Old/New Testament
Cain and Abel
4 Later, Adam[a] had sexual relations with[b] his wife Eve. She became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “I have given birth to[c] a male child—the Lord.”[d] 2 And she did it again, giving birth to his brother Abel. Abel shepherded flocks and Cain became a farmer.[e]
3 Later, after a while, Cain brought an offering to the Lord from the fruit that he had harvested,[f] 4 while Abel brought the best parts[g] of some of the firstborn from his flock. The Lord looked favorably upon Abel and his offering, 5 but he did not look favorably upon Cain and his offering.
When Cain became very upset and[h] depressed, 6 the Lord asked Cain, “Why are you so upset? Why are you[i] depressed? 7 If you do what is appropriate,[j] you’ll be accepted, won’t you? But if you don’t do what is appropriate,[k] sin is crouching near your doorway, turning toward you. Now as for you, will you take dominion over it?”[l]
8 Instead, Cain told his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the wilderness.”[m] When they were outside in the fields, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
9 Later, the Lord asked Cain, “Where’s your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he answered. “Am I my brother’s guardian?”
10 “What did you do?” God[n] asked. “Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. 11 Now you’re more cursed than the ground, which has opened[o] to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 Whenever you work the ground, it will no longer yield its produce to you, and you’ll wander throughout the earth as a fugitive.”
13 “My punishment is too great to bear,” Cain told the Lord. 14 “You’re driving me from the soil[p] today. I’ll be hidden from you, and I’ll wander throughout the earth as a fugitive. In the future,[q] whoever finds me will kill me.”
15 The Lord told him, “This won’t happen, because whoever kills you[r] will suffer seven times the vengeance.” Then the Lord placed a sign on Cain so that no one finding him would kill him. 16 After this, Cain left the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
From Cain to Lamech
17 Later, Cain had sexual relations with[s] his wife. She became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain[t] founded a city and named it after[u] his son Enoch. 18 Irad was born to Enoch. Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. 19 Later, Lamech married two wives. One was named Adah and the other was named[v] Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal, who became the ancestor of those who live in tents and herd[w] livestock. 21 His brother was named Jubal; he became the ancestor of all those who play the lyre and the flute. 22 Zillah gave birth to Tubal-cain, who became a forger of bronze and iron work. Tubal-cain’s sister was Naamah. 23 Lamech told his wives,
“Adah and Zillah, listen to what I have to say:
You wives of Lamech, hear what I’m announcing!
I’ve killed a man for wounding me,
a young man for bruising me.
24 For if Cain is being avenged seven times,
then Lamech will be avenged[x] 77 times.”
25 Later on, after Adam had sexual relations with[y] his wife, she gave birth to a son and named him[z] Seth, because
“God granted[aa] me another offspring to replace Abel,
since Cain murdered him.”
26 Seth also fathered a son, whom he named Enosh. At that time, profaning[ab] the name of the Lord began.
From Adam to Noah
5 This is the historical record[ac] of Adam’s[ad] generations.
When[ae] God created mankind,[af]
he made them in his own likeness.[ag]
2 Creating them male and female,
he blessed them
and called them humans[ah]
when[ai] he created them.
3 After Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son just like him,[aj] that is,[ak] according to his own likeness, and named him Seth. 4 Adam lived another 800 years, fathering other[al] sons and daughters after he had fathered Seth. 5 Adam lived a total[am] of 930 years, and then died.
6 When Seth had lived 105 years, he fathered Enosh. 7 After he fathered Enosh, Seth lived 807 years, fathering other sons and daughters. 8 Seth lived a total of 912 years, and then died.
9 When Enosh had lived 90 years, he fathered Kenan. 10 After he fathered Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years, fathering other sons and daughters. 11 Enosh lived a total of 905 years, and then died.
12 When Kenan had lived 70 years, he fathered Mahalalel. 13 After he fathered Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years, fathering other sons and daughters. 14 Kenan lived a total of 910 years, and then died.
15 When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he fathered Jared. 16 After he fathered Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years, fathering other sons and daughters. 17 Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years, and then died.
18 When Jared had lived 162 years, he fathered Enoch. 19 After he fathered Enoch, Jared lived 800 years, fathering other sons and daughters. 20 Jared lived a total of 962 years, and then died.
21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. 22 After he fathered Methuselah, Enoch communed[an] with God for 300 years and fathered other sons and daughters. 23 Enoch lived a total of 365 years, 24 communing[ao] with God—and then he was there no longer, because God had taken him.
25 When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he fathered Lamech. 26 After he fathered Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years, fathering other sons and daughters. 27 Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then died.
28 When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son, 29 whom he named Noah,[ap] because he said, “May this one comfort us from our work, from pain that is caused by our manual labor, and from the ground that the Lord has cursed.” 30 After he fathered Noah, Lamech lived 595 years, fathering other sons and daughters. 31 Lamech lived a total of 777 years, and then died.
