Genesis 21-25
The Birth of Isaac 21[1-7] Yahweh kept the promise and did everything that was told Abraham and Sarah. Sarah became pregnant, and gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. This happened at the very time God had said it would. So Abraham named their son Isaac, and eight days after Isaac was born, Abraham cut the foreskin off him as God had told him. Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born. So Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter. All who hear about this will laugh with me. Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse a baby? Yet, I have given Abraham a son in his old age!” Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away [8-13] When Isaac grew up and was weaned, Abraham prepared a huge feast to celebrate the occasion. But Sarah saw Ishmael, the son of Abraham and her Egyptian servant Hagar, making fun of her son, Isaac. So she turned to Abraham and insisted, “Get rid of that slave-woman and her son. I don’t want him to share the inheritance with my son, Isaac!” This upset Abraham very much because Ishmael was his son. But God told Abraham, “Don’t be upset over the boy and your servant. Do whatever Sarah tells you, for Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be blessed. But I’ll also make a nation of the descendants of Hagar’s son because he’s your son, too.” [14-20] So Abraham got up early the next morning, got some food and a jug of water ready, and strapped them on Hagar’s shoulders. Then he sent her away with their son, and she wandered around in the countryside of Beersheba. When the water was gone, she put the boy in the shade of a bush, then went and sat down by herself about a hundred yards away. “I don’t want to watch the boy die,” she prayed, as she began to cry. But God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, “Hagar, what’s wrong? Don’t be afraid! God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Go to him and comfort him, for I’ll make a great nation from his descendants.” Then God opened Hagar’s eyes, and she saw a well full of water. She quickly filled her jug and gave the boy some water to drink. And God was with the boy as he grew up in the countryside. Ishmael became a skillful archer, and settled in the countryside of Paran. His mother arranged for him to marry a woman from the land of Egypt. Abraham’s Promise with Abimelech [22- 26] About this time, Abimelech came with Phicol, his army commander, to visit Abraham. “God is obviously with you, helping you in everything you do,” Abimelech said. “Promise to me in God’s name that you’ll never deceive me, my children, or any of my descendants. I have been loyal to you, so now promise that you’ll be loyal to me and to this country where you are living as a foreigner.” So Abraham said, “Yes, I promise!” Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well that Abimelech’s servants had taken by force from Abraham’s servants. But Abimelech answered, “This is the first I’ve heard of it. I have no idea who’s responsible. You’ve never complained about this before.” [27-34] So Abraham then gave some of his sheep, goats, and cattle to Abimelech, and they made an agreement. But Abraham also took seven additional female lambs and set them off by themselves. So Abimelech asked, “Why have you set these seven apart from the others?” So Abraham said, “Please accept these seven lambs to show your agreement that this well is mine.” Then he named the place Beersheba (which means “well of the promise”), because that was where they had made the promise. After making their promise at Beersheba, Abimelech left with Phicol, the commander of his army, and they went back home to the land of the Philistines. Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there worshiped Yahweh, the Eternal God. And Abraham lived as a foreigner in the Philistine’s country for a long time. God Tests the Faith of Abraham
22[1-5] Later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called. “Yes,” he said. “Here I am.” And God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love so much, and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I’ll show you.” So the next morning Abraham got up early. He took his donkey and two of his servants, along with his son, Isaac. Then he got some wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will go a little farther. We will worship there, and then we’ll come back.” [6-12] So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham said. “We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” “God will provide a sheep for the offering, my son,” Abraham answered, and they both walked on together. When they got to the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and put the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. Abraham lifted up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice, but the angel of Yahweh called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” So Abraham said. “Here I am!” “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Don’t hurt him, for now I know that you truly fear God. You’ve not even kept your son, your only son from Me.” [13-19]Then Abraham looked up and saw a goat caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the goat and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. So Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “Yahweh will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of Yahweh it’ll be provided.” Then the angel of Yahweh called again to Abraham from heaven. “This is what Yahweh says: Because you’ve obeyed me and haven’t even kept your son, your only son, from Me, I promise by My own name that I’ll surely bless you. I’ll make your descendants more than you can count, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. Through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed because you’ve obeyed me.” [19-24] Then they went back to the servants and traveled back to Beersheba, where Abraham settled down to live. Soon after this, Abraham heard that Milcah, his brother Nahor’s wife, had borne Nahor eight sons. The oldest was named Uz, the next oldest was Buz, followed by Kemuel (the ancestor of the Arameans), Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel. (Bethuel had Rebekah.) In addition to these eight sons from Milcah, Nahor had four other children from his concubine Reumah. Their names were Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah. The Burial of Sarah 23[1-8] When Sarah was 127 years old, she died at Kiriath-arba (now called Hebron) in the land of Canaan. There Abraham mourned and wept for her. Then, leaving her body, he said to the Hittite elders, “Here I am a stranger and a foreigner among you. Please sell me a piece of land so I can give my wife a proper burial.” The Hittites said to Abraham, “Listen, you are an honored prince among us. Choose the finest of our tombs and bury her there. No one here will refuse you.” Then Abraham bowed low before the Hittites and said, “Since you are willing to help me in this way, be so kind as to ask Ephron son of Zohar to let me buy his cave at Machpelah, down at the end of his field. I’ll pay the full price in the presence of witnesses, so I’ll have a permanent burial place for my family.” [10-16] Ephron was sitting there among the others, and he answered Abraham as the others listened, speaking publicly before all the Hittite elders of the town. “No,” he said to Abraham, “please listen to me. I’ll give you the field and the cave. Here in the presence of my people, I give it to you. Go and bury your dead.” Abraham again bowed low before the citizens of the land, and said to Ephron as everyone listened. “No, listen to me. I’ll buy it from you. Let me pay the full price for the field so I can bury my dead there.” So Ephron answered Abraham, please listen to me. The land is worth 400 silver dollars, but what’s that between friends? Go ahead and bury your dead.” So Abraham agreed to Ephron’s price and paid the amount he had suggested—400 silver dollars, weighed out with the Hittite elders witnessing the transaction. [17-20] So Abraham bought the plot of land belonging to Ephron at Machpelah, near Mamre. This included the field itself, the cave that was in it, and all the surrounding land. It was sold to Abraham as his permanent possession in the presence of the Hittite elders at the city gate. Then Abraham buried his wife, Sarah, there in Canaan, in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre (also called Hebron). So the land and the cave were sold by the Hittites to Abraham for use as a permanent burial place. Abraham Finds a Wife for Isaac 24[1-4] Abraham was now a very old man, and Yahweh had blessed him in every way. One day Abraham said to his oldest servant, the man in charge of his household, “Make me a promise by putting your hand under my thigh. Promise by Yahweh, the God of heaven and earth, that you’ll not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women. Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife for my son Isaac there.” [5-8] The servant asked, “But what if I can’t find a young woman who’s willing to go so far from home? Should I then take Isaac there to live among your relatives in the land you came from?” “No!” Abraham answered. “Never take my son there. Yahweh, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and my native land, solemnly promised to give this land to my descendants. God will send an angel ahead of you, and make sure that you find a wife for my son. If she’s unwilling to come back with you, then you are free from this promise to me. But never are you to take my son there.” [9-11] So the servant made a promise by putting his hand under the thigh of his master, Abraham. He promised to follow Abraham’s instructions. Then he loaded ten of Abraham’s camels with all kinds of expensive gifts from his master, and he traveled to distant Aram-naharaim. There he went to the town where Abraham’s brother Nahor had settled. He made the camels kneel beside a well outside the town. It was evening, so the women were coming out to draw water. [12-14] “O God, God of my master, Abraham,” he prayed. “Please give me success today, and show unending love to my master, Abraham. See, I’m standing here beside this spring, and the young women of the town are coming out to draw water. So I ask this. I’ll ask one of them, ‘Please give me a drink from your jug.’ If she says, ‘Yes, have a drink, and I’ll water your camels, too!’ then let her be the one you’ve chosen as Isaac’s wife. This is how I’ll know that you’ve shown unending love to my master.” [15-20] Before he had finished praying, he saw a young woman named Rebekah coming out with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, who was the son of Abraham’s brother Nahor and his wife, Milcah. Rebekah was very beautiful and old enough to be married, but she was still unmarried. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came up again. Running over to her, the servant said, “Please give me a little drink of water from your jug.” So she answered “Yes, sir, have a drink.” Then she quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and gave him a drink. After she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels, too, until they have had enough to drink.” So she quickly emptied her jug into the watering trough and ran back to the well to draw water for all his camels. [21-27] So the servant quietly watched her, wondering whether or not Yahweh had given him success in his mission. Then at last, when the camels had finished drinking, he took out a gold ring for her nose and two large gold bracelets for her wrists. “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. “And please tell me, would your father have any room to put us up for the night?” So she said, “I am the daughter of Bethuel. My grandparents are Nahor and Milcah. Yes, we have plenty of straw and feed for the camels, and we have room for guests.” So the man bowed low and worshiped Yahweh. “Praise Yahweh, the God of my master, Abraham,” he said. “Yahweh has shown unending love and faithfulness to my master, for he has led me straight to my master’s relatives.” [28-31] Then the young woman ran home to tell her family everything that had happened. Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, who ran out to meet the man at the spring. He had seen the nose-ring and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and had heard Rebekah tell what the man had said. So he rushed out to the spring, where the man was still standing beside his camels. Laban said to him, “Come and stay with us, you who are blessed by Yahweh! Why are you standing here outside the town when I have a room all ready for you and a place prepared for the camels?” [32-49] So the man went home with Laban, and Laban unloaded the camels, gave him straw for their bedding, fed them, and provided water for the man and the camel drivers to wash their feet. Then food was served. But Abraham’s servant said, “I don’t want to eat until I have told you why I have come.” So Laban said “Go ahead, tell us.” So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. And Yahweh has greatly blessed my master; who is a wealthy man. Yahweh has given him flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, a fortune in silver and gold, and many male and female servants and camels and donkeys. When Sarah, my master’s wife, was very old, she gave birth to my master’s son, and my master has given him everything he owns. And my master made me make a promise. He said, ‘Don’t let my son marry one of these local Canaanite women. Go to my father’s house, to my relatives instead, and find a wife there for my son.’ But I said to my master, ‘What if I can’t find a young woman who’s willing to go back with me?’ He responded, ‘Yahweh, in whose presence I have lived, will send an angel with you and will make you successful. Yes, you must find a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father’s family. Then you’ll have fulfilled your obligation. But if you go to my relatives and they refuse to let her go with you, you’ll be free from my promise.’ So today when I came to the spring, I prayed this prayer: ‘O God, God of my master, Abraham, please give me success on this mission. See, I am standing here beside this spring. This is what I ask. When a young woman comes to draw water, I’ll say to her, “Please give me a little drink of water from your jug.” If she says, “Yes, have a drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels, too,” let her be the one you’ve chosen to be the wife of my master’s son.’ And before I had finished praying in my heart, I saw Rebekah coming out with her water jug on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Yes, have a drink, and I’ll water your camels, too!’ So I drank, and then she watered the camels. Then I asked, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And she said, ‘I am the daughter of Bethuel, and my grandparents are Nahor and Milcah.’ So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. Then I bowed low and worshiped Yahweh. I praised Yahweh, the God of my master, Abraham, because he had led me straight to my master’s niece to be his son’s wife. So tell me—will you or won’t you show unending love and faithfulness to my master? Please tell me yes or no, and then I’ll know what to do next.” [50-56] Then Laban and Bethuel said, “Yahweh has obviously brought you here, so there is nothing we can say. Here is Rebekah; take her and go. Yes, let her be the wife of your master’s son, as Yahweh has led you.” So when Abraham’s servant heard their answer, he bowed down to the ground and worshiped Yahweh. Then he brought out silver and gold jewelry and clothing and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave expensive presents to her brother and mother. Then they ate their meal, and the servant and the men with him stayed there overnight. But early the next morning, Abraham’s servant said, “Send me back to my master.” So they said, “But we want Rebekah to stay with us at least ten days, then she can go.” But he said, “Don’t keep me. Yahweh has made me successful; now send me back so I can go back to my master.” [57-61] “Well,” they said, “we’ll call Rebekah and ask her what she thinks.” So they called Rebekah. “Are you willing to go with this man?” they asked her. And she said, “Yes, I’ll go.” So they said good-bye to Rebekah and sent her away with Abraham’s servant and his men, along with the woman who had been Rebekah’s childhood nurse. They gave her this blessing as she left: “Our sister, may you become the mother of many millions! May your descendants be strong and conquer the cities of their enemies.” Then Rebekah and her servant girls mounted the camels and followed the man. So Abraham’s servant took Rebekah and went on his way. [62-67] Meanwhile, Isaac, whose home was in the Negev, had went back from Beer-lahai-roi. One evening as he was walking and thinking in the fields, he looked up and saw the camels coming. When Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac, she quickly jumped off from her camel and asked the servant, “Who is that man walking through the fields to meet us?” And he said, “It’s my master.” So Rebekah covered her face with her veil. Then the servant told Isaac everything he had done. And Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent, and she became his wife. He loved her deeply, and she was a special comfort to him after the death of his mother.
