Genesis

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

1So the heavens and the earth were finished. Everything in them was finished too.

2And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

2By the seventh day, God had finished all his work. So on that day he rested from all of it.

3And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

3God blessed the seventh day and set it apart as special. He did this because he rested on it from all his work.

4These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,

4This is the story of the heavens and the earth when they were made. It tells about the time the LORD God made them.

5And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.

5At first no bushes grew in the fields. No plants had come up yet. The LORD God had not sent rain on the earth. And there was no person to work the ground.

6But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

6But water came up from the ground. It made the whole surface of the ground wet.

7And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

7Then the LORD God made a man out of dust from the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man's nose. And the man became alive.

8And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

8The LORD God planted a garden in a place called Eden, in the east. He put the man he had made there.

9And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

9The LORD God made every kind of tree grow from the ground. They were nice to look at and good to eat. In the middle of the garden stood the tree of life. The tree of knowing good and evil was there too.

10And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

10A river flowed out of Eden and watered the garden. From there it split into four rivers.

11The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;

11The first river is named Pison. It runs all around the land of Havilah, where there is gold.

12And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.

12The gold of that land is very good. Bdellium and onyx stone are found there too.

NoteBdellium is a sweet-smelling tree gum, and onyx is a striped stone. Both were worth a lot.

13And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.

13The second river is named Gihon. It runs all around the land of Cush.

14And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

14The third river is named Hiddekel. It runs along the east side of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

15And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

15Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden. He was to take care of it and work in it.

16And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

16The LORD God told the man, "You may eat from any tree in the garden.

17But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

17But do not eat from the tree of knowing good and evil. On the day you eat from it, you will surely die."

18And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

18Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is right for him."

Note"Help meet" is old English for a helper who fits him, a partner. It does not mean a servant.

19And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

19The LORD God had made every animal and every bird out of the ground. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called each creature became its name.

20And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

20The man gave names to all the farm animals, the birds, and the wild animals. But no helper was found who was right for him.

21And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;

21So the LORD God made the man fall into a deep sleep. While he slept, God took out one of his ribs and closed up the skin.

22And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

22From that rib, the LORD God made a woman. Then he brought her to the man.

23And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

23The man said, "At last! Her bones came from my bones. Her body came from my body. She will be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man."

24Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

24That is why a man leaves his father and mother. He joins with his wife, and the two become one.

25And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

25The man and his wife both wore no clothes. And they were not ashamed.