32 After Noah had lived 500 years, he fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Human Corruption
6 Now after the population of human beings had increased throughout the[aq] earth, and daughters had been born to them, 2 some divine beings[ar] noticed how attractive human women[as] were, so they took wives for themselves from a selection that pleased them.[at] 3 So the Lord said, “My Spirit won’t remain[au] with human beings forever, because they’re truly mortal.[av] Their lifespan[aw] will be 120 years.”
4 The Nephilim[ax] were on the earth at that time[ay] (and also immediately afterward), when those divine beings[az] were having sexual relations with[ba] those human women,[bb] who gave birth to children for them. These children[bc] became the heroes and legendary figures of ancient times.[bd]
God Decides to Destroy the World
5 The Lord saw that human evil was growing more and more throughout the earth, with every inclination of people’s thoughts[be] becoming only evil on a continuous basis. 6 Then the Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and he was deeply grieved about that.[bf] 7 So the Lord said, “I will annihilate these human beings whom I’ve created from the[bg] earth, including people, animals, crawling things, and flying creatures, because I’m grieving that I made them.” 8 However, the Lord was pleased with Noah.
Noah Obeys God
9 These are the family records[bh] of Noah: Noah was a righteous man. Blameless during his times,[bi] Noah communed[bj] with God. 10 Noah fathered three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 By this time, the earth had become ruined in God’s opinion[bk] and filled with violence. 12 God looked at the earth, observing how corrupt its population had become, because the entire human race[bl] had corrupted itself.[bm] 13 So God announced to Noah, “I’ve decided to destroy every living thing on earth,[bn] because it has become filled with violence due to them. Look! I’m about to annihilate them, along with the earth. 14 So make yourself an ark out of cedar,[bo] constructing compartments in it, and cover it inside and out with tar. 15 Make the ark like this: 300 cubits[bp] long, 50 cubits[bq] wide, and 30 cubits[br] high. 16 Make a roof[bs] for the ark, and finish the walls[bt] to within one cubit[bu] from the top.[bv] Place the entrance in the side of the ark, and build a lower, a middle, and an upper deck.
17 “For my part, I’m about to flood the earth with water and destroy every living thing[bw] that breathes. Everything on earth will die. 18 However, I will establish my own covenant with you, and you are to enter the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives. 19 You are to bring two of every living thing[bx] into the ark so they may remain alive with you. They are to be male and female. 20 From birds according to their species,[by] from domestic animals according to their species,[bz] and from everything that crawls on the ground according to their species[ca]—two of everything will come to you so they may remain alive. 21 For your part, take some of the edible food and store it away—these stores will be food for you and the animals.”[cb]
22 Noah did all of this, precisely as[cc] God had commanded.
The Visit of the Wise Men
2 After Jesus had been born in Bethlehem of Judea during the reign[a] of King Herod, wise men[b] arrived in Jerusalem from the east 2 and asked, “Where is the one who was born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east[c] and have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, as was all of Jerusalem. 4 He called together all the high priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah[d] was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, because that is what was written by the prophet:
6 ‘O Bethlehem in the land of Judah,
you are by no means least among the rulers of Judah,
because from you will come a ruler
who will shepherd[e] my people Israel.’”[f]
7 Then Herod secretly called together the wise men, found out from them the time the star had appeared, 8 and sent them to Bethlehem. He told them,[g] “As you go, search carefully for the child. When you find him, tell me so that I, too, may go and worship him.”
9 After listening to the king, they set out, and the star they had seen in the east[h] went ahead of them until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were ecstatic with joy. 11 After they went into the house and saw the child with his mother Mary, they fell down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasure sacks and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 Having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they left for their own country by a different road.
The Escape to Egypt
13 After they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt,” he said. “Stay there until I tell you, because Herod intends to search for the child and kill him.” 14 So Joseph[i] got up, took the child and his mother, and left at night for Egypt. 15 He stayed there until Herod’s death in order to fulfill what was declared by the Lord[j] through the prophet when he said, “Out of Egypt I called my Son.”[k]
The Massacre of the Infants
16 Herod flew into a rage when he learned that he had been tricked by the wise men, so he ordered the execution of all the male children in Bethlehem and all its neighboring regions, who were two years old and younger, according to the time that he had determined from the wise men. 17 Then what was declared by the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled when he said,
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah:
wailing and great mourning.
Rachel was crying for her children.
She refused to be comforted,
because they no longer existed.”[l]
The Return to Nazareth
19 But after Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. 20 “Get up,” he said. “Take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill[m] the child are dead.”
21 So Joseph[n] got up, took the child and his mother, and went into the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, after having been warned in a dream. So he left for the region of Galilee 23 and settled in a town called Nazareth in order to fulfill what was said by the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”[o]
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