The Death of Abraham 25[1-6] Then Abraham married another wife, whose name was Keturah. She gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. Dedan’s descendants were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites. Midian’s sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. These were all descendants of Abraham through Keturah. Abraham gave everything he owned to his son Isaac. But before he died, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them off to a land in the east, away from Isaac. [7-11] So Abraham lived for 175 years, and he died at a ripe old age, having lived a long and satisfying life. He died and joined his ancestors. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite. This was the field Abraham had purchased from the Hittites and where he had buried his wife Sarah. After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who settled near Beer-lahai-roi in the Negev. The Descendants of Ishmael
[12-18] This is the story of the family of Ishmael, the son of Abraham through Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian servant, listed by their names and families: The oldest was Nebaioth, followed by Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These twelve sons of Ishmael became the founders of twelve tribes named after them, listed according to the places they settled and camped. Ishmael lived for 137 years. Then he died and joined his ancestors. Ishmael’s descendants occupied the area from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt in the direction of Asshur. There they lived in open hostility toward all their relatives. The Births of Esau and Jacob [19-23] This is the story of the family of Isaac, the son of Abraham. When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel from Paddan-aram and the sister of Laban, who were Aramean. Isaac prayed to Yahweh on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children. So Yahweh answered Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twins. But the two children struggled with each other in her womb, so she went to ask Yahweh about it. “Why is this happening to me?” she asked. So Yahweh told her, “The sons in your womb will become two nations. One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your younger son.” And when the time came to give birth, Rebekah did in fact have twins! The first one was very red at birth and covered with thick hair. So they named him Esau. Then the other twin was born with his hand holding Esau’s heel. So they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born. Esau Sells His Birthright [27-34] As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home. Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob. One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau got home from the countryside exhausted and hungry. So Esau said to Jacob, “I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew!” (This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means “red.”) So Jacob said, “Yes, but trade me your rights as the firstborn son.” So Esau said, “Look, I’m dying of starvation! What good is my birthright to me now?” But Jacob said, “First you must promise that your birthright is mine.” So Esau made a promise, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. So Esau showed great disrespect for his rights as the firstborn.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Genesis 16-20
Genesis
Chapters 16-20
The Birth of Ishmael
16[1-3] Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to have any children for him. But she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “Yahweh has prevented me from having children. Go and have sex with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her.” And Abram did as Sarai said. So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian servant and gave her to Abram as a wife, which was ten years after Abram had settled in the land of Canaan.
[4-6] So Abram had sex with Hagar, and she became pregnant. But when Hagar knew she was pregnant, she began to treat her mistress, Sarai, with great disrespect. Then Sarai said to Abram, “This is all your fault! I put my servant into your arms, but now that she’s pregnant she treats me with great disrespect. Yahweh will show who’s wrong, you or me!” So Abram said, “Look, she’s your servant, so deal with her as you see fit.” Then Sarai treated Hagar so badly that she finally ran away.
[7-12] Then the angel of Yahweh found Hagar beside a spring of water in the countryside, along the road to Shur. The angel said to her, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She answered, “I’m running away from my mistress, Sarai.” So the angel of Yahweh said to her, “Go back to your mistress, and do as she tells you. I’ll give you more descendants than you can count. You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael (which means ‘God hears’), for Yahweh has heard your cry of trouble. This son of yours will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild donkey! He’ll fight against everyone, and everyone will fight against him. Yes, He’ll be openly angry with all his relatives.”
[13-16] Afterward, Hagar used another name to refer to Yahweh, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?” So that well was named Beer-lahai-roi (which means “well of the Living One who sees me”). It can still be found between Kadesh and Bered. So Hagar gave Abram a son, and Abram named him Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Ishmael was born.
Abram Is Named Abraham
17[1-8] When Abram was 99 years old, Yahweh appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai, ‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life and I’ll make a promise to you, in which I’ll promise to give you more descendants than you can count.” At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him, “This is my promise to you: I’ll make you the father of many nations! I am also changing your name. It’ll no longer be Abram. Instead, you’ll be called Abraham, for you’ll be the father of many nations. I’ll make you have many descendants. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them! “I’ll renew my promise with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting promise: I’ll always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. And I’ll give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It’ll be theirs forever, and I’ll be their God.” The Mark of the Promise [9-14] Then God said to Abraham, “Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the promise. You and all your descendants will be responsible for this forever. This is the promise that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must have the foreskin of his penis cut off. You must cut off the flesh of your foreskin as a sign of the promise between Me and you. From generation to generation, every male child must have his foreskin cut off on the eighth day after his birth. You must do this, not only to members of your family, but also to the servants born in your household and the foreign servants whom you’ve purchased. All the males must be cut their foreskins off. Your bodies will bear the mark of my everlasting promise. Any male who fails to have his foreskin cut off will be cut off from the blessings of the promise for breaking it.” Sarai Is Named Sarah [15-22] Then God said to Abraham, “About Sarai, your wife, her name will no longer be Sarai. From now on her name will be Sarah. And I’ll bless her and give you a son from her! Yes, I’ll bless her richly, and she’ll become the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will be among her descendants.” Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in unbelief. “How could I become a father at 100 years old?” he thought. “And how can Sarah have a baby when she’s 90 years old?” So Abraham said to God, “I wish that Ishmael would live up to your special blessing!” But God said, “No, Sarah, your wife, will give birth to a son for you. You’ll name him Isaac, and I’ll confirm my promise with him and his descendants as an everlasting promise. As for Ishmael, I’ll bless him also, fair as you’ve asked. I’ll make him have many descendants. He’ll become the father of twelve princes, and I’ll make them a great nation. But my promise will be made with Isaac, who will be born to you and Sarah about this time next year.” So when God had finished speaking, he left Abraham. [23-27] On that very day Abraham took his son, Ishmael, and every male in his household, including those born there and those he had bought. Then he cut their foreskins off fair as God had told him. Abraham was 99 years old when he was cut their foreskins off, and Ishmael, his son, was thirteen. Both Abraham and his son, Ishmael, had their foreskins cut off on that same day, along with all the other men and boys of the household, whether they were born there or bought as servants. They all had their foreskins cut off with him. A Son is Promised to Sarah 18[1-5] Yahweh appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove in Mamre. One day Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest part of the day. He looked up and noticed three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran to meet them and welcomed them, bowing low to the ground. “My God,” he said, “if it pleases you, stop here for a while. Rest in the shade of this tree while water is brought to wash your feet. And since you’ve honored your servant with this visit, let me have some food made to refresh you before you continue on your journey.” So they said. “Yes, do as you’ve said.” [6-10] So Abraham ran back to the tent and said to Sarah, “Hurry! Get three large measures of your best flour, knead it into dough, and bake some bread.” Then Abraham ran out to the herd and chose a tender calf and gave it to his servant, who quickly cooked it. When the food was ready, Abraham took some cheese and milk and the roasted meat, and he served it to the men. As they ate, Abraham waited on them in the shade of the trees. [9-15] “Where is Sarah, your wife?” the visitors asked. “She’s inside the tent,” Abraham said. Then one of them said, “I’ll come back to you about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah, will have a son!” Now Sarah was listening from the tent. Abraham and Sarah were both very old by this time, and Sarah was too old to have children. So she laughed silently to herself and said, “How could an old woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my husband is old, too?” Then Yahweh said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’ Is anything too hard for Yahweh? I’ll come back about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” Sarah was afraid, so she denied it, saying, “I didn’t laugh.” But Yahweh said, “No, you did laugh.” Abraham Intercedes for Sodom [16-19]Then the men got up from their meal and looked out toward Sodom. As they left, Abraham went with them to send them on their way. “Should I hide my plan from Abraham?” Yahweh asked. “For Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. I have chosen him so that he’ll teach his sons and their families to keep the way of Yahweh by doing what’s right and fair. Then I’ll do for Abraham all that I have promised.” [20-26] So Yahweh told Abraham, “I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so openly done. I am going down to see if their actions are as evil as I have heard. If not, I’ll know.” The other two men turned and headed toward Sodom, but Yahweh remained with Abraham. So Abraham spoke to him and said, “Will you wipe out both the good and the evil? What if you find fifty good people living there in the city? Will you still wipe it out and not spare it for their sakes? Surely you wouldn’t do that, killing the good along with the evil. Then you would be treating the good and the evil in the same way! Surely you wouldn’t do that! Shouldn’t the Judge of all the earth do what’s right?” So Yahweh said, “If I find fifty good people in Sodom, I’ll spare the whole city for their sake.” [27-] Then Abraham spoke up again. “Since I have begun, let me speak further to my God, even though I am but dust and ashes. What if there are only forty-five good people rather than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And Yahweh said, “I won’t destroy it if I find forty-five good people there.” Then Abraham asked again. “What if there are only forty?” And Yahweh said, “I won’t destroy it for the sake of the forty.” Then Abraham begged again “Please don’t be angry, my God. Let me speak again. What if there are only thirty good people found?” And Yahweh said, “I won’t destroy it if I find thirty.” Then Abraham said, “Since I have dared to speak to Yahweh, let me ask again. What if there are only twenty?” And Yahweh said, “Then I won’t destroy it for the sake of the twenty.” Finally, Abraham said, “God, please don’t be angry with me if I speak one more time. What if only ten are found there?” And Yahweh said, “Then I won’t destroy it for the sake of the ten.” So after speaking with Abraham, Yahweh went on, and Abraham went back to his tent. Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed 19[1-3] That evening the two angels came to the entrance of the city of Sodom. Lot was sitting there, and when he saw them, he stood up to meet them. Then he welcomed them and bowed with his face to the ground. “My Gods,” he said, “come to my home to wash your feet, and be my guests for the night. Then You may get up early in the morning and be on your way again.” But they answered, “No, we’ll spend the night out here in the city square.” But Lot insisted, so at last they went home with him. Then Lot had a feast for them, with fresh bread that hadn’t risen, and they ate.
