The Creation

(A)In the beginning (B)God (C)created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was a [a](D)formless and desolate emptiness, and (E)darkness was over the [b]surface of the deep, and (F)the Spirit of God (G)was hovering over the [c]surface of the waters. Then (H)God said, “[d]Let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was (I)good; and God (J)separated the light from the darkness. (K)God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And (L)there was evening and there was morning, one day.

Then God said, “Let there be [e]an (M)expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” God made the [f]expanse, and separated (N)the waters that were below the [g]expanse from the waters (O)that were above the [h]expanse; and it was so. God called the [i]expanse “heaven.” And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

Then God said, “(P)Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let (Q)the dry land appear”; and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land “earth,” and the (R)gathering of the waters He called “seas”; and God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, “Let the earth sprout [j](S)vegetation, [k]plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit according to [l]their kind [m]with seed in them”; and it was so. 12 The earth produced [n]vegetation, [o]plants yielding seed according to [p]their kind, and trees bearing fruit [q]with seed in them, according to [r]their kind; and God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.

14 Then God said, “Let there be [s](T)lights in the [t](U)expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and they shall [u]serve as (V)signs and for (W)seasons, and for days and years; 15 and they [v]shall serve as lights in the [w]expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. 16 God made the two great lights, the (X)greater light [x]to govern the day, and the lesser light [y]to govern the night; He made (Y)the stars also. 17 (Z)God placed them in the [z]expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and [aa]to (AA)govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

20 Then God said, “Let the waters [ab]teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth [ac]in the open [ad]expanse of the heavens.” 21 And God created (AB)the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind; and God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

24 (AC)Then God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures according to [ae]their kind: livestock and crawling things and animals of the earth according to [af]their kind”; and it was so. 25 God made the (AD)animals of the earth according to [ag]their kind, and the livestock according to [ah]their kind, and everything that crawls on the ground according to its kind; and God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, “[ai]Let (AE)Us make (AF)mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and [aj]let them (AG)rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth.” 27 So God created man (AH)in His own image, in the image of God He created him; (AI)male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “(AJ)Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that [ak]moves on the earth.” 29 Then God said, “Behold, (AK)I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the [al]surface of all the earth, and every tree [am]which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; 30 and (AL)to every animal of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to everything that [an]moves on the earth [ao]which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so. 31 And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very (AM)good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

And so the heavens and the earth were completed, and all (AN)their heavenly [ap]lights. By (AO)the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and (AP)He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it He rested from all His work which God had created [aq]and made.

The Creation of Man and Woman

[ar](AQ)This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in (AR)the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven. (AS)Now no shrub of the field was yet on the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, (AT)for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to [as]cultivate the ground. But a [at]mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole [au]surface of the ground. Then the Lord God formed the man of (AU)dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the (AV)man became a living [av]person. The Lord God planted a (AW)garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God caused (AX)every tree to grow that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; (AY)the tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

10 Now a (AZ)river [aw]flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four [ax]rivers. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it [ay]flows around the whole land of (BA)Havilah, where there is gold. 12 The gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there as well. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it [az]flows around the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is [ba](BB)Tigris; it [bb]flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the [bc](BC)Euphrates.

15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and tend it. 16 The Lord God (BD)commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not [bd]eat, for on the day that you eat from it (BE)you will certainly die.”

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; (BF)I will make him a helper [be]suitable for him.” 19 (BG)And out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the sky, and (BH)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 livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every animal of the field, but for [bf]Adam there was not found (BI)a helper [bg]suitable for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a (BJ)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 And the Lord God [bh]fashioned into a woman (BK)the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,

(BL)At last this is bone of my bones,
And flesh of my flesh;
[bi]She shall be called [bj]‘woman,’
Because [bk]she was taken out of [bl]man.”

