Old/New Testament
The First Family
4 Adam had intimate relations with his wife Eve. She became pregnant and gave birth to Cain.[a] Eve said, “With the Lord’s help, I have given birth to a man.” 2 After that, Eve gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel. Abel took care of sheep. Cain became a farmer.
3 Later, Cain brought a gift to God. He brought some food from the ground. 4 Abel brought the best parts of his best sheep. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift. 5 But God did not accept Cain and his gift. Cain became very angry and looked unhappy.
6 The Lord asked Cain, “Why are you angry? Why do you look so unhappy? 7 If you do good, I will accept you. But if you do not do good, sin is ready to attack you. Sin wants you. But you must rule over it.”
8 Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out into the field.” So Cain and Abel went into the field. Then Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
9 Later, the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
Cain answered, “I don’t know. Is it my job to take care of my brother?”
10 Then the Lord said, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood is on the ground. That blood is like a voice that tells me what happened. 11 And now you will be cursed in your work with the ground. It is the same ground where your brother’s blood fell. Your hands killed him. 12 You will work the ground. But it will not grow good crops for you anymore. You will wander around on the earth.”
13 Then Cain said to the Lord, “This punishment is more than I can stand! 14 Look! You have forced me to stop working the ground. And now I must hide from you. I will wander around on the earth. And anyone who meets me can kill me.”
15 Then the Lord said to Cain, “No! If anyone kills you, I will punish that person seven times more.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain. It was a warning to anyone who met him not to kill him.
Cain’s Family
16 Then Cain went away from the Lord. Cain lived in the land of Nod,[b] east of Eden. 17 Cain had intimate relations with his wife. She became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. At that time Cain was building a city. He named it after his son Enoch. 18 Enoch had a son named Irad. Irad had a son named Mehujael. Mehujael had a son named Methushael. And Methushael had a son named Lamech.
19 Lamech married two women. One wife was named Adah, and the other was Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal. He was the first person to live in tents and raise cattle. 21 Jabal’s brother was Jubal. Jubal was the first person to play the harp and flute. 22 Zillah gave birth to Tubal-Cain. He made tools out of bronze and iron. 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 killed a man for wounding me.
I killed a young man for hitting me.
24 Cain’s killer may be punished 7 times.
Then Lamech’s killer will be punished 77 times.”
Adam and Eve Have a New Son
25 Adam had intimate relations with his wife Eve again. And she gave birth to a son. She named him Seth.[c] Eve said, “God has given me another child. He will take the place of Abel, who was killed by Cain.” 26 Seth also had a son. They named him Enosh. At that time people began to pray to the Lord.
Adam’s Family History
5 This is the family history of Adam. When God created human beings, he made them in God’s likeness. 2 He created them male and female. And on that day he blessed them and named them human beings.
3 When Adam was 130 years old, he became the father of another son. He was in the likeness and image of Adam. Adam named him Seth. 4 After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years. During that time he had other sons and daughters. 5 So Adam lived a total of 930 years. Then he died.
6 When Seth was 105 years old, he had a son named Enosh. 7 After Enosh was born, Seth lived 807 years. During that time he had other sons and daughters. 8 So Seth lived a total of 912 years. Then he died.
9 When Enosh was 90 years old, he had a son named Kenan. 10 After Kenan was born, Enosh lived 815 years. During that time he had other sons and daughters. 11 So Enosh lived a total of 905 years. Then he died.
12 When Kenan was 70 years old, he had a son named Mahalalel. 13 After Mahalalel was born, Kenan lived 840 years. During that time he had other sons and daughters. 14 So Kenan lived a total of 910 years. Then he died.
15 When Mahalalel was 65 years old, he had a son named Jared. 16 After Jared was born, Mahalalel lived 830 years. During that time he had other sons and daughters. 17 So Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years. Then he died.
18 When Jared was 162 years old, he had a son named Enoch. 19 After Enoch was born, Jared lived 800 years. During that time he had other sons and daughters. 20 So Jared lived a total of 962 years. Then he died.
21 When Enoch was 65 years old, he had a son named Methuselah. 22 After Methuselah was born, Enoch walked with God 300 years more. During that time he had other sons and daughters. 23 So Enoch lived a total of 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God. One day Enoch could not be found, because God took him.
25 When Methuselah was 187 years old, he had a son named Lamech. 26 After Lamech was born, Methuselah lived 782 years. During that time he had other sons and daughters. 27 So Methuselah lived a total of 969 years. Then he died.
28 When Lamech was 182, he had a son. 29 Lamech named his son Noah.[d] Lamech said, “Noah will comfort us from the pain of our work. The pain is because God has cursed the ground.” 30 After Noah was born, Lamech lived 595 years. During that time he had other sons and daughters. 31 So Lamech lived a total of 777 years. Then he died.