[4-10] But before they went to sleep for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!” So Lot stepped outside to talk to them, shutting the door behind him. “Please, my brothers,” he begged, “don’t do such an evil thing. Look, I have two daughters who have never had sex before. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do whatever you want to with them. But please, leave these men alone, for they are my guests and I am responsible for protecting them.” But they shouted back, “Get out of the way! This fellow came to town as an outsider, and now he’s acting like our judge! We’ll treat you much worse than those other men!” And they pushed against Lot to break down the door. But the two angels reached out, and pulled Lot back into the house, and locked the door. Then they blinded all the men, young and old, who were at the door of the house, so the men stopped trying to get inside. [12-14] Meanwhile, the angels asked Lot, “Do you’ve any other relatives here in the city? Get them out of this place, your sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else. For we are about to completely destroy this city. The outcry against this place is so great it has reached Yahweh, who has sent us to destroy it.” So Lot rushed out to tell his daughters’ fiancés, “Come quickly, and get out of the city! Yahweh is about to destroy it.” But the young men thought he was only joking. [15-17] At dawn the next morning the angels became insistent. “Hurry,” they said to Lot. “Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out right now, or you’ll be wiped out in the destruction of the city!” So when Lot still lingered, the angels took his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and took them to safety outside the city, for Yahweh was merciful to them. So when they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, “Run for your lives! And don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you’ll be wiped out!” [18-22] “Oh no, my God!” Lot begged. “You’ve been so gracious to me and saved my life, and you’ve shown such great kindness. But I can’t go to the mountains. Disaster would come to me there, and I’d soon die. See, there’s a small town nearby. Please let me go there instead; see how small it is? Then my life will be saved.” So the angel said, “I’ll let you do that. I won’t destroy that little town. But hurry! Escape to it, for I can do nothing until you get there.” (This explains why that town was known as Zoar, which means “little place.”) [23-26] So Lot reached the town just as the sun was rising over the horizon. Then Yahweh rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah. God completely destroyed them, along with the other cities and towns of the plain, wiping out all the people and every bit of vegetation. But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt. [27-29] Abraham got up early that morning and hurried out to the place where he had talked with Yahweh. He looked out across the plain toward Sodom and Gomorrah and watched as the smoke rose from the cities like smoke from an oven. But God had listened to Abraham’s request and kept Lot safe, removing him from the disaster that engulfed the cities on the plain. Lot and His Daughters [30-38] Afterward Lot left Zoar because he was afraid of the people there, and he went to live in a cave in the mountains with his two daughters. One day the older daughter said to her sister, “There are no men left anywhere in this entire area, so we can’t get married like everyone else. And our father will soon be too old to have children. Come, let’s get him drunk with wine, and then we’ll have sex with him. That way we’ll save our family line through our father.” So that night they got him drunk with wine, and the older daughter went in and had sex with her father. He didn’t know that she came or went. The next morning the older daughter said to her younger sister, “I had sex with our father last night. Let’s get him drunk with wine again tonight, and you go in and have sex with him. That way we’ll save our family line through our father.” So that night they got him drunk with wine again, and the younger daughter went in and had sex with him. Like before, he didn’t know that she came or went. So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their own father. When the older daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Moab. He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Moabites. And when the younger daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Ben-ammi. He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Ammonites. Abraham Deceives Abimelech 20[1-7] Later Abraham moved south to the Negev and lived for a while between Kadesh and Shur, and then he moved on to Gerar. While living there as a foreigner, Abraham introduced his wife, Sarah, by saying, “She’s my sister.” So King Abimelech of Gerar sent for Sarah and had her brought to him at his palace. But that night God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are a dead man, for that woman you’ve taken is already married!” But Abimelech had not slept with her yet, so he said, “God, will you destroy an innocent nation? Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She’s my sister’? And she herself said, ‘Yes, he’s my brother.’ I acted in complete innocence! My hands are clean.” So in the dream God responded, “Yes, I know you are innocent. That’s why I kept you from sinning against me, and why I didn’t let you touch her. Now give her back to her husband, and he’ll pray for you, for he’s a preacher. Then you’ll live. But if you don’t give her back to him, you can be sure that you and all your people will die.” [8-13] So Abimelech got up early the next morning and quickly called all his servants together. When he told them what had happened, his men were terrified. Then Abimelech called for Abraham. “What have you done to us?” he demanded. “What have I done that deserves treatment like this, making me and my kingdom guilty of this great sin? No one should ever do what you’ve done! Why would you to do such a thing?” So Abraham said, “I thought, ‘This is a godless place. They’ll want my wife and will kill me to get her.’ And she really is my sister, for we both have the same father, but different mothers. And I married her. When God told me to leave my father’s home and travel to this land, I told her, ‘Do me a favor. Wherever we go, tell the people that I am your brother.’” [14-18] Then Abimelech took some of his sheep and goats, cattle, and male and female servants, and he gave them to Abraham. He also gave his wife, Sarah, back to him. Then Abimelech said, “Look over my land and choose any place where you want to live.” And he said to Sarah, “Look, I am giving your ‘brother’ 1,000 pieces of silver in the presence of all these witnesses. This is to repay you for any wrong I may have done to you. This will settle any claim against me, and your reputation is cleared.” Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants, so they could have children, because Yahweh had caused all the women to not be able to have children because of what happened with Abraham’s wife, Sarah.
Chapters 16-20
The Birth of Ishmael
16[1-3] Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to have any children for him. But she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “Yahweh has prevented me from having children. Go and have sex with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her.” And Abram did as Sarai said. So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian servant and gave her to Abram as a wife, which was ten years after Abram had settled in the land of Canaan.
[4-6] So Abram had sex with Hagar, and she became pregnant. But when Hagar knew she was pregnant, she began to treat her mistress, Sarai, with great disrespect. Then Sarai said to Abram, “This is all your fault! I put my servant into your arms, but now that she’s pregnant she treats me with great disrespect. Yahweh will show who’s wrong, you or me!” So Abram said, “Look, she’s your servant, so deal with her as you see fit.” Then Sarai treated Hagar so badly that she finally ran away.
[7-12] Then the angel of Yahweh found Hagar beside a spring of water in the countryside, along the road to Shur. The angel said to her, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She answered, “I’m running away from my mistress, Sarai.” So the angel of Yahweh said to her, “Go back to your mistress, and do as she tells you. I’ll give you more descendants than you can count. You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael (which means ‘God hears’), for Yahweh has heard your cry of trouble. This son of yours will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild donkey! He’ll fight against everyone, and everyone will fight against him. Yes, He’ll be openly angry with all his relatives.”
[13-16] Afterward, Hagar used another name to refer to Yahweh, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?” So that well was named Beer-lahai-roi (which means “well of the Living One who sees me”). It can still be found between Kadesh and Bered. So Hagar gave Abram a son, and Abram named him Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Ishmael was born.
Abram Is Named Abraham
17[1-8] When Abram was 99 years old, Yahweh appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai, ‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life and I’ll make a promise to you, in which I’ll promise to give you more descendants than you can count.” At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him, “This is my promise to you: I’ll make you the father of many nations! I am also changing your name. It’ll no longer be Abram. Instead, you’ll be called Abraham, for you’ll be the father of many nations. I’ll make you have many descendants. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them! “I’ll renew my promise with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting promise: I’ll always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. And I’ll give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It’ll be theirs forever, and I’ll be their God.” The Mark of the Promise [9-14] Then God said to Abraham, “Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the promise. You and all your descendants will be responsible for this forever. This is the promise that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must have the foreskin of his penis cut off. You must cut off the flesh of your foreskin as a sign of the promise between Me and you. From generation to generation, every male child must have his foreskin cut off on the eighth day after his birth. You must do this, not only to members of your family, but also to the servants born in your household and the foreign servants whom you’ve purchased. All the males must be cut their foreskins off. Your bodies will bear the mark of my everlasting promise. Any male who fails to have his foreskin cut off will be cut off from the blessings of the promise for breaking it.” Sarai Is Named Sarah [15-22] Then God said to Abraham, “About Sarai, your wife, her name will no longer be Sarai. From now on her name will be Sarah. And I’ll bless her and give you a son from her! Yes, I’ll bless her richly, and she’ll become the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will be among her descendants.” Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in unbelief. “How could I become a father at 100 years old?” he thought. “And how can Sarah have a baby when she’s 90 years old?” So Abraham said to God, “I wish that Ishmael would live up to your special blessing!” But God said, “No, Sarah, your wife, will give birth to a son for you. You’ll name him Isaac, and I’ll confirm my promise with him and his descendants as an everlasting promise. As for Ishmael, I’ll bless him also, fair as you’ve asked. I’ll make him have many descendants. He’ll become the father of twelve princes, and I’ll make them a great nation. But my promise will be made with Isaac, who will be born to you and Sarah about this time next year.” So when God had finished speaking, he left Abraham. [23-27] On that very day Abraham took his son, Ishmael, and every male in his household, including those born there and those he had bought. Then he cut their foreskins off fair as God had told him. Abraham was 99 years old when he was cut their foreskins off, and Ishmael, his son, was thirteen. Both Abraham and his son, Ishmael, had their foreskins cut off on that same day, along with all the other men and boys of the household, whether they were born there or bought as servants. They all had their foreskins cut off with him. A Son is Promised to Sarah 18[1-5] Yahweh appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove in Mamre. One day Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest part of the day. He looked up and noticed three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran to meet them and welcomed them, bowing low to the ground. “My God,” he said, “if it pleases you, stop here for a while. Rest in the shade of this tree while water is brought to wash your feet. And since you’ve honored your servant with this visit, let me have some food made to refresh you before you continue on your journey.” So they said. “Yes, do as you’ve said.” [6-10] So Abraham ran back to the tent and said to Sarah, “Hurry! Get three large measures of your best flour, knead it into dough, and bake some bread.” Then Abraham ran out to the herd and chose a tender calf and gave it to his servant, who quickly cooked it. When the food was ready, Abraham took some cheese and milk and the roasted meat, and he served it to the men. As they ate, Abraham waited on them in the shade of the trees. [9-15] “Where is Sarah, your wife?” the visitors asked. “She’s inside the tent,” Abraham said. Then one of them said, “I’ll come back to you about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah, will have a son!” Now Sarah was listening from the tent. Abraham and Sarah were both very old by this time, and Sarah was too old to have children. So she laughed silently to herself and said, “How could an old woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my husband is old, too?” Then Yahweh said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’ Is anything too hard for Yahweh? I’ll come back about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” Sarah was afraid, so she denied it, saying, “I didn’t laugh.” But Yahweh said, “No, you did laugh.” Abraham Intercedes for Sodom [16-19]Then the men got up from their meal and looked out toward Sodom. As they left, Abraham went with them to send them on their way. “Should I hide my plan from Abraham?” Yahweh asked. “For Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. I have chosen him so that he’ll teach his sons and their families to keep the way of Yahweh by doing what’s right and fair. Then I’ll do for Abraham all that I have promised.” [20-26] So Yahweh told Abraham, “I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so openly done. I am going down to see if their actions are as evil as I have heard. If not, I’ll know.” The other two men turned and headed toward Sodom, but Yahweh remained with Abraham. So Abraham spoke to him and said, “Will you wipe out both the good and the evil? What if you find fifty good people living there in the city? Will you still wipe it out and not spare it for their sakes? Surely you wouldn’t do that, killing the good along with the evil. Then you would be treating the good and the evil in the same way! Surely you wouldn’t do that! Shouldn’t the Judge of all the earth do what’s right?” So Yahweh said, “If I find fifty good people in Sodom, I’ll spare the whole city for their sake.” [27-] Then Abraham spoke up again. “Since I have begun, let me speak further to my God, even though I am but dust and ashes. What if there are only forty-five good people rather than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And Yahweh said, “I won’t destroy it if I find forty-five good people there.” Then Abraham asked again. “What if there are only forty?” And Yahweh said, “I won’t destroy it for the sake of the forty.” Then Abraham begged again “Please don’t be angry, my God. Let me speak again. What if there are only thirty good people found?” And Yahweh said, “I won’t destroy it if I find thirty.” Then Abraham said, “Since I have dared to speak to Yahweh, let me ask again. What if there are only twenty?” And Yahweh said, “Then I won’t destroy it for the sake of the twenty.” Finally, Abraham said, “God, please don’t be angry with me if I speak one more time. What if only ten are found there?” And Yahweh said, “Then I won’t destroy it for the sake of the ten.” So after speaking with Abraham, Yahweh went on, and Abraham went back to his tent. Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed 19[1-3] That evening the two angels came to the entrance of the city of Sodom. Lot was sitting there, and when he saw them, he stood up to meet them. Then he welcomed them and bowed with his face to the ground. “My Gods,” he said, “come to my home to wash your feet, and be my guests for the night. Then You may get up early in the morning and be on your way again.” But they answered, “No, we’ll spend the night out here in the city square.” But Lot insisted, so at last they went home with him. Then Lot had a feast for them, with fresh bread that hadn’t risen, and they ate.