24 (BM)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 (BN)And the man and his wife were both naked, but they were not ashamed.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 1:2 Or waste
  2. Genesis 1:2 Lit face of
  3. Genesis 1:2 Lit face of
  4. Genesis 1:3 I.e., a command, not a request; and so throughout the ch
  5. Genesis 1:6 Or a firmament; i.e., atmosphere and space
  6. Genesis 1:7 Or firmament
  7. Genesis 1:7 Or firmament
  8. Genesis 1:7 Or firmament
  9. Genesis 1:8 Or firmament
  10. Genesis 1:11 Or grass
  11. Genesis 1:11 Or herbs
  12. Genesis 1:11 Lit its
  13. Genesis 1:11 Lit in which is its seed
  14. Genesis 1:12 Or grass
  15. Genesis 1:12 Or herbs
  16. Genesis 1:12 Lit its
  17. Genesis 1:12 Lit in which is its seed
  18. Genesis 1:12 Lit its
  19. Genesis 1:14 Or luminaries, light-bearers, and so throughout the ch
  20. Genesis 1:14 Or firmament; i.e., atmosphere and space
  21. Genesis 1:14 Lit be for
  22. Genesis 1:15 Lit be for
  23. Genesis 1:15 Or firmament
  24. Genesis 1:16 Lit for the dominion of
  25. Genesis 1:16 Lit for the dominion of
  26. Genesis 1:17 Or firmament
  27. Genesis 1:18 Lit for the dominion of
  28. Genesis 1:20 Or swarm
  29. Genesis 1:20 Lit on the face of
  30. Genesis 1:20 Or firmament
  31. Genesis 1:24 Lit its
  32. Genesis 1:24 Lit its
  33. Genesis 1:25 Lit its
  34. Genesis 1:25 Lit its
  35. Genesis 1:26 I.e., indicating united action, not a request
  36. Genesis 1:26 I.e., have them rule
  37. Genesis 1:28 Or crawls
  38. Genesis 1:29 Lit face of
  39. Genesis 1:29 Lit in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed
  40. Genesis 1:30 Or crawls
  41. Genesis 1:30 Lit in which is living breath
  42. Genesis 2:1 Lit host i.e., sun, stars, etc.
  43. Genesis 2:3 Lit to make
  44. Genesis 2:4 Lit These are the generations
  45. Genesis 2:5 Lit work, serve
  46. Genesis 2:6 Or flow
  47. Genesis 2:6 Lit face of
  48. Genesis 2:7 Or soul
  49. Genesis 2:10 Lit was going out
  50. Genesis 2:10 Lit heads
  51. Genesis 2:11 Lit surrounds
  52. Genesis 2:13 Lit is the one surrounding
  53. Genesis 2:14 Heb Hiddekel
  54. Genesis 2:14 Lit is the one going
  55. Genesis 2:14 Heb Perath
  56. Genesis 2:17 Lit eat from it
  57. Genesis 2:18 Lit corresponding to
  58. Genesis 2:20 Or man
  59. Genesis 2:20 Lit corresponding to
  60. Genesis 2:22 Lit built
  61. Genesis 2:23 Lit This one
  62. Genesis 2:23 Heb ishshah
  63. Genesis 2:23 Lit This one
  64. Genesis 2:23 Heb ish

The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah

The [a]record of the genealogy of [b]Jesus the [c]Messiah, (A)the son of David, (B)the son of Abraham:

Abraham fathered Isaac, Isaac fathered Jacob, and Jacob fathered [d]Judah and his brothers. Judah fathered Perez and Zerah by Tamar, (C)Perez fathered Hezron, and Hezron fathered [e]Ram. Ram fathered Amminadab, Amminadab fathered Nahshon, and Nahshon fathered Salmon. Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab, Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth, and Obed fathered Jesse. Jesse fathered David the king.

David (D)fathered Solomon by [f]her who had been the wife of Uriah. Solomon (E)fathered Rehoboam, Rehoboam fathered Abijah, and Abijah fathered [g]Asa. Asa fathered Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat fathered [h]Joram, and Joram fathered Uzziah. Uzziah fathered [i]Jotham, Jotham fathered Ahaz, and Ahaz fathered Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah fathered Manasseh, Manasseh fathered [j]Amon, and Amon (F)fathered Josiah. 11 Josiah fathered [k]Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the (G)deportation to Babylon.

12 After the (H)deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah fathered [l]Shealtiel, and Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel. 13 Zerubbabel fathered [m]Abihud, Abihud fathered Eliakim, and Eliakim fathered Azor. 14 Azor fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Achim, and Achim fathered Eliud. 15 Eliud fathered Eleazar, Eleazar fathered Matthan, and Matthan fathered Jacob. 16 Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, (I)who is called the [n]Messiah.

17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the (J)deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the (K)deportation to Babylon to the [o]Messiah, fourteen generations.

Conception and Birth of Jesus

18 Now the birth of Jesus the [p]Messiah was as follows: when His (L)mother Mary had been [q]betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was (M)found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, since he was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her, planned to [r](N)send her away secretly. 20 But when he had thought this over, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “(O)Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for [s]the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a Son; and (P)you shall name Him Jesus, for [t]He (Q)will save His people from their sins.” 22 Now all this [u]took place so that what was (R)spoken by the Lord through [v]the prophet would be fulfilled: 23 (S)Behold, the virgin will [w](T)conceive and give birth to a Son, and they shall name Him [x]Immanuel,” which translated means, “(U)God with us.” 24 And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, 25 [y]but kept her a virgin until she (V)gave birth to a Son; and (W)he named Him Jesus.

