1

1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2And the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. 3Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

6Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7God made the expanse, and separated the waters that were below the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse; and it was so. 8God called the expanse “heaven.” And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

9Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. 10And God called the dry land “earth,” and the gathering of the waters He called “seas”; and God saw that it was good. 11Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit according to their kind with seed in them”; and it was so. 12The earth produced vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, according to their kind; and God saw that it was good. 13And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.

14Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and they shall serve as signs and for seasons, and for days and years; 15and they shall serve as lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. 16God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also. 17God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. 19And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

20Then God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.” 21And God created 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. 22God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

24Then God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kind: livestock and crawling things and animals of the earth according to their kind”; and it was so. 25God made the animals of the earth according to their kind, and the livestock according to their kind, and everything that crawls on the ground according to its kind; and God saw that it was good.

26Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them 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.” 27So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28God blessed them; and God said to them, “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 moves on the earth.” 29Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; 30and to every animal of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to everything that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so. 31And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

2

1And so the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their heavenly lights. 2By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

4This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven. 5Now no shrub of the field was yet on the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. 6But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground. 7Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living person. 8The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. 9Out of the ground the Lord God caused every tree to grow that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

10Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers. 11The name of the first is Pishon; it flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12The gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there as well. 13The name of the second river is Gihon; it flows around the whole land of Cush. 14The name of the third river is Tigris; it flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

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

18Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” 19And out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. 20The man gave names to all the livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every animal of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. 21So the Lord God caused a 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. 22And the Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. 23Then the man said,

“At last this is bone of my bones,

And flesh of my flesh;

She shall be called ‘woman,’

Because she was taken out of man.”

24For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. 25And the man and his wife were both naked, but they were not ashamed.

3

1Now the serpent was more cunning than any animal of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 2The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’ ” 4The serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die! 5For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will become like God, knowing good and evil.” 6When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate. 7Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves waist coverings.

8Now they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” 11And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?” 12The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me some of the fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 14Then the Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this,

Cursed are you more than all the livestock,

And more than any animal of the field;

On your belly you shall go,

And dust you shall eat

All the days of your life;

15And I will make enemies

Of you and the woman,

And of your offspring and her Descendant;

He shall bruise you on the head,

And you shall bruise Him on the heel.”

16To the woman He said,

“I will greatly multiply

Your pain in childbirth,

In pain you shall deliver children;

Yet your desire will be for your husband,

And he shall rule over you.”

17Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’;

Cursed is the ground because of you;

With hard labor you shall eat from it

All the days of your life.

18“Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;

Yet you shall eat the plants of the field;

19By the sweat of your face

You shall eat bread,

Until you return to the ground,

Because from it you were taken;

For you are dust,

And to dust you shall return.”

20Now the man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. 21And the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.

22Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out with his hand, and take fruit also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— 23therefore the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. 24So He drove the man out; and at the east of the Garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.

4

1Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have obtained a male child with the help of the Lord.” 2And again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a cultivator of the ground. 3So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord from the fruit of the ground. 4Abel, on his part also brought an offering, from the firstborn of his flock and from their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering; 5but for Cain and his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his face was gloomy. 6Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why is your face gloomy? 7If you do well, will your face not be cheerful? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” 8Cain talked to his brother Abel; and it happened that when they were in the field Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

9Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” 10Then He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to Me from the ground. 11Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; you will be a wanderer and a drifter on the earth.” 13Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is too great to endure! 14Behold, You have driven me this day from the face of the ground; and I will be hidden from Your face, and I will be a wanderer and a drifter on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” 15So the Lord said to him, “Therefore whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him seven times as much.” And the Lord placed a mark on Cain, so that no one finding him would kill him.

16Then Cain left the presence of the Lord, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

17Cain had relations with his wife and she conceived, and gave birth to Enoch; and Cain built a city, and named the city Enoch, after the name of his son. 18Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. 19Lamech took two wives for himself: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other, Zillah. 20Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and have livestock. 21His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and flute. 22As for Zillah, she also gave birth to Tubal-cain, the forger of all implements of bronze and iron; and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

23Lamech said to his wives,

“Adah and Zillah,

Listen to my voice,

You wives of Lamech,

Pay attention to my words,

For I have killed a man for wounding me;

And a boy for striking me!

24“If Cain is avenged seven times,

Then Lamech seventy-seven times!”

25Adam had relations with his wife again; and she gave birth to a son, and named him Seth, for, she said, “God has appointed me another child in place of Abel, because Cain killed him.” 26To Seth also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then people began to call upon the name of the Lord.

5

1This is the book of the generations of Adam. On the day when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. 2He created them male and female, and He blessed them and named them “mankind” on the day when they were created.

3When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth. 4Then the days of Adam after he fathered Seth were eight hundred years, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 5So all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died.

6Now Seth lived 105 years, and fathered Enosh. 7Then Seth lived 807 years after he fathered Enosh, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 8So all the days of Seth were 912 years, and he died.

9Now Enosh lived ninety years, and fathered Kenan. 10Then Enosh lived 815 years after he fathered Kenan, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 11So all the days of Enosh were 905 years, and he died.