[4-10] But before they went to sleep for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!” So Lot stepped outside to talk to them, shutting the door behind him. “Please, my brothers,” he begged, “don’t do such an evil thing. Look, I have two daughters who have never had sex before. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do whatever you want to with them. But please, leave these men alone, for they are my guests and I am responsible for protecting them.” But they shouted back, “Get out of the way! This fellow came to town as an outsider, and now he’s acting like our judge! We’ll treat you much worse than those other men!” And they pushed against Lot to break down the door. But the two angels reached out, and pulled Lot back into the house, and locked the door. Then they blinded all the men, young and old, who were at the door of the house, so the men stopped trying to get inside. [12-14] Meanwhile, the angels asked Lot, “Do you’ve any other relatives here in the city? Get them out of this place, your sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else. For we are about to completely destroy this city. The outcry against this place is so great it has reached Yahweh, who has sent us to destroy it.” So Lot rushed out to tell his daughters’ fiancés, “Come quickly, and get out of the city! Yahweh is about to destroy it.” But the young men thought he was only joking. [15-17] At dawn the next morning the angels became insistent. “Hurry,” they said to Lot. “Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out right now, or you’ll be wiped out in the destruction of the city!” So when Lot still lingered, the angels took his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and took them to safety outside the city, for Yahweh was merciful to them. So when they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, “Run for your lives! And don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you’ll be wiped out!” [18-22] “Oh no, my God!” Lot begged. “You’ve been so gracious to me and saved my life, and you’ve shown such great kindness. But I can’t go to the mountains. Disaster would come to me there, and I’d soon die. See, there’s a small town nearby. Please let me go there instead; see how small it is? Then my life will be saved.” So the angel said, “I’ll let you do that. I won’t destroy that little town. But hurry! Escape to it, for I can do nothing until you get there.” (This explains why that town was known as Zoar, which means “little place.”) [23-26] So Lot reached the town just as the sun was rising over the horizon. Then Yahweh rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah. God completely destroyed them, along with the other cities and towns of the plain, wiping out all the people and every bit of vegetation. But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt. [27-29] Abraham got up early that morning and hurried out to the place where he had talked with Yahweh. He looked out across the plain toward Sodom and Gomorrah and watched as the smoke rose from the cities like smoke from an oven. But God had listened to Abraham’s request and kept Lot safe, removing him from the disaster that engulfed the cities on the plain. Lot and His Daughters [30-38] Afterward Lot left Zoar because he was afraid of the people there, and he went to live in a cave in the mountains with his two daughters. One day the older daughter said to her sister, “There are no men left anywhere in this entire area, so we can’t get married like everyone else. And our father will soon be too old to have children. Come, let’s get him drunk with wine, and then we’ll have sex with him. That way we’ll save our family line through our father.” So that night they got him drunk with wine, and the older daughter went in and had sex with her father. He didn’t know that she came or went. The next morning the older daughter said to her younger sister, “I had sex with our father last night. Let’s get him drunk with wine again tonight, and you go in and have sex with him. That way we’ll save our family line through our father.” So that night they got him drunk with wine again, and the younger daughter went in and had sex with him. Like before, he didn’t know that she came or went. So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their own father. When the older daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Moab. He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Moabites. And when the younger daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Ben-ammi. He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Ammonites. Abraham Deceives Abimelech 20[1-7] Later Abraham moved south to the Negev and lived for a while between Kadesh and Shur, and then he moved on to Gerar. While living there as a foreigner, Abraham introduced his wife, Sarah, by saying, “She’s my sister.” So King Abimelech of Gerar sent for Sarah and had her brought to him at his palace. But that night God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are a dead man, for that woman you’ve taken is already married!” But Abimelech had not slept with her yet, so he said, “God, will you destroy an innocent nation? Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She’s my sister’? And she herself said, ‘Yes, he’s my brother.’ I acted in complete innocence! My hands are clean.” So in the dream God responded, “Yes, I know you are innocent. That’s why I kept you from sinning against me, and why I didn’t let you touch her. Now give her back to her husband, and he’ll pray for you, for he’s a preacher. Then you’ll live. But if you don’t give her back to him, you can be sure that you and all your people will die.” [8-13] So Abimelech got up early the next morning and quickly called all his servants together. When he told them what had happened, his men were terrified. Then Abimelech called for Abraham. “What have you done to us?” he demanded. “What have I done that deserves treatment like this, making me and my kingdom guilty of this great sin? No one should ever do what you’ve done! Why would you to do such a thing?” So Abraham said, “I thought, ‘This is a godless place. They’ll want my wife and will kill me to get her.’ And she really is my sister, for we both have the same father, but different mothers. And I married her. When God told me to leave my father’s home and travel to this land, I told her, ‘Do me a favor. Wherever we go, tell the people that I am your brother.’” [14-18] Then Abimelech took some of his sheep and goats, cattle, and male and female servants, and he gave them to Abraham. He also gave his wife, Sarah, back to him. Then Abimelech said, “Look over my land and choose any place where you want to live.” And he said to Sarah, “Look, I am giving your ‘brother’ 1,000 pieces of silver in the presence of all these witnesses. This is to repay you for any wrong I may have done to you. This will settle any claim against me, and your reputation is cleared.” Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants, so they could have children, because Yahweh had caused all the women to not be able to have children because of what happened with Abraham’s wife, Sarah.
Genesis 11-15
Genesis
Chapters 11-15
The Tower of Babel
11[1-4] At this time all the people of the world spoke the same language and spoke the same way. As the people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia and settled there. Then they said to one another, “Come, help! Let’s make bricks and bake them hard with fire.” (They used bricks for stone, and tar was used for mortar.) Then they said, “Come, help! Let’s build a city for ourselves with a high tower that reaches into the sky. We will make ourselves famous and not be scattered all over the world.”
[5-9] But Yahweh came down to look at the city and the tower that the people built. And Yahweh said, “Look! The people are all together, and they all speak the same language. Look what they have dreamed of doing. Now, nothing will be too hard for them of whatever they want to do! Come, let’s go down and give the people different languages, so they won’t be able to understand each other.” So, Yahweh scattered them all over the world, and they stopped building the city. That is why the city was called Babel, because that is where Yahweh gave the people different languages and scattered them all over the world. The Lineage from Shem to Abram
[10-11] This is the story of Shem’s family. Two years after the great flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he had Arphaxad. After the birth of Arphaxad, Shem lived another 500 years and had other sons and daughters.
[12-13] When Arphaxad was 35 years old, he had Shelah. After the birth of Shelah, Arphaxad lived another 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
[14-15] When Shelah was 30 years old, he had Eber. After the birth of Eber, Shelah lived another 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
[16-17] When Eber was 34 years old, he had Peleg. After the birth of Peleg, Eber lived another 430 years and had other sons and daughters.
[18-19] When Peleg was 30 years old, he had Reu. After the birth of Reu, Peleg lived another 209 years and had other sons and daughters.
[20-21] When Reu was 32 years old, he had Serug. After the birth of Serug, Reu lived another 207 years and had other sons and daughters.
[22-23] When Serug was 30 years old, he had Nahor. After the birth of Nahor, Serug lived another 200 years and had other sons and daughters.
[24-25] When Nahor was 29 years old, he had Terah. After the birth of Terah, Nahor lived another 119 years and had other sons and daughters.
The Family of Terah
[26-28] When Terah was 70 years old, he had three sons, Abram, Nahor, and Haran. This is the story of Terah’s family. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot. But Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, the land of his birth, while his father, Terah, was still living.
[29-30] Abram and Nahor both married wives. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah. (Milcah and her sister Iscah were daughters of Nahor’s brother Haran.) But Sarai was unable to become pregnant and had no children.
[31-32] One day Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai (Abram’s wife), and his grandson Lot ( Haran’s child) and left from Ur of the Chaldeans, going toward the land of Canaan. They stopped at Haran and settled there. Terah lived for 205 years and died there in Haran.
The Call of Abram
12[1-3] Yahweh had said to Abram, “Leave your land, your family, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I’ll show you. I’ll make you into a great nation. I’ll bless you and make your name well known, and you’ll be a blessing to others. I’ll bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you badly. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
[4-6] So Abram left as Yahweh had said, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and everything they owned, and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran, and left for the land of Canaan. When they got to Canaan, Abram traveled through the land as far as Shechem. They stopped at the oak of Moreh. At that time, the Canaanites still lived there.
[7-9]Then Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, “I’ll give this land to your descendants.” And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to Yahweh, who had appeared to him. Then, Abram left from there and went towards a mountain at the east of Bethel and set up his tent with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built another altar to Yahweh, and preached in the name of Yahweh. Then Abram continued moving south little by little toward the Negev desert. Abram and Sarai in Egypt
[10-13] Then there was a severe famine in the land of Canaan, so Abram left to go to Egypt, to stay while the famine was so great. As they came to Egypt, Abram said to his wife, Sarai, “Look, you are a very beautiful woman. When the Egyptians see you, they’ll say, ‘This is his wife’ and they’ll kill me and keep you alive. So please tell them you are my sister, so that It’ll be well with me because of you and I’ll live for your sake.”