The Visit of the Magi

Now after Jesus was (X)born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of (Y)Herod the king, behold, [z]magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born (Z)King of the Jews? For we saw (AA)His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the [aa]Messiah was to be born. They said to him, “(AB)In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written [ab]by [ac]the prophet:

(AC)And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah;
For from you will come forth a Ruler
Who will (AD)shepherd My people Israel.’”

Then Herod secretly called for the magi and determined from them the exact [ad]time (AE)the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” After hearing the king, they went on their way; and behold, the star, which they had seen in the east, went on ahead of them until it came to a stop over the place where the Child was to be found. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And after they came into the house, they saw the Child with (AF)His mother Mary; and they fell down and [ae](AG)worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And after being (AH)warned by God (AI)in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 1:1 Lit book
  2. Matthew 1:1 In Heb Yeshua (Joshua), meaning The Lord is salvation
  3. Matthew 1:1 From Gr Christos, which means Messiah (Heb for Anointed One)
  4. Matthew 1:2 Gr Judas; a name of a person in the Old Testament is given in its Old Testament form
  5. Matthew 1:3 Gr Aram
  6. Matthew 1:6 I.e., Bathsheba
  7. Matthew 1:7 Gr Asaph
  8. Matthew 1:8 Also Gr for Jehoram in 2 Kin 8:16; cf. 1 Chr 3:11
  9. Matthew 1:9 Gr Joatham
  10. Matthew 1:10 Gr Amos
  11. Matthew 1:11 Jehoiachin in 2 Kin 24:15
  12. Matthew 1:12 Gr Salathiel
  13. Matthew 1:13 Gr Abioud, usually spelled Abiud
  14. Matthew 1:16 From Gr Christos, which means Messiah (Heb for Anointed One)
  15. Matthew 1:17 See note v 16
  16. Matthew 1:18 See note v 16
  17. Matthew 1:18 Unlike engagement, a betrothed couple was considered married, but did not yet live together
  18. Matthew 1:19 Or divorce her
  19. Matthew 1:20 Lit that which
  20. Matthew 1:21 Lit He Himself
  21. Matthew 1:22 Lit has happened
  22. Matthew 1:22 I.e., Isaiah
  23. Matthew 1:23 Or be pregnant
  24. Matthew 1:23 Gr Emmanuel
  25. Matthew 1:25 Lit and did not know her intimately
  26. Matthew 2:1 A caste of educated men specializing in astronomy, astrology, and natural science
  27. Matthew 2:4 From Gr Christos, which means Messiah (Heb for Anointed One)
  28. Matthew 2:5 Or through
  29. Matthew 2:5 I.e., Micah
  30. Matthew 2:7 Lit time of the appearing star
  31. Matthew 2:11 Lit prostrated themselves to; i.e., lay face down in a prone position to indicate worship

BOOK 1

The Righteous and the Wicked Contrasted.

Blessed is the person who (A)does not walk in the (B)counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the [a](C)path of sinners,
Nor (D)sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his (E)delight is (F)in the Law of the Lord,
And on His Law he meditates (G)day and (H)night.
He will be like (I)a tree planted by [b]streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season,
And its [c]leaf does not wither;
And [d]in whatever he does, (J)he prospers.

The wicked are not so,
But they are like (K)chaff which the wind blows away.
Therefore (L)the wicked will not stand in the (M)judgment,
Nor sinners in (N)the assembly of the righteous.
For the Lord [e](O)knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of (P)the wicked will perish.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 1:1 Or way
  2. Psalm 1:3 Or canals
  3. Psalm 1:3 Or foliage
  4. Psalm 1:3 Or all that he does prospers
  5. Psalm 1:6 Or approves; or has regard to

The Usefulness of Proverbs

The (A)proverbs of Solomon (B)the son of David, king of Israel:

To know (C)wisdom and instruction,
To discern the sayings of (D)understanding,
To (E)receive instruction in wise behavior,
(F)Righteousness, justice, and integrity;
To give (G)prudence to the naive,
To the youth (H)knowledge and discretion,
A wise person will hear and (I)increase in learning,
And a (J)person of understanding will acquire wise counsel,
To understand a proverb and a saying,
The words of the wise and their (K)riddles.

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