Adam

7The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man's nose. The man became a living being.

And 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.

NoteDust of the ground means dry dirt, like powder. In the Hebrew language, the name Adam sounds like their word for ground.

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

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

NoteEden is the name of a place. A garden here means a big place full of trees and plants.

9The LORD God made every kind of tree grow out of the ground. They were nice to look at and good for food. The tree of life was in the middle of the garden. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was there too.

And 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.

NoteKnowledge means knowing about something. Evil means what is very wrong. So this tree was about knowing good and wrong.

10A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden. From there it split and became four rivers.

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

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

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

NotePison is the name of a river. Havilah is the name of a land. Nobody today knows for sure where they were.

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

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

NoteBdellium is a sweet smelling gum that drips from a tree. Onyx is a pretty stone people used to make jewelry.

13The name of the second river is Gihon. It winds all around the land of Ethiopia.

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

NoteThe King James says "Ethiopia." It means a land far to the south, in Africa.

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

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

NoteHiddekel is the old name for the river we call the Tigris. The Tigris and the Euphrates are two big rivers. Assyria was a country beside them.

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

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

NoteThe King James says "to dress it and to keep it." That means to take care of the plants and watch over the garden.

16The LORD God gave the man a command. He said, "You may eat freely from every tree in the garden.

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

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

But 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.

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

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

NoteThe King James says "an help meet for him." That means a helper who fits him, a partner just right for him.

19Out of the ground the LORD God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air. He brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. Whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.

And 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.

NoteLong ago, giving something a name showed you cared for it. It showed the animals were his to look after.

20Adam gave names to all the farm animals, the birds of the air, and the animals of the field. But no helper right for Adam was found.

And 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.

21The LORD God made Adam fall into a deep sleep, and he slept. God took one of his ribs. Then God closed up the flesh in its place.

And 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;

NoteRibs are the curved bones around your chest. You can feel them under your skin.

22The LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken from the man. He brought her to the man.

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

23Adam said, "Now this is bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh. She will be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man."

And 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.

NoteIn the Hebrew language, the words for man and woman sound almost the same. Adam is saying she came from him and belongs with him.

24So a man will leave his father and his mother. He will hold close to his wife, and they will be one flesh.

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

Note"Hold close" means to stay with her and not leave. "One flesh" means the two of them become one family together.

25The man and his wife were both naked. They were not ashamed.

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

NoteAshamed means feeling bad or wanting to hide. They did not feel that way at all.

1The serpent was more crafty than any wild animal the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden?"

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

NoteA serpent is a snake. Crafty means clever in a sneaky way. When you see LORD in big letters, it stands for God's own name.

2The woman answered the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden.

And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

3But God said about the tree in the middle of the garden, 'You must not eat it. You must not even touch it, or you will die.'"

But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

4The serpent said to the woman, "You will not really die.

And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

5God knows that when you eat it, your eyes will be opened. You will be like God, knowing good and evil."

For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

NoteEvil means things that are very wrong or that hurt people.

6The woman saw that the tree was good for food. It was pretty to look at. She wanted its fruit to make her wise. So she took some fruit and ate it. She gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

NoteWise means knowing a lot and making good choices.

7Then the eyes of both of them were opened. They knew that they had no clothes on. So they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

NoteFig trees have big, wide leaves. The leaves were the only covering they had.

8They heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool part of the day. Adam and his wife hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

NoteThe cool part of the day is the evening, after the hot sun goes down.

9The LORD God called out to Adam. He said, "Where are you?"

And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

10Adam said, "I heard your voice in the garden. I was afraid, because I had no clothes on. So I hid."

And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

11God said, "Who told you that you had no clothes on? Did you eat from the tree I told you not to eat from?"

And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

12The man said, "The woman you gave to be with me gave me fruit from the tree. And I ate it."

And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

13The LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent tricked me, and I ate."

And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

14The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you did this, you are cursed. You are cursed more than all the farm animals and all the wild animals. You will crawl on your belly. You will eat dust all the days of your life.

And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

NoteTo be cursed means hard times will come to you from now on.

15I will make you and the woman enemies. Your children and her children will be enemies too. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel."

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

NoteStrike means to hit hard. Snakes bite at people's feet and heels. People step on a snake's head.

16To the woman God said, "I will make your pain much greater when you have children. You will give birth with pain. You will want your husband, and he will rule over you."

Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

NoteTo rule over someone means to be in charge of that person.

17To Adam God said, "You listened to your wife. You ate from the tree I told you not to eat from. So the ground is cursed because of you. You will get your food from it with hard, painful work all your life.

And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

NoteThe ground being cursed means growing food will now be hard work.

18The ground will grow thorns and thistles for you. You will eat the plants of the field.

Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

NoteThistles are weeds with sharp points on them. They hurt to touch.

19You will sweat hard to get your bread. You will work until you go back to the ground. You were taken out of the ground. You are dust, and you will go back to dust."

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

NoteDust here means the dry dirt of the ground. Bread stands for all the food people eat.

20Adam gave his wife the name Eve. He did this because she was the mother of everyone who lives.

And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

NoteIn their language, the name Eve sounds like the word for living.

21The LORD God made clothes out of animal skins for Adam and his wife. He put the clothes on them.

Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

NotePeople made clothes from the skins of animals, like leather today.

22The LORD God said, "Look, the man has become like one of us. He knows good and evil. He must not reach out his hand and take fruit from the tree of life. He must not eat it and live forever."

And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

NoteThe tree of life was a special tree in the garden. Its fruit kept people alive forever.

23So the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden. He sent him to work the ground he was taken from.

Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

NoteEden was the name of the garden. To work the ground means to farm it.

24God drove the man out. On the east side of the garden of Eden, he placed cherubim. He also placed a flaming sword that turned every way. They guarded the way to the tree of life.

So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

NoteCherubim are strong angels. They stand guard over God's special places.

1Adam and his wife Eve came together. She had a baby boy, and she named him Cain. She said, "I have gotten a man from the LORD."

And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.

NoteThe word LORD in big letters is God's special name. It was the name God's people used for him.

2Later she had his brother Abel. Abel took care of sheep. Cain worked the ground and grew food.

And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

NoteA keeper of sheep is a shepherd. A shepherd leads sheep to grass and water and keeps them safe.

25Adam and his wife came together again. She had a son and named him Seth. She said, "God has given me another child in place of Abel, whom Cain killed."

And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.

NoteThe name Seth sounds like the Hebrew word for "given." Eve gave him a name that matched what she said.

26Seth also had a son. He named him Enos. At that time people began to call on the name of the LORD.

And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.

NoteTo "call upon the name of the LORD" means to pray to God out loud. People began to worship him together.

1This is the book of the family line of Adam. On the day God made people, he made them like himself.

This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;

NoteA family line shows who was born after whom. It goes parent, then child, then grandchild.

2He made them male and female. He blessed them. On the day they were made, he called them Adam, which means man.

Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.

Note"Adam" is a name. It is also the old Hebrew word for a person.

3Adam lived 130 years. Then he had a son who was like him, who looked like him. He named the boy Seth.

And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:

NoteSeth was born after Adam's other sons, Cain and Abel.

4After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 more years. He had more sons and daughters.

And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:

5Adam lived 930 years in all. Then he died.

And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.

NoteThe people in this list lived for hundreds of years. That is much longer than people live now.

12Sin came into the world through one man, Adam. Death came along with sin. So death came to every person, because every person has sinned.

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

NoteAdam was the first man God made. His story is at the very start of the Bible. "Sin" means doing wrong and turning away from God.

13Sin was in the world before God gave his rules to Moses. But sin is not counted against people when there is no rule.

(For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

NoteMoses was a leader long ago. God gave him rules for his people to live by. Those rules are called the law.

14Even so, death ruled over people from Adam until Moses. It ruled even over people who did not sin the way Adam did. Adam was a picture of the one who would come later.

Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

Note"Reigned" means ruled, the way a king rules. "Similitude" means being like something. "Figure" means a picture or a hint of someone coming later.

15God's free gift is not like Adam's wrong. Many people died because of one man's wrong. But God's kindness is far greater. He gave a gift through one man, Jesus Christ, to many people.

But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

16The gift is not like what came from the one man's sin. One sin brought the word "guilty." But the free gift came after many sins, and it makes people right with God.

And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.

Note"Condemnation" is a courtroom word. It means the judge says you did wrong and must be punished.

17Death ruled because of one man's wrong. God gives much more than that: his kindness and the gift of being right with him. People who take that gift will live and rule through one man, Jesus Christ.

For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

Note"Righteousness" means being right and good, the way God is right and good.

18One wrong act brought guilt to all people. In the same way, one right act brings all people the free gift of being made right and living.

Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

19One man did not obey, and so many people became sinners. One man did obey, and so many people will be made right with God.

For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

Note"Disobedience" means not doing what you are told. "Obedience" means doing it.

20Then God gave his rules, so that wrongdoing would grow even more. But where sin grew big, God's kindness grew much bigger.

Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:

21Sin ruled, and it brought death. Now God's kindness rules by making people right with him. It brings life that never ends, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

21Death came to people through one man. New life for dead people also comes through one man.

For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

22Because of Adam, all people die. Because of Christ, all will be made alive.

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

NoteAdam was the first man in the Bible's first story. He disobeyed God, and death came to people.