The New American Bible
The Old Testament
Genesis
1In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, 2the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters.
3Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
4God saw how good the light was. God then separated the light from the darkness.
5God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." Thus evening came, and morning followed--the first day.
6Then God said, "Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters, to separate one body of water from the other." And so it happened:
7God made the dome, and it separated the water above the dome from the water below it.
8God called the dome "the sky." Evening came, and morning followed--the second day.
9Then God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin, so that the dry land may appear." And so it happened: the water under the sky was gathered into its basin, and the dry land appeared.
10God called the dry land "the earth," and the basin of the water he called "the sea."
God saw how good it was.
11Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it." And so it happened:
12the earth brought forth every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it. God saw how good it was.
13Evening came, and morning followed--the third day.
14Then God said: "Let there be lights in the dome of the sky, to separate day from night. Let them mark the fixed times, the days and the years, 15and serve as luminaries in the dome of the sky, to shed light upon the earth." And so it happened:
16God made the two great lights, the greater one to govern the day, and the lesser one to govern the night; and he made the stars.
17God set them in the dome of the sky, to shed light upon the earth, 18to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw how good it was.
19Evening came, and morning followed--the fourth day.
20Then God said, "Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures, and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of the sky." And so it happened: 21God created the great sea monsters and all kinds of swimming creatures with which the water teems, and all kinds of winged birds. God saw how good it was, 22and God blessed them, saying, "Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas; and let the birds multiply on the earth."
23Evening came, and morning followed--the fifth day.
24Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth all kinds of living creatures: cattle, creeping things, and wild animals of all kinds." And so it happened: 25God made all kinds of wild animals, all kinds of cattle, and all kinds of creeping things of the earth. God saw how good it was.
26Then God said: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that crawl on the ground."
27God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them.
28God blessed them, saying: "Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that move on the earth."
29God also said: "See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food; 30and to all the animals of the land, all the birds of the air, and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground, I give all the green plants for food." And so it happened.
31God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good. Evening came, and morning followed--the sixth day.
2Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed.
2Since on the seventh day God was finished with the work he had been doing, he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken.
3So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation.
4Such is the story of the heavens and the earth at their creation. At the time when the LORD God made the earth and the heavens--
5while as yet there was no field shrub on earth and no grass of the field had sprouted, for the LORD God had sent no rain upon the earth and there was no man to till the soil,
6but a stream was welling up out of the earth and was watering all the surface of the ground--
7the LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being.
8Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and he placed there the man whom he had formed.
9Out of the ground the LORD God made various trees grow that were delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and bad.
10A river rises in Eden to water the garden; beyond there it divides and becomes four branches.
11The name of the first is the Pishon; it is the one that winds through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.
12The gold of that land is excellent; bdellium and lapis lazuli are also there.
13The name of the second river is the Gihon; it is the one that winds all through the land of Cush.
14The name of the third river is the Tigris; it is the one that flows east of Asshur. The fourth river is the Euphrates.
15The LORD God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it.
16The LORD God gave man this order: "You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden
17except the tree of knowledge of good and bad. From that tree you shall not eat; the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die."
18The LORD God said: "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him."
19So the LORD God formed out of the ground various wild animals and various birds of the air, and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them; whatever the man called each of them would be its name.
20The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of the air, and all the wild animals; but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man.
21So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.
22The LORD God then built up into a woman the rib that he had taken from the man.
When he brought her to the man,
23the man said: "This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called 'woman,' for out of 'her man' this one has been taken."
24That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.
25The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame.
3Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals that the LORD God had made. The serpent asked the woman, "Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?"
2The woman answered the serpent: "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;
3it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, 'You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.'"
4But the serpent said to the woman: "You certainly will not die!
5No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is bad."
6The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
7Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
8When they heard the sound of the LORD God moving about in the garden at the breezy time of the day, the man and his wife hid themselves from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
9The LORD God then called to the man and asked him, "Where are you?"
10He answered, "I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself."
11Then he asked, "Who told you that you were naked? You have eaten, then, from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!"
12The man replied, "The woman whom you put here with me--she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it."
13The LORD God then asked the woman, "Why did you do such a thing?" The woman answered, "The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it."
14Then the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, you shall be banned from all the animals and from all the wild creatures; On your belly shall you crawl, and dirt shall you eat all the days of your life.
15I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel."
16To the woman he said: "I will intensify the pangs of your childbearing; in pain shall you bring forth children. Yet your urge shall be for your husband, and he shall be your master."
17To the man he said: "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat, "Cursed be the ground because of you! In toil shall you eat its yield all the days of your life.
18Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you, as you eat of the plants of the field.
19By the sweat of your face shall you get bread to eat, Until you return to the ground, from which you were taken; For you are dirt, and to dirt you shall return."
20The man called his wife Eve, because she became the mother of all the living.
21For the man and his wife the LORD God made leather garments, with which he clothed them.
22Then the LORD God said: "See! The man has become like one of us, knowing what is good and what is bad! Therefore, he must not be allowed to put out his hand to take fruit from the tree of life also, and thus eat of it and live forever."
23The LORD God therefore banished him from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he had been taken.
24When he expelled the man, he settled him east of the garden of Eden; and he stationed the cherubim and the fiery revolving sword, to guard the way to the tree of life.
4The man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have produced a man with the help of the LORD."
2Next she bore his brother Abel. Abel became a keeper of flocks, and Cain a tiller of the soil.
3In the course of time Cain brought an offering to the LORD from the fruit of the soil, 4while Abel, for his part, brought one of the best firstlings of his flock. The LORD
looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
5but on Cain and his offering he did not. Cain greatly resented this and was crestfallen.
6So the LORD said to Cain: "Why are you so resentful and crestfallen?
7If you do well, you can hold up your head; but if not, sin is a demon lurking at the door: his urge is toward you, yet you can be his master."
8Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let us go out in the field." When they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
9Then the LORD asked Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" He answered, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?"
10The LORD then said: "What have you done! Listen: your brother's blood cries out to me from the soil!
11Therefore you shall be banned from the soil that opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.
12If you till the soil, it shall no longer give you its produce. You shall become a restless wanderer on the earth."
13Cain said to the LORD: "My punishment is too great to bear.
14Since you have now banished me from the soil, and I must avoid your presence and become a restless wanderer on the earth, anyone may kill me at sight."
15Not so!" the LORD said to him. "If anyone kills Cain, Cain shall be avenged sevenfold." So the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest anyone should kill him at sight.
16Cain then left the LORD'S presence and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
17Cain had relations with his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. Cain also became the founder of a city, which he named after his son Enoch.
18To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad became the father of Mehujael; Mehujael became the father of Methusael, and Methusael became the father of Lamech.
19Lamech took two wives; the name of the first was Adah, and the name of the second Zillah.
20Adah gave birth to Jabal, the ancestor of all who dwell in tents and keep cattle.
21His brother's name was Jubal; he was the ancestor of all who play the lyre and the pipe.
22Zillah, on her part, gave birth to Tubalcain, the ancestor of all who forge instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.
23Lamech said to his wives: "Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; wives of Lamech, listen to my utterance: I have killed a man for wounding me, a boy for bruising me.
24If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold."
25Adam again had relations with his wife, and she gave birth to a son whom she called Seth. "God has granted me more offspring in place of Abel," she said,
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