Genesis 4

The Seventh Day, God Rests

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

The Creation of Man and Woman

yThese are the generations

of the heavens and the earth when they were created,


When no zbush of the field1 was yet in the land2 and no small plant of the field had yet sprung upfor the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man ato work the ground, and a mist3 was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground then the Lord God formed the man of bdust from the ground and cbreathed into his dnostrils the breath of life, and ethe man became a living creature. And the Lord God planted a fgarden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. gThe tree of life was in the midst of the garden, hand the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.


15 The Lord God took the man kand put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God 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 lyou shall not eat, for in the day that you eat4 of it you mshall surely die.


This at last is rbone of my bones

and flesh of my flesh;

she shall be called Woman,

because she was staken out of Man.9


The Fall

Now uthe serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, Did God actually say, You1 shall not eat of any tree in the garden? And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, vYou 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. wBut the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. 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,2 she took of its fruit xand ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, yand he ate. zThen the eyes of both were opened, aand they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.


14 The Lord God said to the serpent,

Because you have done this,

cursed are you above all livestock

and above all beasts of the field;

on your belly you shall go,

and fdust you shall eat

all the days of your life.

15  I will put enmity between you and the woman,

and between your offspring5 and gher offspring;

hhe shall bruise your head,

and you shall bruise his heel.

16 To the woman he said,

I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;

iin pain you shall bring forth children.

jYour desire shall be contrary to6 your husband,

but he shall krule over you.

17 And to Adam he said,

Because you have listened to the voice of your wife

and have eaten of the tree

lof which I commanded you,

You shall not eat of it,

mcursed is the ground because of you;


18  thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;

and you shall eat the plants of the field.

19  By the sweat of your face

you shall eat bread,

till you return to the ground,

for out of it you were taken;

ofor you are dust,

and pto dust you shall return.

20 The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.7 21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.


Cain and Abel

Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, I have gotten1 a man with the help of the Lord. And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of uthe fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of vthe firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord whad regard for Abel and his offering, but xfor Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? yIf you do well, will you not be accepted?2 And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. zIts desire is contrary to3 you, but you must rule over it.

Cain spoke to Abel his brother.4 And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and akilled him. Then the Lord said to Cain, Where is Abel your brother? He said, bI do not know; am I my brother’s keeper? 10 And the Lord said, What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cis crying to me from the ground. 11 And now dyou 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 the Lord, My epunishment is greater than I can bear.5 14 Behold, fyou have driven me today away from the ground, and gfrom your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, hand whoever finds me will kill me. 15 Then the Lord said to him, Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him isevenfold. And the Lord jput a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. 16 Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod,6 east of Eden.


23 Lamech said to his wives:

Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;

you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say:

I have killed a man for wounding me,

a young man for striking me.

24  kIf Cain’s revenge is sevenfold,

then Lamech’s is seventy-sevenfold.

25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, God has appointed7 for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him. 26 To lSeth also a son was born, and he called his name mEnosh. At that time people began nto call upon the name of the Lord.

Adam’s Descendants to Noah











Increasing Corruption on Earth

When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. Then the Lord said, zMy Spirit shall not abide in1 man forever, afor he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years. The Nephilim2 were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God 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.

bThe Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every cintention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And dthe Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it egrieved him to his heart. So the Lord 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. But Noah ffound favor in the eyes of the Lord.

Noah and the Flood

These are the generations of Noah. gNoah was a righteous man, hblameless in his generation. Noah iwalked with God. 10 And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God jsaw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, kfor all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. 13 And God said to Noah, lI have determined to make an end of all flesh,3 for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14 Make yourself an ark of gopher wood.4 Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. 15 This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits,5 its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. 16 Make a roof6 for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. 17 mFor behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. 18 But nI will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19 And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. 20 Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. 21 Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them. 22 oNoah did this; he did all that God commanded him.