[14-16] So when Abram went in to Egypt, the Egyptians saw how beautiful Sarai was. When the palace officials saw her, they told Pharaoh about her, and Sarai was taken into his palace. Then Pharaoh gave Abram many gifts because of her, sheep, goats, cattle, male and female donkeys, camels, and male and female servants.
[17-20] But Yahweh sent terrible diseases upon Pharaoh and his household because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. So Pharaoh called Abram and asked, “What have you done to me?” “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She’s my sister,’ and allow me to take her as my wife? Look, here’s your wife back. Take her and go!” So Pharaoh ordered some of his men to lead them out, and he sent Abram away, along with his wife and everything he owned. Abram and Lot Separate
13[1-4] So Abram left Egypt, going south into the Negev, along with his wife and Lot, and everything that they owned. (Abram was very rich in tame animals, silver, and gold.) From the Negev, they continued going toward Bethel, and they set up their tents where they started out between Bethel and Ai, where they had camped before. This was the same place where Abram had built the altar, and there he preached in the name of Yahweh again.
[5-7] Lot, who was going with Abram, had also become very wealthy with flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and many tents. But the land could not support both Abram and Lot with all their flocks and herds, so that they were unable to keep on living together. Then, fights broke out between those who kept the animals of Abram and Lot. (And the Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land.)
[8-9] Finally Abram said to Lot, “Please don’t let trouble come between us or those who keep our animals. We are family! Isn’t the whole countryside open to you? Please, separate from me. If you want the land to the left, then I’ll take the land on the right. If you want the land on the right, then I’ll go to the left.”
[10-13] So Lot took a long look at the fertile plains of the Jordan Valley in the direction of Zoar. The whole area was well watered everywhere, like the garden of Yahweh or the land of Egypt. (This was before Yahweh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself the whole Jordan Valley to the east of them and left from his uncle Abram. So Abram settled in the land of Canaan, and Lot moved his tents to a place near Sodom and settled among the cities of the plain. But the people of this area were very evil and always sinning in the sight of Yahweh.
[14-18] After Lot had gone, Yahweh said to Abram, “Look as far as you can see in every direction, north, south, east, and west. I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants forever. And I’ll give you as many descendants as the dust of the earth, so that they can’t be counted! Go and walk through the land in every direction, for I am giving it to you.” So Abram moved his camp to Hebron and settled near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. There he built another altar to Yahweh. Abram Rescues Lot
14[1-3] About this time war broke out in the land. King Amraphel of Babylonia, King Arioch of Ellasar, King Kedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim fought against King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (also called Zoar). This second group of kings joined forces in Siddim Valley (that is, the valley of the Dead Sea).
[4-9] For twelve years they had been subject to King Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled against him. One year later Kedorlaomer and his allies got there and defeated the Rephaites at Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzites at Ham, the Emites at Shaveh-kiriathaim, and the Horites at Mount Seir, as far as El-paran at the edge of the countryside. Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (now called Kadesh) and took control over all the land of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites living in Hazazon-tamar. Then the rebel kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (also called Zoar) prepared for battle in the valley of the Dead Sea. They fought against King Kedorlaomer of Elam, King Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel of Babylonia, and King Arioch of Ellasar, these four kings against five.
[10-12] It so happened that the valley of the Dead Sea was filled with tar pits. And as the army of the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into the tar pits, while the rest escaped into the mountains. The invaders then took valuables from Sodom and Gomorrah and headed for home, taking with them all the prizes of war and the food supplies. They also captured Lot, Abram’s nephew who lived in Sodom, and carried off everything he owned.
[13-16] But one of Lot’s men escaped and reported everything to Abram the Hebrew, who was living near the oak grove belonging to Mamre, the Amorite. Mamre and his relatives, Eshcol and Aner, were Abram’s allies. When Abram heard that his nephew Lot had been captured, he got the 318 trained men who had been born into his household ready to fight. Then he chased Kedorlaomer’s army until he caught up with them at Dan. There he divided his men and attacked during the night. Kedorlaomer’s army fled, but Abram chased them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. Abram got back everything that had been taken, and he brought back his nephew Lot with everything he owned and all the women and other captives. Melchizedek Blesses Abram
[17-20] As Abram was going home from his victory over Kedorlaomer and all his allies, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). And Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High, brought Abram some bread and wine. Melchizedek blessed Abram with this blessing: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who has defeated your enemies for you.” Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the goods he had gotten back.
[21-24] The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give back my people who were captured. But you may keep for yourself everything else you took back.” Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I solemnly swear to Yahweh, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth that I won’t take so much as a single thread or the lace of a sandal from what belongs to you. Otherwise you might say, ‘I am the one who made Abram rich.’ I’ll accept only what my young warriors have already eaten, and I request that you give a fair share of the goods to my allies, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre.” Yahweh’s Promise to Abram
15[1-6] A while later, Yahweh spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I’ll protect you, and your reward will be great.” But Abram said, “O God Most High, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. You’ve given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.” Then Yahweh said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you’ll have a son of your own who will be your heir.” Then Yahweh took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you’ll have!” And Abram believed Yahweh, and Yahweh counted him as good because of his faith.
[7-11]Then Yahweh told him, “I am Yahweh who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as your own.” But Abram said, “O God Most High, how can I be sure that I’ll actually get it?” So Yahweh told him, “Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” So Abram gave all these to him and killed them. Then he cut each animal down the middle and laid the halves side by side; but he didn’t cut the birds in half. Some vultures swooped down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away.
[12-16] As the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a terrifying darkness came down over him. Then Yahweh said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they’ll be under enemy control for 400 years. But I’ll punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they’ll come away with great wealth. (As for you, you’ll die in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.) After four generations your descendants will come back here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites have not increased so much that I must destroy them yet.”
[17-21] After the sun went down and darkness fell, Abram saw a smoking firepot and a flaming torch pass between the halves of the carcasses. So Yahweh made a promise with Abram that day and said, “I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River, the land that is now occupied by the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”
Chapters 11-15
The Tower of Babel
11[1-4] At this time all the people of the world spoke the same language and spoke the same way. As the people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia and settled there. Then they said to one another, “Come, help! Let’s make bricks and bake them hard with fire.” (They used bricks for stone, and tar was used for mortar.) Then they said, “Come, help! Let’s build a city for ourselves with a high tower that reaches into the sky. We will make ourselves famous and not be scattered all over the world.”
[5-9] But Yahweh came down to look at the city and the tower that the people built. And Yahweh said, “Look! The people are all together, and they all speak the same language. Look what they have dreamed of doing. Now, nothing will be too hard for them of whatever they want to do! Come, let’s go down and give the people different languages, so they won’t be able to understand each other.” So, Yahweh scattered them all over the world, and they stopped building the city. That is why the city was called Babel, because that is where Yahweh gave the people different languages and scattered them all over the world. The Lineage from Shem to Abram
[10-11] This is the story of Shem’s family. Two years after the great flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he had Arphaxad. After the birth of Arphaxad, Shem lived another 500 years and had other sons and daughters.
[12-13] When Arphaxad was 35 years old, he had Shelah. After the birth of Shelah, Arphaxad lived another 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
[14-15] When Shelah was 30 years old, he had Eber. After the birth of Eber, Shelah lived another 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
[16-17] When Eber was 34 years old, he had Peleg. After the birth of Peleg, Eber lived another 430 years and had other sons and daughters.
[18-19] When Peleg was 30 years old, he had Reu. After the birth of Reu, Peleg lived another 209 years and had other sons and daughters.
[20-21] When Reu was 32 years old, he had Serug. After the birth of Serug, Reu lived another 207 years and had other sons and daughters.
[22-23] When Serug was 30 years old, he had Nahor. After the birth of Nahor, Serug lived another 200 years and had other sons and daughters.
[24-25] When Nahor was 29 years old, he had Terah. After the birth of Terah, Nahor lived another 119 years and had other sons and daughters.
The Family of Terah
[26-28] When Terah was 70 years old, he had three sons, Abram, Nahor, and Haran. This is the story of Terah’s family. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot. But Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, the land of his birth, while his father, Terah, was still living.
[29-30] Abram and Nahor both married wives. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah. (Milcah and her sister Iscah were daughters of Nahor’s brother Haran.) But Sarai was unable to become pregnant and had no children.
[31-32] One day Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai (Abram’s wife), and his grandson Lot ( Haran’s child) and left from Ur of the Chaldeans, going toward the land of Canaan. They stopped at Haran and settled there. Terah lived for 205 years and died there in Haran.
The Call of Abram
12[1-3] Yahweh had said to Abram, “Leave your land, your family, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I’ll show you. I’ll make you into a great nation. I’ll bless you and make your name well known, and you’ll be a blessing to others. I’ll bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you badly. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
[4-6] So Abram left as Yahweh had said, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and everything they owned, and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran, and left for the land of Canaan. When they got to Canaan, Abram traveled through the land as far as Shechem. They stopped at the oak of Moreh. At that time, the Canaanites still lived there.
[7-9]Then Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, “I’ll give this land to your descendants.” And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to Yahweh, who had appeared to him. Then, Abram left from there and went towards a mountain at the east of Bethel and set up his tent with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built another altar to Yahweh, and preached in the name of Yahweh. Then Abram continued moving south little by little toward the Negev desert. Abram and Sarai in Egypt
[10-13] Then there was a severe famine in the land of Canaan, so Abram left to go to Egypt, to stay while the famine was so great. As they came to Egypt, Abram said to his wife, Sarai, “Look, you are a very beautiful woman. When the Egyptians see you, they’ll say, ‘This is his wife’ and they’ll kill me and keep you alive. So please tell them you are my sister, so that It’ll be well with me because of you and I’ll live for your sake.”
[14-16] So when Abram went in to Egypt, the Egyptians saw how beautiful Sarai was. When the palace officials saw her, they told Pharaoh about her, and Sarai was taken into his palace. Then Pharaoh gave Abram many gifts because of her, sheep, goats, cattle, male and female donkeys, camels, and male and female servants.
[17-20] But Yahweh sent terrible diseases upon Pharaoh and his household because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. So Pharaoh called Abram and asked, “What have you done to me?” “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She’s my sister,’ and allow me to take her as my wife? Look, here’s your wife back. Take her and go!” So Pharaoh ordered some of his men to lead them out, and he sent Abram away, along with his wife and everything he owned. Abram and Lot Separate
13[1-4] So Abram left Egypt, going south into the Negev, along with his wife and Lot, and everything that they owned. (Abram was very rich in tame animals, silver, and gold.) From the Negev, they continued going toward Bethel, and they set up their tents where they started out between Bethel and Ai, where they had camped before. This was the same place where Abram had built the altar, and there he preached in the name of Yahweh again.
[5-7] Lot, who was going with Abram, had also become very wealthy with flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and many tents. But the land could not support both Abram and Lot with all their flocks and herds, so that they were unable to keep on living together. Then, fights broke out between those who kept the animals of Abram and Lot. (And the Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land.)
[8-9] Finally Abram said to Lot, “Please don’t let trouble come between us or those who keep our animals. We are family! Isn’t the whole countryside open to you? Please, separate from me. If you want the land to the left, then I’ll take the land on the right. If you want the land on the right, then I’ll go to the left.”
[10-13] So Lot took a long look at the fertile plains of the Jordan Valley in the direction of Zoar. The whole area was well watered everywhere, like the garden of Yahweh or the land of Egypt. (This was before Yahweh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself the whole Jordan Valley to the east of them and left from his uncle Abram. So Abram settled in the land of Canaan, and Lot moved his tents to a place near Sodom and settled among the cities of the plain. But the people of this area were very evil and always sinning in the sight of Yahweh.
