) for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband,(AU) who was with her, and he ate it.(AV) 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked;(AW) so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.(AX)
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking(AY) in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid(AZ) from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
Footnotes
- Genesis 2:5 Or land; also in verse 6
- Genesis 2:6 Or mist
- Genesis 2:7 The Hebrew for man (adam) sounds like and may be related to the Hebrew for ground (adamah); it is also the name Adam (see verse 20).
- Genesis 2:12 Or good; pearls
- Genesis 2:13 Possibly southeast Mesopotamia
- Genesis 2:20 Or the man
- Genesis 2:21 Or took part of the man’s side
- Genesis 2:22 Or part
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
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