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The First Sin and Its Punishment
3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?”(A) 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’ ”(B) 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die,(C) 5 for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,[a] knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.(D) 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.(E) 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”(F) 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.”(G) 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.”(H) 14 The Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
cursed are you among all animals
and among all wild creatures;
upon your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.(I)
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman
and between your offspring and hers;
he will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel.”(J)
16 To the woman he said,
“I will make your pangs in childbirth exceedingly great;
in pain you shall bring forth children,
yet your desire shall be for your husband,
and he shall rule over you.”(K)
17 And to the man[b] he said,
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree
about which I commanded you,
‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life;(L)
18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.(M)
19 By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread
until you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.”(N)
20 The man named his wife Eve[c] because she was the mother of all living. 21 And the Lord God made garments of skins for the man[d] and for his wife and clothed them.
22 Then the Lord God said, “See, the humans have become like one of us, knowing good and evil, and now they might reach out their hands and take also from the tree of life and eat and live forever”(O)— 23 therefore the Lord God sent them forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which they were taken.(P) 24 He drove out the humans, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a sword flaming and turning to guard the way to the tree of life.(Q)
Cain Murders Abel
4 Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain,[e] saying, “I have produced a man with the help of the Lord.” 2 Next she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground.(R) 3 In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground,(S) 4 and Abel for his part brought of the firstlings of his flock, their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering,(T) 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.(U) 6 The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
8 Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out to the field.”[f] And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.(V) 9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 And the Lord said, “What have you done? Listen, your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground!(W) 11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you till the ground, it will no longer yield to you its strength; you will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”(X) 13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear! 14 Today you have driven me away from the soil, and I shall be hidden from your face; I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and anyone who meets me may kill me.”(Y) 15 Then the Lord said to him, “Not so![g] Whoever kills Cain will suffer a sevenfold vengeance.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, so that no one who came upon him would kill him.(Z) 16 Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod,[h] east of Eden.
Beginnings of Civilization
17 Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch, and he built a city and named it Enoch after his son Enoch.(AA) 18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael the father of Methushael, and Methushael the father of Lamech.(AB) 19 Lamech took two wives; the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. 20 Adah bore Jabal; he was the ancestor of those who live in tents and have livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the ancestor of all those who play the lyre and pipe. 22 Zillah bore Tubal-cain, who made all kinds of bronze and iron tools. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.
23 Lamech said to his wives:
“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say:
I have killed a man for wounding me,
a young man for striking me.(AC)
24 If Cain is avenged sevenfold,
truly Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”(AD)
25 Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth,[i] for she said, “God has appointed for me another child instead of Abel, because Cain killed him.”(AE) 26 To Seth also a son was born, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to invoke the name of the Lord.(AF)
The Escape to Egypt
13 Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”(A) 14 Then Joseph[a] got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt(B) 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”
The Massacre of the Infants
16 When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi,[b] he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the magi.[c] 17 Then what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
wailing and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”(C)
The Return from Egypt
19 When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, 20 “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” 21 Then Joseph[d] got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee.(D) 23 There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazarene.”[e](E)
The Proclamation of John the Baptist
3 In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”[f](F) 3 This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,
“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.’ ”(G)
4 Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.(H) 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins.(I)
Psalm 2
God’s Promise to His Anointed
1 Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?(A)
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and his anointed, saying,(B)
3 “Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord has them in derision.(C)
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath
and terrify them in his fury, saying,(D)
6 “I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.”(E)
7 I will tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to me, “You are my son;
today I have begotten you.(F)
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage
and the ends of the earth your possession.(G)
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”(H)
10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear;
with trembling(I) 12 kiss his feet,[a]
or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Happy are all who take refuge in him.(J)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.