[14-18] After Lot had gone, Yahweh said to Abram, “Look as far as you can see in every direction, north, south, east, and west. I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants forever. And I’ll give you as many descendants as the dust of the earth, so that they can’t be counted! Go and walk through the land in every direction, for I am giving it to you.” So Abram moved his camp to Hebron and settled near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. There he built another altar to Yahweh. Abram Rescues Lot
14[1-3] About this time war broke out in the land. King Amraphel of Babylonia, King Arioch of Ellasar, King Kedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim fought against King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (also called Zoar). This second group of kings joined forces in Siddim Valley (that is, the valley of the Dead Sea).
[4-9] For twelve years they had been subject to King Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled against him. One year later Kedorlaomer and his allies got there and defeated the Rephaites at Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzites at Ham, the Emites at Shaveh-kiriathaim, and the Horites at Mount Seir, as far as El-paran at the edge of the countryside. Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (now called Kadesh) and took control over all the land of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites living in Hazazon-tamar. Then the rebel kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (also called Zoar) prepared for battle in the valley of the Dead Sea. They fought against King Kedorlaomer of Elam, King Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel of Babylonia, and King Arioch of Ellasar, these four kings against five.
[10-12] It so happened that the valley of the Dead Sea was filled with tar pits. And as the army of the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into the tar pits, while the rest escaped into the mountains. The invaders then took valuables from Sodom and Gomorrah and headed for home, taking with them all the prizes of war and the food supplies. They also captured Lot, Abram’s nephew who lived in Sodom, and carried off everything he owned.
[13-16] But one of Lot’s men escaped and reported everything to Abram the Hebrew, who was living near the oak grove belonging to Mamre, the Amorite. Mamre and his relatives, Eshcol and Aner, were Abram’s allies. When Abram heard that his nephew Lot had been captured, he got the 318 trained men who had been born into his household ready to fight. Then he chased Kedorlaomer’s army until he caught up with them at Dan. There he divided his men and attacked during the night. Kedorlaomer’s army fled, but Abram chased them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. Abram got back everything that had been taken, and he brought back his nephew Lot with everything he owned and all the women and other captives. Melchizedek Blesses Abram
[17-20] As Abram was going home from his victory over Kedorlaomer and all his allies, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). And Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High, brought Abram some bread and wine. Melchizedek blessed Abram with this blessing: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who has defeated your enemies for you.” Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the goods he had gotten back.
[21-24] The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give back my people who were captured. But you may keep for yourself everything else you took back.” Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I solemnly swear to Yahweh, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth that I won’t take so much as a single thread or the lace of a sandal from what belongs to you. Otherwise you might say, ‘I am the one who made Abram rich.’ I’ll accept only what my young warriors have already eaten, and I request that you give a fair share of the goods to my allies, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre.” Yahweh’s Promise to Abram
15[1-6] A while later, Yahweh spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I’ll protect you, and your reward will be great.” But Abram said, “O God Most High, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. You’ve given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.” Then Yahweh said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you’ll have a son of your own who will be your heir.” Then Yahweh took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you’ll have!” And Abram believed Yahweh, and Yahweh counted him as good because of his faith.
[7-11]Then Yahweh told him, “I am Yahweh who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as your own.” But Abram said, “O God Most High, how can I be sure that I’ll actually get it?” So Yahweh told him, “Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” So Abram gave all these to him and killed them. Then he cut each animal down the middle and laid the halves side by side; but he didn’t cut the birds in half. Some vultures swooped down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away.
[12-16] As the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a terrifying darkness came down over him. Then Yahweh said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they’ll be under enemy control for 400 years. But I’ll punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they’ll come away with great wealth. (As for you, you’ll die in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.) After four generations your descendants will come back here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites have not increased so much that I must destroy them yet.”
[17-21] After the sun went down and darkness fell, Abram saw a smoking firepot and a flaming torch pass between the halves of the carcasses. So Yahweh made a promise with Abram that day and said, “I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River, the land that is now occupied by the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”
Genesis 6-10
Genesis
Chapters 6-10
Noah’ Ark
6[1-3] Then there began to be many more people on the earth, and daughters were born to the human beings. The fallen angels of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful and took any they wanted as their wives. Then Yahweh said, “My Spirit will not always try to save human beings. Since their first wrongdoing, they only want to do what’s pleasurable to their bodies, so they’ll live no more than 120 years.”
[4-6] These giant fallen angels lived on the earth in those days, and even afterwards, whenever they had sex with women, they gave birth to children who became the giant warriors who were well known since ancient times. Then Yahweh saw how great the evil of humanity was on the earth, seeing that everything they thought or imagined was only evil. So Yahweh was sorry for making human beings on the earth and God’s heart was greatly saddened.
[7-8] So Yahweh said, “I’ll wipe this human race that I have created from off the face of the earth. Yes, and I’ll destroy every living thing, from the people to the animals, to the small animals that run around in the land, and even to the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.” But Yahweh saw that Noah was good, and had grace for him.
[9-13] This is the story of Noah and his family. Noah was a good man, the only decent person living on earth at that time, who kept on walking with God. And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Now God saw that the earth had become evil and was filled with violence. And God looked at the earth and saw that it had become evil, for everything on earth had changed to an evil way. So God said to Noah, “I see the end of all living creatures, and the earth is filled with violence because of them. Look, I’ll destroy them all, along with the earth!
[14-16] “Build a large boat from cypress wood, and make rooms in it, and waterproof it with tar, inside and out. And this is how you’ll do it. Make the boat 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. Leave an 18’’ opening below the roof all the way around the boat. Put the door on its side, and build three decks inside, a lower, middle, and upper deck.
17-22 “Look! I am going send waters to flood the earth to destroy every living thing that breathes under heaven. Everything on earth will die. But I’ll make a promise with you, when you go into the boat, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. Bring a pair of every kind of animal, a male and a female, into the boat with you to keep them alive. Birds after their kind, and tame animals after their kind, and every small animal that runs through the land after their kind, two of each kind will come to you to be kept alive. And gather every kind of food that is eaten, which will be food for your family and for all the animals.” So Noah did everything fair as God had told him to do. The Flood
7[1-6] Then Yahweh said to Noah, “Come into the boat with all your family, for you alone are good among all the people who live on the earth. Take with you seven pairs, a male and female, of each animal I have approved for eating and for sacrifice, and take one pair of each of the other animals. Also take seven pairs of every kind of bird, a male and a female, so that they’ll have young ones on the earth after the flood. In seven more days I’ll send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, until I have wiped from the face of the earth all the living things I have made.” So Noah did everything fair as Yahweh told him. And Noah was 600 years old when the flood came on the earth.
[7-12] So Noah went in the boat to escape the flood, he and his wife and his sons and their wives. All kinds of animals, those approved for eating and for sacrifice and those that were not, along with all the birds and the small animals that run around in the land entered the boat in pairs, male and female, fair as God had commanded Noah. After seven days, the waters of the flood came and covered the earth. So when Noah was 600 years old, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the underground stores of water burst open from the earth, and all the stores of water from the heavens were opened up. And it poured rain for forty days and forty nights.
[13-16] On that very day that Noah had gone into the boat with his wife and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their wives, Yahweh closed the door of the boat. They went in, along with every tame animal after its kind, every wild animal after its kind, every small animal that runs through the land after its kind, and every bird with wings after its kind. And they came in two by two to Noah in the boat, of every living thing that breathes. A male and female pair of each kind went in, fair as God had told Noah. Then Yahweh closed the door for Noah.
[17-24] The rain lasted for forty days, so as the waters kept rising higher, it covered the ground and lifted the boat up off the earth. As the waters kept rising higher on the earth, the boat floated on the surface of the water. The water covered the highest mountains on the earth by more than twenty-two feet. Every living thing on earth, all the birds, the tame animals, the wild animals, the small animals that run around in the land, and all the people died. Every living thing that breathed and lived on dry land died. So God wiped out every living thing on the earth, all the people, the tame animals, the small animals that run around in the land, and the birds of the sky. Everything was wiped out. Only Noah and those with him in the boat were left. And the waters covered the earth for 150 days. The Flood Dries Up
8[1-5] And God thought about Noah and all the wild animals and tame animals that were with him in the boat and sent a wind to blow across the earth, and the waters began to dry up. The underground waters closed up, and the rains from the sky stopped falling, so the waters began to dry up from the earth. After 150 days, the waters were going down. On the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the boat came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. The waters kept going down until the first day of the tenth month, when the other mountain peaks became visible.
[6-14] After forty more days, Noah opened the window he had made in the boat and let out a raven, which flew back and forth until the floodwaters on the earth had dried up. Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had dried up enough to find dry ground. But the dove couldn’t find a place to land because the water still covered the ground. So the dove came back to the boat, and Noah held out his hand to bring it back inside. After waiting another seven days, Noah sent out the dove again. The dove came back to him in the evening with an olive leaf torn off in its beak, so Noah knew that the waters were dried up from off the earth. He waited another seven days and then sent the dove out again and it didn’t come back anymore. In Noah’s 601 year, on the first day of the new year, the waters were almost dried up from the earth. Noah turned back the covering of the boat and saw that the surface of the ground was drying. In the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the earth was finally dry!
[15-19] Then God said to Noah, “Go out of the boat, you and your wife, and your sons and their wives. Let out all the animals that are with you, the birds, the tame animals, and the small animals that run around in the land, so they can make more of their own kind, and make many more to live throughout the earth.” So Noah, his wife, and his sons and their wives left the boat. And all of the large and small animals and all the birds, every living thing after their families, came out of the boat.
[20-22] Then Noah built an altar to Yahweh, where he sacrificed one of each kind of the animals and birds that had been approved for sacrifices as burnt offerings to rise up from the alter. And Yahweh smelled the sweet smell of the sacrifice and said, “I’ll never again curse the ground because of the human race, even though everything they think or imagine is evil from their childhood, and I’ll never again destroy all living things. As long as the earth is here, there will be planting time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.” God Makes a Promise
9[1-4] Then God blessed Noah and his sons and told them, “Create more of your own kind and make many more people to fill the earth. All the animals of the earth, all the birds of the sky, all the small animals that run around in the land, and all the fish in the sea will fear and run from you. I give them all to you to be in your control. I have given them all to you for food, fair as I have given you the green plants. Only meat that still has its blood in it, you may not eat.
[5-7] “And I’ll only require your death if you take another person’s life. If an animal kills a human being, I’ll require its death, and if a person kills another human being, I’ll require their death. If anyone takes another human life, that person’s life must also be taken by human hands, because human beings were made in the likeness of God. Now create more of your own kind and make many more people to fill the earth.”