32 After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth.
The Human Race Becomes Evil
6 The number of people on earth began to grow. Daughters were born to these people. 2 The sons of God saw that these girls were beautiful. And they married any of them they chose. 3 The Lord said, “My Spirit will not remain in human beings forever. This is because they are flesh. They will live only 120 years.”
4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days and also later. That was when the sons of God had physical relations with the daughters of men. These women gave birth to children, who became famous. They were the mighty warriors of long ago.
5 The Lord saw that the human beings on the earth were very wicked. He also saw that their thoughts were only about evil all the time. 6 The Lord was sorry he had made human beings on the earth. His heart was filled with pain. 7 So the Lord said, “I will destroy all human beings that I made on the earth. And I will destroy every animal and everything that crawls on the earth. I will also destroy the birds of the air. This is because I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah pleased the Lord.
Noah and the Great Flood
9 This is the family history of Noah. Noah was a good man. He was the most innocent man of his time. He walked with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
11 People on earth did what God said was evil. Violence was everywhere. 12 And God saw this evil. All people on the earth did only evil. 13 So God said to Noah, “People have made the earth full of violence. So I will destroy all people from the earth. 14 Build a boat of cypress wood for yourself. Make rooms in it and cover it inside and outside with tar. 15 This is how big I want you to build the boat: 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. 16 Make an opening around the top of the boat. Make it 18 inches high from the edge of the roof down. Put a door in the side of the boat. Make an upper, middle and lower deck in it. 17 I will bring a flood of water on the earth. I will destroy all living things that live under the sky. This includes everything that has the breath of life. Everything on the earth will die. 18 But I will make an agreement with you. You, your sons, your wife and your sons’ wives will all go into the boat. 19 Also, you must bring into the boat two of every living thing, male and female. Keep them alive with you. 20 There will be two of every kind of bird, animal and crawling thing. They will come to you to be kept alive. 21 Also gather some of every kind of food. Store it on the boat as food for you and the animals.”
22 Noah did everything that God commanded him.
Wise Men Come to Visit Jesus
2 Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea during the time when Herod was king. After Jesus was born, some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem. 2 They asked, “Where is the baby who was born to be the king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east. We came to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard about this new king of the Jews, he was troubled. And all the people in Jerusalem were worried too. 4 Herod called a meeting of all the leading priests and teachers of the law. He asked them where the Christ would be born. 5 They answered, “In the town of Bethlehem in Judea. The prophet wrote about this in the Scriptures:
6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
you are important among the rulers of Judah.
A ruler will come from you.
He will be like a shepherd for my people, the Israelites.’” Micah 5:2
7 Then Herod had a secret meeting with the wise men from the east. He learned from them the exact time they first saw the star. 8 Then Herod sent the wise men to Bethlehem. He said to them, “Go and look carefully to find the child. When you find him, come tell me. Then I can go worship him too.”
9 The wise men heard the king and then left. They saw the same star they had seen in the east. It went before them until it stopped above the place where the child was. 10 When the wise men saw the star, they were filled with joy. 11 They went to the house where the child was and saw him with his mother, Mary. They bowed down and worshiped the child. They opened the gifts they brought for him. They gave him treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 But God warned the wise men in a dream not to go back to Herod. So they went home to their own country by a different way.
Jesus’ Parents Take Him to Egypt
13 After they left, an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream. The angel said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Herod will start looking for the child to kill him. Stay in Egypt until I tell you to return.”
14 So Joseph got up and left for Egypt during the night with the child and his mother. 15 Joseph stayed in Egypt until Herod died. This was to make clear the full meaning of what the Lord had said through the prophet. The Lord said, “I called my son out of Egypt.”[a]
Herod Kills the Baby Boys
16 When Herod saw that the wise men had tricked him, he was very angry. So he gave an order to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem and in all the area around Bethlehem who were two years old or younger. This was in keeping with the time he learned from the wise men. 17 So what God had said through the prophet Jeremiah came true:
18 “A sound was heard in Ramah.
It was painful crying and much sadness.
Rachel cries for her children,
and she cannot be comforted,
because her children are dead.” Jeremiah 31:15
Joseph and Mary Return
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream. This happened while Joseph was in Egypt. 20 The angel said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother and go to Israel. The people who were trying to kill the child are now dead.”
21 So Joseph took the child and his mother and went to Israel. 22 But he heard that Archelaus was now king in Judea. Archelaus became king when his father Herod died. So Joseph was afraid to go there. After being warned in a dream, he went to the area of Galilee. 23 He went to a town called Nazareth and lived there. And so what God had said through the prophets came true: “He will be called a Nazarene.”[b]
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.