T1 - B'reisheet

English Standard Version (ESV) 

The Creation of the World

1 In the beginning, Elohim created the heavens and the earth. ² The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of Elohim was hovering over the face of the waters.

³ And Elohim said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ And Elohim saw that the light was good. And Elohim separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ Elohim called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

⁶ And Elohim said, “Let there be an expanse_^[a] in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” ⁷ And Elohim made_^[b] the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so.⁸ And Elohim called the expanse Heaven.^[c] And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

⁹ And Elohim said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. ¹⁰ Elohim called the dry land Earth,_^[d]and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And Elohim saw that it was good.

¹¹ And Elohim said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants_^[e] yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so.¹² The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And Elohim saw that it was good. ¹³ And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

¹⁴ And Elohim said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons,_^[f] and for days and years, ¹⁵ and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. ¹⁶ And Elohim made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. ¹⁷ And Elohim set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, ¹⁸ to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And Elohim saw that it was good. ¹⁹ And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

²⁰ And Elohim said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds_^[g] fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” ²¹ So Elohim created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And Elohim saw that it was good.²² And Elohim blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” ²³ And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

²⁴ And Elohim said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. ²⁵ And Elohim made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And Elohim saw that it was good.

²⁶ Then Elohim said, “Let us make man^[h] in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

²⁸ And Elohim blessed them. And Elohim said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” ²⁹ And Elohim said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. ³⁰ And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. ³¹ And Elohim saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

The Seventh Day, Elohim Rests

2 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. ² And on the seventh day Elohim finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. ³ So Elohim blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it Elohim rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

The Creation of Man and Woman

⁵ When no bush of the field^[i] was yet in the land^[j] and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for YHWH Elohim had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, ⁶ and a mist^[k] was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— ⁷ then YHWH Elohim formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. ⁸ And YHWH Elohim planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. ⁹ And out of the ground YHWH Elohim made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden,and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

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

¹⁵ YHWH Elohim took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.¹⁶ And YHWH Elohim commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, ¹⁷ but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat^[l] of it you shall surely die.”

¹⁸ Then YHWH Elohim said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for^[m] him.” ¹⁹ Now out of the ground YHWH Elohim had formed^[n] every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam^[o] there was not found a helper fit for him. ²¹ So YHWH Elohim caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. ²² And the rib that YHWH Elohim had taken from the man he made^[p] into a woman and brought her to the man. ²³ Then the man said,

²⁴ Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. ²⁵ And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

The Fall

3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that YHWH Elohim had made.

He said to the woman, “Did Elohim actually say, ‘You^[r] shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” ² And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, ³ but Elohim said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” ⁴ But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. ⁵ For Elohim knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like Elohim, knowing good and evil.” ⁶ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise,^[s] she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. ⁷ Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

⁸ And they heard the sound of YHWH Elohim walking in the garden in the cool^[t] of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of YHWH Elohim among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But YHWH Elohim called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”^{[u] 10} And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” ¹¹ He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” ¹² The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” ¹³ Then YHWH Elohim said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

¹⁴ YHWH Elohim said to the serpent,

¹⁶ To the woman he said,

¹⁷ And to Adam he said,

²⁰ The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.^{[x] 21} And YHWH Elohim made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

²² Then YHWH Elohim said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” ²³ therefore YHWH Elohim sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. ²⁴ He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

Cain and Abel

4 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten^[y] a man with the help of YHWH.” ² And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. ³ In the course of time Cain brought to YHWH an offering of the fruit of the ground, ⁴ and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And YHWH had regard for Abel and his offering, ⁵ but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. ⁶  YHWH said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? ⁷ If you do well, will you not be accepted?^[z] And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for^[aa] you, but you must rule over it.”

⁸ Cain spoke to Abel his brother.^[ab] And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. ⁹ Then YHWH said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?” ¹⁰ And YHWH said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. ¹¹ And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. ¹² When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” ¹³ Cain said to YHWH, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.^{[ac] 14} Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” ¹⁵ Then YHWH said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And YHWH put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. ¹⁶ Then Cain went away from the presence of YHWH and settled in the land of Nod,^[ad] east of Eden.

¹⁷ Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch. ¹⁸ To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech.¹⁹ And Lamech took two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. ²⁰ Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. ²¹ His brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. ²² Zillah also bore Tubal-cain; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

²³ Lamech said to his wives:

²⁵ And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “Elohim has appointed^[ae] for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.”²⁶ To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of YHWH.

Where Did Cain's Wife Come From?

Adam's Descendants to Noah

5 This is the book of the generations of Adam. When Elohim created man, he made him in the likeness of Elohim. ² Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man^[af] when they were created. ³ When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. ⁴ The days of Adam after he fathered Seth were 800 years; and he had other sons and daughters. ⁵ Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died.

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

⁹ When Enosh had lived 90 years, he fathered Kenan. ¹⁰ Enosh lived after he fathered Kenan 815 years and had other sons and daughters. ¹¹ Thus all the days of Enosh were 905 years, and he died.

¹² When Kenan had lived 70 years, he fathered Mahalalel. ¹³ Kenan lived after he fathered Mahalalel 840 years and had other sons and daughters. ¹⁴ Thus all the days of Kenan were 910 years, and he died.

¹⁵ When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he fathered Jared. ¹⁶ Mahalalel lived after he fathered Jared 830 years and had other sons and daughters. ¹⁷ Thus all the days of Mahalalel were 895 years, and he died.

¹⁸ When Jared had lived 162 years he fathered Enoch. ¹⁹ Jared lived after he fathered Enoch 800 years and had other sons and daughters. ²⁰ Thus all the days of Jared were 962 years, and he died.

²¹ When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. ²² Enoch walked with Elohim^[ag]after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. ²³ Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. ²⁴ Enoch walked with Elohim, and he was not,^[ah]for Elohim took him.

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

²⁸ When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son ²⁹ and called his name Noah, saying, “Out of the ground that YHWH has cursed, this one shall bring us relief^[ai] from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.” ³⁰ Lamech lived after he fathered Noah 595 years and had other sons and daughters. ³¹ Thus all the days of Lamech were 777 years, and he died.

³² After Noah was 500 years old, Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

The story of Messiah is in the beginning.

Increasing Corruption on Earth

6 When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them,² the sons of Elohim saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. ³ Then YHWH said, “My Spirit shall not abide in^[aj] man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” ⁴ The Nephilim^[ak] were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of Elohim came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.

⁵ YHWH saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. ⁶ And YHWH regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. ⁷ So YHWH said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” ⁸ But Noah found favor in the eyes of YHWH.