[8-17] Then God told Noah and his sons, “I am making My promise with you and your descendants, and with all the animals that were on the boat with you, the birds, the tame animals, and all the wild animals, from all that went out of the boat to every living creature on earth. So I am making My promise with you, that I’ll never again kill all living creatures with a flood; and never again will a flood destroy the earth.” Then God said, “I am giving you the sign of my promise I am making with you and with all living creatures, and for all the peoples to come. I have placed my rainbow in the clouds, which is the sign of my promise with you and with all the earth. When I send a cloud over the earth, and the rainbow is seen in the cloud, I’ll remember my promise with you and with all living creatures, and never again will a flood destroy all living things. When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I’ll remember the eternal promise between God and every living creature on earth.” Then God said to Noah, “This rainbow is the sign of the promise I have made between Me and every living creature on the earth.” Noah’s Sons
[18-23] The sons of Noah who came out of the boat were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham is the father of Canaan.) From these three sons of Noah came all the people who are on the earth. Then Noah began to farm the earth again, and he planted a vineyard. When he drank some wine, he became drunk and lay naked inside his tent. Then Ham, the father of Canaan, saw that his father was naked and went outside and told his two brothers. So Shem and Japheth took a robe, held it over their shoulders, and backed into the tent to cover up their father. As they did this, they looked the other way so they would not see him naked.
[24-29] When Noah woke up from his drunkenness, he found out what Ham, his youngest son, had done. Then he cursed Canaan, the son of Ham, saying, “May the descendants of Canaan be cursed! May they be the lowest of servants to all their relatives.” Then Noah said, “May Yahweh, my God bless Shem, and may Canaan be his servant! May God increase the beauty of Japheth! May Japheth live in shadow of Shem, and may Canaan be his servant.” Then Noah lived another 350 years after the great flood. He lived 950 years in all, and then died. The Descendants of Noah
10[1] This is the story of the families of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the three sons of Noah. Many children were born to them after the great flood. Descendants of Japheth
[2-5] The descendants of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. The descendants of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. The descendants of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Rodanim. Their descendants became the island peoples that spread out to various lands, each identified by its own language, family, and nation. Descendants of Ham
[6-12] The descendants of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. The descendants of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The descendants of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. Cush was also the ancestor of Nimrod, who was famous on earth. He was a great hunter blessed by Yahweh, which is why people would say someone was, “Like Nimrod, the great hunter blessed by Yahweh.” He started to build his kingdom in the land of Babel, with the cities of Babylon, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh. From that land he went to Assyria, building the cities of Nineveh, Rehoboth-ir, Calah, and Resen (the great city between Nineveh and Calah).
[13-20] Mizraim was the ancestor of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, Pathrusites, Casluhites, and the Caphtorites, from whom the Philistines came. Canaan’s oldest son was Sidon, the ancestor of the Sidonians. Canaan was also the father of Heth, the ancestor of the Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Zemarites, and Hamathites. The Canaanite families eventually spread out, and the land of Canaan extended from Sidon in the north to Gerar and Gaza in the south, and east as far as Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, near Lasha. These were the descendants of Ham, identified by their families, language, land, and nation. Descendants of Shem
[21-25] Sons were also born to Shem, the older brother of Japheth. Shem was the ancestor of all the descendants of Eber. The descendants of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram. The descendants of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. Arphaxad was the father of Shelah, and Shelah was the father of Eber. Eber had two sons. The first was named Peleg (which means “division”), for during his lifetime the earth was divided. His brother’s name was Joktan.
[26-31] Joktan was the ancestor of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were descendants of Joktan. Their land extended from Mesha all the way to Sephar in the eastern mountains. These were the descendants of Shem, identified by family, language, land, and nation.
[32] These are the families that descended from Noah’s sons, arranged by nation according to their lines of descent. All the nations of the earth descended from these families after the great flood.
Chapters 6-10
Noah’ Ark
6[1-3] Then there began to be many more people on the earth, and daughters were born to the human beings. The fallen angels of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful and took any they wanted as their wives. Then Yahweh said, “My Spirit will not always try to save human beings. Since their first wrongdoing, they only want to do what’s pleasurable to their bodies, so they’ll live no more than 120 years.”
[4-6] These giant fallen angels lived on the earth in those days, and even afterwards, whenever they had sex with women, they gave birth to children who became the giant warriors who were well known since ancient times. Then Yahweh saw how great the evil of humanity was on the earth, seeing that everything they thought or imagined was only evil. So Yahweh was sorry for making human beings on the earth and God’s heart was greatly saddened.
[7-8] So Yahweh said, “I’ll wipe this human race that I have created from off the face of the earth. Yes, and I’ll destroy every living thing, from the people to the animals, to the small animals that run around in the land, and even to the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.” But Yahweh saw that Noah was good, and had grace for him.
[9-13] This is the story of Noah and his family. Noah was a good man, the only decent person living on earth at that time, who kept on walking with God. And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Now God saw that the earth had become evil and was filled with violence. And God looked at the earth and saw that it had become evil, for everything on earth had changed to an evil way. So God said to Noah, “I see the end of all living creatures, and the earth is filled with violence because of them. Look, I’ll destroy them all, along with the earth!
[14-16] “Build a large boat from cypress wood, and make rooms in it, and waterproof it with tar, inside and out. And this is how you’ll do it. Make the boat 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. Leave an 18’’ opening below the roof all the way around the boat. Put the door on its side, and build three decks inside, a lower, middle, and upper deck.
17-22 “Look! I am going send waters to flood the earth to destroy every living thing that breathes under heaven. Everything on earth will die. But I’ll make a promise with you, when you go into the boat, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. Bring a pair of every kind of animal, a male and a female, into the boat with you to keep them alive. Birds after their kind, and tame animals after their kind, and every small animal that runs through the land after their kind, two of each kind will come to you to be kept alive. And gather every kind of food that is eaten, which will be food for your family and for all the animals.” So Noah did everything fair as God had told him to do. The Flood
7[1-6] Then Yahweh said to Noah, “Come into the boat with all your family, for you alone are good among all the people who live on the earth. Take with you seven pairs, a male and female, of each animal I have approved for eating and for sacrifice, and take one pair of each of the other animals. Also take seven pairs of every kind of bird, a male and a female, so that they’ll have young ones on the earth after the flood. In seven more days I’ll send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, until I have wiped from the face of the earth all the living things I have made.” So Noah did everything fair as Yahweh told him. And Noah was 600 years old when the flood came on the earth.
[7-12] So Noah went in the boat to escape the flood, he and his wife and his sons and their wives. All kinds of animals, those approved for eating and for sacrifice and those that were not, along with all the birds and the small animals that run around in the land entered the boat in pairs, male and female, fair as God had commanded Noah. After seven days, the waters of the flood came and covered the earth. So when Noah was 600 years old, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the underground stores of water burst open from the earth, and all the stores of water from the heavens were opened up. And it poured rain for forty days and forty nights.
[13-16] On that very day that Noah had gone into the boat with his wife and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their wives, Yahweh closed the door of the boat. They went in, along with every tame animal after its kind, every wild animal after its kind, every small animal that runs through the land after its kind, and every bird with wings after its kind. And they came in two by two to Noah in the boat, of every living thing that breathes. A male and female pair of each kind went in, fair as God had told Noah. Then Yahweh closed the door for Noah.
[17-24] The rain lasted for forty days, so as the waters kept rising higher, it covered the ground and lifted the boat up off the earth. As the waters kept rising higher on the earth, the boat floated on the surface of the water. The water covered the highest mountains on the earth by more than twenty-two feet. Every living thing on earth, all the birds, the tame animals, the wild animals, the small animals that run around in the land, and all the people died. Every living thing that breathed and lived on dry land died. So God wiped out every living thing on the earth, all the people, the tame animals, the small animals that run around in the land, and the birds of the sky. Everything was wiped out. Only Noah and those with him in the boat were left. And the waters covered the earth for 150 days. The Flood Dries Up
8[1-5] And God thought about Noah and all the wild animals and tame animals that were with him in the boat and sent a wind to blow across the earth, and the waters began to dry up. The underground waters closed up, and the rains from the sky stopped falling, so the waters began to dry up from the earth. After 150 days, the waters were going down. On the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the boat came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. The waters kept going down until the first day of the tenth month, when the other mountain peaks became visible.
[6-14] After forty more days, Noah opened the window he had made in the boat and let out a raven, which flew back and forth until the floodwaters on the earth had dried up. Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had dried up enough to find dry ground. But the dove couldn’t find a place to land because the water still covered the ground. So the dove came back to the boat, and Noah held out his hand to bring it back inside. After waiting another seven days, Noah sent out the dove again. The dove came back to him in the evening with an olive leaf torn off in its beak, so Noah knew that the waters were dried up from off the earth. He waited another seven days and then sent the dove out again and it didn’t come back anymore. In Noah’s 601 year, on the first day of the new year, the waters were almost dried up from the earth. Noah turned back the covering of the boat and saw that the surface of the ground was drying. In the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the earth was finally dry!
[15-19] Then God said to Noah, “Go out of the boat, you and your wife, and your sons and their wives. Let out all the animals that are with you, the birds, the tame animals, and the small animals that run around in the land, so they can make more of their own kind, and make many more to live throughout the earth.” So Noah, his wife, and his sons and their wives left the boat. And all of the large and small animals and all the birds, every living thing after their families, came out of the boat.
[20-22] Then Noah built an altar to Yahweh, where he sacrificed one of each kind of the animals and birds that had been approved for sacrifices as burnt offerings to rise up from the alter. And Yahweh smelled the sweet smell of the sacrifice and said, “I’ll never again curse the ground because of the human race, even though everything they think or imagine is evil from their childhood, and I’ll never again destroy all living things. As long as the earth is here, there will be planting time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.” God Makes a Promise
9[1-4] Then God blessed Noah and his sons and told them, “Create more of your own kind and make many more people to fill the earth. All the animals of the earth, all the birds of the sky, all the small animals that run around in the land, and all the fish in the sea will fear and run from you. I give them all to you to be in your control. I have given them all to you for food, fair as I have given you the green plants. Only meat that still has its blood in it, you may not eat.
[5-7] “And I’ll only require your death if you take another person’s life. If an animal kills a human being, I’ll require its death, and if a person kills another human being, I’ll require their death. If anyone takes another human life, that person’s life must also be taken by human hands, because human beings were made in the likeness of God. Now create more of your own kind and make many more people to fill the earth.”
[8-17] Then God told Noah and his sons, “I am making My promise with you and your descendants, and with all the animals that were on the boat with you, the birds, the tame animals, and all the wild animals, from all that went out of the boat to every living creature on earth. So I am making My promise with you, that I’ll never again kill all living creatures with a flood; and never again will a flood destroy the earth.” Then God said, “I am giving you the sign of my promise I am making with you and with all living creatures, and for all the peoples to come. I have placed my rainbow in the clouds, which is the sign of my promise with you and with all the earth. When I send a cloud over the earth, and the rainbow is seen in the cloud, I’ll remember my promise with you and with all living creatures, and never again will a flood destroy all living things. When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I’ll remember the eternal promise between God and every living creature on earth.” Then God said to Noah, “This rainbow is the sign of the promise I have made between Me and every living creature on the earth.” Noah’s Sons
[18-23] The sons of Noah who came out of the boat were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham is the father of Canaan.) From these three sons of Noah came all the people who are on the earth. Then Noah began to farm the earth again, and he planted a vineyard. When he drank some wine, he became drunk and lay naked inside his tent. Then Ham, the father of Canaan, saw that his father was naked and went outside and told his two brothers. So Shem and Japheth took a robe, held it over their shoulders, and backed into the tent to cover up their father. As they did this, they looked the other way so they would not see him naked.