12Now Kenan lived seventy years, and fathered Mahalalel. 13Then Kenan lived 840 years after he fathered Mahalalel, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 14So all the days of Kenan were 910 years, and he died.

15Now Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and fathered Jared. 16Then Mahalalel lived 830 years after he fathered Jared, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 17So all the days of Mahalalel were 895 years, and he died.

18Now Jared lived 162 years, and fathered Enoch. 19Then Jared lived eight hundred years after he fathered Enoch, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 20So all the days of Jared were 962 years, and he died.

21Now Enoch lived sixty-five years, and fathered Methuselah. 22Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he fathered Methuselah, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 23So all the days of Enoch were 365 years. 24Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

25Now Methuselah lived 187 years, and fathered Lamech. 26Then Methuselah lived 782 years after he fathered Lamech, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 27So all the days of Methuselah were 969 years, and he died.

28Now Lamech lived 182 years, and fathered a son. 29And he named him Noah, saying, “This one will give us comfort from our work and from the hard labor of our hands caused by the ground which the Lord has cursed.” 30Then Lamech lived 595 years after he fathered Noah, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 31So all the days of Lamech were 777 years, and he died.

32Now after Noah was five hundred years old, Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

6

1Now it came about, when mankind began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, 2that the sons of God saw that the daughters of mankind were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. 3Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not remain with man forever, because he is also flesh; nevertheless his days shall be 120 years.” 4The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of mankind, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

5Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. 6So the Lord was sorry that He had made mankind on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7Then the Lord said, “I will wipe out mankind whom I have created from the face of the land; mankind, and animals as well, and crawling things, and the birds of the sky. For I am sorry that I have made them.” 8But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

9These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. 10And Noah fathered three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12And God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for humanity had corrupted its way upon the earth.

13Then God said to Noah, “The end of humanity has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of people; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth. 14Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with compartments, and cover it inside and out with pitch. 15This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16You shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top; and put the door of the ark on the side; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. 17Now behold, I Myself am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which there is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish. 18But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. 20Of the birds according to their kind, and of the animals according to their kind, of every crawling thing of the ground according to its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. 21As for you, take for yourself some of every food that is edible, and gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and them.” 22So Noah did these things; according to everything that God had commanded him, so he did.

7

1Then the Lord said to Noah, “Enter the ark, you and all your household, for you alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this generation. 2You shall take with you seven pairs of every clean animal, a male and his female; and two of the animals that are not clean, a male and his female; 3also of the birds of the sky, seven pairs, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth. 4For after seven more days, I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights; and I will wipe out from the face of the land every living thing that I have made.” 5So Noah acted in accordance with everything that the Lord had commanded him.

6Now Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of water came upon the earth. 7Then Noah and his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives with him entered the ark because of the waters of the flood. 8Of clean animals and animals that are not clean and birds and everything that crawls on the ground, 9they all went into the ark to Noah by twos, male and female, as God had commanded Noah. 10Now it came about after the seven days, that the waters of the flood came upon the earth. 11In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened. 12The rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights.

13On this very same day Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark, 14they and every animal according to its kind, and all the livestock according to their kind, and every crawling thing that crawls on the earth according to its kind, and every bird according to its kind, all sorts of birds. 15So they went into the ark to Noah, by twos of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. 16Those that entered, male and female of all flesh, entered as God had commanded him; and the Lord closed the door behind him.

17Then the flood came upon the earth for forty days, and the water increased and lifted up the ark, so that it rose above the earth. 18The water prevailed and increased greatly upon the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. 19And the water prevailed more and more upon the earth, so that all the high mountains everywhere under the heavens were covered. 20The water prevailed fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered. 21So all creatures that moved on the earth perished: birds, livestock, animals, and every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind; 22of all that was on the dry land, all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died. 23So He wiped out every living thing that was upon the face of the land, from mankind to animals, to crawling things, and the birds of the sky, and they were wiped out from the earth; and only Noah was left, together with those that were with him in the ark. 24The water prevailed upon the earth for 150 days.

8

1But God remembered Noah and all the animals and all the livestock that were with him in the ark; and God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water subsided. 2Also the fountains of the deep and the floodgates of the sky were closed, and the rain from the sky was restrained; 3and the water receded steadily from the earth, and at the end of 150 days the water decreased. 4Then in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat. 5And the water decreased steadily until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains became visible.

6Then it came about at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made; 7and he sent out a raven, and it flew here and there until the water was dried up from the earth. 8Then he sent out a dove, to see if the water was low on the surface of the land; 9but the dove found no resting place for the sole of its foot, so it returned to him in the ark, for the water was on the surface of all the earth. Then he put out his hand and took it, and brought it into the ark to himself. 10So he waited another seven days longer; and again he sent out the dove from the ark. 11And the dove came to him in the evening, and behold, in its beak was a fresh olive leaf. So Noah knew that the water was low on the earth. 12Then he waited another seven days longer, and sent out the dove; but it did not return to him again.

13Now it came about in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first of the month, that the water was dried up from the earth. Then Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and behold, the surface of the ground had dried up. 14And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry. 15Then God spoke to Noah, saying, 16“Go out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and your sons’ wives with you.