Human Disobedience

¹Now the snake was the most cunning animal that the Lord God had made. The snake asked the woman, “Did God really tell you not to eat fruit from any tree in the garden?”

²“We may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden,” the woman answered,

³“except the tree in the middle of it. God told us not to eat the fruit of that tree or even touch it; if we do, we will die.”

⁴The snake replied, “That's not true; you will not die.

⁵God said that because he knows that when you eat it, you will be like God and know what is good and what is bad.”

⁶The woman saw how beautiful the tree was and how good its fruit would be to eat, and she thought how wonderful it would be to become wise. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, and he also ate it.

⁷As soon as they had eaten it, they were given understanding and realized that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and covered themselves.

⁸That evening they heard the Lord God walking in the garden, and they hid from him among the trees.

⁹But the Lord God called out to the man, “Where are you?”

¹⁰He answered, “I heard you in the garden; I was afraid and hid from you, because I was naked.”

¹¹“Who told you that you were naked?” God asked. “Did you eat the fruit that I told you not to eat?”

¹²The man answered, “The woman you put here with me gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”

¹³The Lord God asked the woman, “Why did you do this?” She replied, “The snake tricked me into eating it.”

God Pronounces Judgment

¹⁴Then the Lord God said to the snake, “You will be punished for this; you alone of all the animals must bear this curse: From now on you will crawl on your belly, and you will have to eat dust as long as you live.

¹⁵I will make you and the woman hate each other; her offspring and yours will always be enemies. Her offspring will crush your head, and you will bite her offspring's heel.”

¹⁶And he said to the woman, “I will increase your trouble in pregnancy and your pain in giving birth. In spite of this, you will still have desire for your husband, yet you will be subject to him.”

¹⁷And he said to the man, “You listened to your wife and ate the fruit which I told you not to eat. Because of what you have done, the ground will be under a curse. You will have to work hard all your life to make it produce enough food for you.

¹⁸It will produce weeds and thorns, and you will have to eat wild plants.

¹⁹You will have to work hard and sweat to make the soil produce anything, until you go back to the soil from which you were formed. You were made from soil, and you will become soil again.”

²⁰Adam named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all human beings.

²¹And the Lord God made clothes out of animal skins for Adam and his wife, and he clothed them.

Adam and Eve Are Sent Out of the Garden

²²Then the Lord God said, “Now these human beings have become like one of us and have knowledge of what is good and what is bad. They must not be allowed to take fruit from the tree that gives life, eat it, and live forever.”

²³So the Lord God sent them out of the Garden of Eden and made them cultivate the soil from which they had been formed.

²⁴Then at the east side of the garden he put living creatures and a flaming sword which turned in all directions. This was to keep anyone from coming near the tree that gives life.

Cain and Abel

¹Then Adam had intercourse with his wife, and she became pregnant. She bore a son and said, “By the Lord's help I have gotten a son.” So she named him Cain.

²Later she gave birth to another son, Abel. Abel became a shepherd, but Cain was a farmer.

³After some time Cain brought some of his harvest and gave it as an offering to the Lord.

⁴Then Abel brought the first lamb born to one of his sheep, killed it, and gave the best parts of it as an offering. The Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering,

⁵but he rejected Cain and his offering. Cain became furious, and he scowled in anger.

⁶Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why that scowl on your face?

⁷If you had done the right thing, you would be smiling; but because you have done evil, sin is crouching at your door. It wants to rule you, but you must overcome it.”

⁸Then Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let's go out in the fields.” When they were out in the fields, Cain turned on his brother and killed him.

⁹The Lord asked Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” He answered, “I don't know. Am I supposed to take care of my brother?”

¹⁰Then the Lord said, “Why have you done this terrible thing? Your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground, like a voice calling for revenge.

¹¹You are placed under a curse and can no longer farm the soil. It has soaked up your brother's blood as if it had opened its mouth to receive it when you killed him.

¹²If you try to grow crops, the soil will not produce anything; you will be a homeless wanderer on the earth.”

¹³And Cain said to the Lord, “This punishment is too hard for me to bear.

¹⁴You are driving me off the land and away from your presence. I will be a homeless wanderer on the earth, and anyone who finds me will kill me.”

¹⁵But the Lord answered, “No. If anyone kills you, seven lives will be taken in revenge.” So the Lord put a mark on Cain to warn anyone who met him not to kill him.

¹⁶And Cain went away from the Lord's presence and lived in a land called “Wandering,” which is east of Eden.

The Descendants of Cain

¹⁷Cain and his wife had a son and named him Enoch. Then Cain built a city and named it after his son.

¹⁸Enoch had a son named Irad, who was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael had a son named Methushael, who was the father of Lamech.

¹⁹Lamech had two wives, Adah and Zillah.

²⁰Adah gave birth to Jabal, who was the ancestor of those who raise livestock and live in tents.

²¹His brother was Jubal, the ancestor of all musicians who play the harp and the flute.

²²Zillah gave birth to Tubal Cain, who made all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal Cain was Naamah.

²³Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, listen to me: I have killed a young man because he struck me.

²⁴If seven lives are taken to pay for killing Cain, Seventy-seven will be taken if anyone kills me.”

Seth and Enosh

²⁵Adam and his wife had another son. She said, “God has given me a son to replace Abel, whom Cain killed.” So she named him Seth.

²⁶Seth had a son whom he named Enosh. It was then that people began using the Lord's holy name in worship.

In Praise of the Creator

¹Praise the Lord, my soul! O Lord, my God, how great you are! You are clothed with majesty and glory;

²you cover yourself with light. You have spread out the heavens like a tent

³and built your home on the waters above. You use the clouds as your chariot and ride on the wings of the wind.

⁴You use the winds as your messengers and flashes of lightning as your servants.

⁵You have set the earth firmly on its foundations, and it will never be moved.

⁶You placed the ocean over it like a robe, and the water covered the mountains.

⁷When you rebuked the waters, they fled; they rushed away when they heard your shout of command.

⁸They flowed over the mountains and into the valleys, to the place you had made for them.

⁹You set a boundary they can never pass, to keep them from covering the earth again.

¹⁰You make springs flow in the valleys, and rivers run between the hills.

¹¹They provide water for the wild animals; there the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

¹²In the trees near by, the birds make their nests and sing.

¹³From the sky you send rain on the hills, and the earth is filled with your blessings.

¹⁴You make grass grow for the cattle and plants for us to use, so that we can grow our crops

¹⁵and produce wine to make us happy, olive oil to make us cheerful, and bread to give us strength.

¹⁶The cedars of Lebanon get plenty of rain— the Lord's own trees, which he planted.

¹⁷There the birds build their nests; the storks nest in the fir trees.

¹⁸The wild goats live in the high mountains, and the rock badgers hide in the cliffs.

¹⁹You created the moon to mark the months; the sun knows the time to set.

²⁰You made the night, and in the darkness all the wild animals come out.

²¹The young lions roar while they hunt, looking for the food that God provides.

²²When the sun rises, they go back and lie down in their dens.

²³Then people go out to do their work and keep working until evening.

²⁴Lord, you have made so many things! How wisely you made them all! The earth is filled with your creatures.

²⁵There is the ocean, large and wide, where countless creatures live, large and small alike.

²⁶The ships sail on it, and in it plays Leviathan, that sea monster which you made.

²⁷All of them depend on you to give them food when they need it.

²⁸You give it to them, and they eat it; you provide food, and they are satisfied.

²⁹When you turn away, they are afraid; when you take away your breath, they die and go back to the dust from which they came.

³⁰But when you give them breath, they are created; you give new life to the earth.

³¹May the glory of the Lord last forever! May the Lord be happy with what he has made!

³²He looks at the earth, and it trembles; he touches the mountains, and they pour out smoke.

³³I will sing to the Lord all my life; as long as I live I will sing praises to my God.

³⁴May he be pleased with my song, for my gladness comes from him.

³⁵May sinners be destroyed from the earth; may the wicked be no more. Praise the Lord, my soul! Praise the Lord!