[24-29] When Noah woke up from his drunkenness, he found out what Ham, his youngest son, had done. Then he cursed Canaan, the son of Ham, saying, “May the descendants of Canaan be cursed! May they be the lowest of servants to all their relatives.” Then Noah said, “May Yahweh, my God bless Shem, and may Canaan be his servant! May God increase the beauty of Japheth! May Japheth live in shadow of Shem, and may Canaan be his servant.” Then Noah lived another 350 years after the great flood. He lived 950 years in all, and then died. The Descendants of Noah
10[1] This is the story of the families of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the three sons of Noah. Many children were born to them after the great flood. Descendants of Japheth
[2-5] The descendants of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. The descendants of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. The descendants of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Rodanim. Their descendants became the island peoples that spread out to various lands, each identified by its own language, family, and nation. Descendants of Ham
[6-12] The descendants of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. The descendants of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The descendants of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. Cush was also the ancestor of Nimrod, who was famous on earth. He was a great hunter blessed by Yahweh, which is why people would say someone was, “Like Nimrod, the great hunter blessed by Yahweh.” He started to build his kingdom in the land of Babel, with the cities of Babylon, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh. From that land he went to Assyria, building the cities of Nineveh, Rehoboth-ir, Calah, and Resen (the great city between Nineveh and Calah).
[13-20] Mizraim was the ancestor of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, Pathrusites, Casluhites, and the Caphtorites, from whom the Philistines came. Canaan’s oldest son was Sidon, the ancestor of the Sidonians. Canaan was also the father of Heth, the ancestor of the Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Zemarites, and Hamathites. The Canaanite families eventually spread out, and the land of Canaan extended from Sidon in the north to Gerar and Gaza in the south, and east as far as Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, near Lasha. These were the descendants of Ham, identified by their families, language, land, and nation. Descendants of Shem
[21-25] Sons were also born to Shem, the older brother of Japheth. Shem was the ancestor of all the descendants of Eber. The descendants of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram. The descendants of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. Arphaxad was the father of Shelah, and Shelah was the father of Eber. Eber had two sons. The first was named Peleg (which means “division”), for during his lifetime the earth was divided. His brother’s name was Joktan.
[26-31] Joktan was the ancestor of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were descendants of Joktan. Their land extended from Mesha all the way to Sephar in the eastern mountains. These were the descendants of Shem, identified by family, language, land, and nation.
[32] These are the families that descended from Noah’s sons, arranged by nation according to their lines of descent. All the nations of the earth descended from these families after the great flood.
Genesis 1-5
Genesis
Chapters 1-5
The Creation
1[1-5] When God first created the skies and the earth, the earth was useless and empty and no light shined on the waters that covered the earth. As the Spirit of God hovered over the top of the waters, God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. Then God separated the light from the darkness, calling the light “day” and the darkness “night.” So there was evening and morning, which was the first day.
[6-8] Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, separating the waters of the earth from the waters of the skies.” So God made a space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the skies, and it happened fair as God said. And God called the space “sky.” So there was evening and morning, which was the second day.
[9-13] Then God said, “Let the waters under the sky come together in one place, so that the dry ground may be seen.” And it happened fair as God said. God called the dry land “earth” and the waters that had come together “seas.” And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the land grow grass and plants, which make the same kind of seeds, and fruit trees, which fruits make its seeds, to make the same kind of fruit trees.” And it happened fair as God said. So the earth grew grass and plants, which make the same kind of seeds, and fruit trees, which fruits make its seeds, to make the same kind of fruit trees. And God saw that it was good. So there was evening and morning, which was the third day.
[14-19] Then God said, “Let lights be made in the sky to separate the day from the night, which are for signs and seasons, days and years. Let them be for lights in the skies of the heavens to give light on the earth.” And it happened fair as God said. And God made two great lights, the sun, which is the greatest to light the day, and the smaller ones, the moon and the stars, to light the night. So God made the lights in the skies of the heavens to give light to the earth, to light the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So there was evening and morning, which was the fourth day.
[20-23] Then God said, “Let the seas be filled with living creatures, and let the skies of the earth be filled with birds.” So God created the great sea creatures, the fish, and every other living thing that moves, which are in the water, each after its own kind, and every bird with wings, each after its own kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God blessed them, saying, “Create more of your own kind and make many more. Let the sea creatures fill the seas, and let the birds fill the earth.” So there was evening and morning, which was the fifth day.
[24-25] Then God said, “Let the earth make living creatures, each animal after its own kind, the tame animals, the small animals that run around in the land, and the wild animals, each after their own kind.” And it happened fair as God said. And God made all kinds of wild animals, tame animals, and small animals to live in the land, each after its own kind. And God saw that it was good.
[26-28] Then God said, “Let us make human beings in Our likeness, as a reflection of Ourselves to rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the tame animals, all the wild animals of the earth, and the small animals that run around in the land.” So God created human beings to be like God. God created them, male and female, in the likeness of God. Then God blessed them and said, “Create more of your own kind and make many more people to fill the earth and take charge of it. Take charge of the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that run around in the land.”
[29-31] Then God said, “Look! I have given you every plant on the face of the earth, which makes its own seed and all the trees, which make their own fruit, for your food. And I have given every green plant as food for all the animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that run around in the land, everything that breathes with life.” And it happened fair as God said. Then God saw everything that was done, and it was very good! So there was evening and morning, which was the sixth day.
2[1-3] So the heavens and the earth and everything in them was finished. God had finished the work of creation by the seventh day, so God stopped to rest on the seventh day. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because it was the day God stopped working on all the creation. Adam and Eve in the Garden
[4-6] This is the story of the birth of the skies and the earth in their creation. When Yahweh God made the earth and the heavens, neither plants nor grasses were growing on the earth yet. Yahweh God had not yet sent rain on the earth, and there were no people to work the soil. At that time, a mist came up from the ground and watered all the land.
[7-9] Then Yahweh God formed the first human being from the dust of the ground. God breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person. Then Yahweh God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and placed the man who God had made in it. So Yahweh God made every tree that was beautiful or good for food to grow from the ground. And God placed in the middle of the garden the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
[10-14] A river went out of Eden, which watered the garden and which parts into four smaller rivers. The first one is called Pishon, which flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where gold is found. The gold of that land is very good, and aromatic resin and onyx stone are also found there. The second one is called Gihon, which flowed around the whole land of Cush. The third one is called Tigris, which flowed east of the land of Asshur. The fourth one is called Euphrates.
[15-17] So Yahweh God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it. But Yahweh God told the man, “You may eat of every tree in the garden, except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. On the day you eat of it, you’ll start dying, and then you’ll die.”
[18-20] Then Yahweh God said, “It’s not good for man to be alone. I’ll make him a helper, who will be his equal.” Yahweh God had formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. So God brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and whatever the man called them became the name for each one. The man gave names to all the tame animals, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals of the lands. But for the man, there was not yet a helper to be his equal.
[21-25] So Yahweh God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, Yahweh God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the flesh where it was. Then Yahweh God built up the rib that was taken from the man, making it into a woman. And when God brought her to the man, the man said, “This was the right thing to do. This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She’ll be called woman, because she was taken from man.” (This is why a man leaves his father and mother and stays with his wife, and the two become as one person.) Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they weren’t ashamed of themselves.
The Fall of Humanity
3[1-5] Now the snake was the trickiest of all the animals that Yahweh God had made, and said to the woman, “Is it true that God said you can’t eat from any of the trees in the garden?” And the Woman said to the snake, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden, but only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; or you’ll begin to die.’” Then the snake said to the woman “You won’t begin to die! God knows that in the day you eat it, you’ll have knowledge, and you’ll be like God, knowing good and evil.”
[6-7] The woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was beautiful to look at and she wanted it to be wise. So she took some of the fruit and ate it, and gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. Suddenly, they both knew that they were naked and were ashamed. So they sewed fig leaves together to make themselves clothes.
[8-13] Then the man and his wife heard Yahweh God walking through the garden in the breeze of the day, so they hid from the face of Yahweh God among the trees. Then Yahweh God called to the man, “Where are you?” So the man said, “I heard you walking in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” Then Yahweh God asked, “Who told you that you were naked?” “Have you eaten from the tree which I told you not to eat?” Then the man said, “The woman You placed with me gave me the fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Then Yahweh God asked the woman, “What have you done?” And she said, “The snake made me forget and I ate it.”
[14-19] Then Yahweh God said to the snake, “Because you’ve done this, you are cursed more than all the animals, both tame and wild. You’ll move around on your belly, and eat the dust as long as you live. And I’ll make you and the woman hate each other, and cause your child and her Child to be enemies. Her Child will hurt your head, and you’ll hurt her Child’s heel.” Then he said to the woman, “I’ll greatly increase your child bearing and your pain when you give birth. In sorrow, you’ll bear children, but you’ll want your husband anyway. In this way, He’ll have control over you.” And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree, which fruit I told you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. You’ll eat from it in sorrow all your life. When you eat the plants of the fields, It’ll grow thorns and brambles as well. You’ll eat by the sweat of your face until you go back to the ground from which you were made. You were made from dust, and you’ll go back to dust.” God’s Judgment
[20-24] And the man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all humanity. And Yahweh God made clothes for Adam and his wife from the skin of an animal that was killed and put it on them. Then Yahweh God said, “Look, the human beings have become like Us, knowing both good and evil. Now if they reach out, and take the fruit from the tree of life, and eat it, they’ll live forever!” So Yahweh God sent them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to work the ground from which he had been made. Then, Yahweh God put strong angels to the east of the Garden of Eden, and a flaming sword that moved to guard the way of the tree of life. Cain and Abel
4[1-7] Now, Adam had sex with his wife, Eve, and she became pregnant. When she gave birth to Cain, she said, “Yahweh God has given me a man child!” Then she gave birth to his brother and named him Abel. When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, and Cain became a farmer. At the end of the year, when it was time for the harvest, Cain brought some of his crops as a gift to Yahweh and Abel also brought the fattest of the firstborn lambs from his flock. Yahweh accepted Abel and his gift, but he didn’t accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked upset. So Yahweh asked Cain. “Why are you so angry?” “Why do you look so upset? Won’t you be accepted if you do what’s right? But if you don’t do what’s right, sin follows. Sin wants to have control over you, but you must control it.
[8-12] Then Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go into the field.” And when they were in the field, Cain fought with his brother, Abel, and killed him. Then Yahweh asked Cain, “Where is your brother, Abel?” So Cain said, “I don’t know! Am I my brother’s keeper?” Then God said, “What have you done? The sound of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground! Now you are cursed from the ground, which has swallowed your brother’s blood, which you killed. When you work the land, it won’t give you anymore crops to make you strong! From now on you’ll be a wanderer on the earth, trembling with fright.”
[13-16] Then Cain said to Yahweh, “My punishment is too great for me! You’ve sent me from the land and I hide from your presence; you’ve made me a trembling wanderer. Everyone who finds me will try to kill me!” So Yahweh said, “No, I’ll punish anyone who kills you seven times as much.” Then Yahweh put a mark on Cain to warn anyone who might try to kill him. So Cain left Yahweh’s presence and wandered around, living in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
The Descendants of Cain
17-24 Cain had sex with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Then Cain built a city, which he named Enoch, after his son. Enoch had Irad. Irad had Mehujael. Mehujael had Methushael. Methushael had Lamech. And Lamech married two women. The first was named Adah, and the second was Zillah. Adah gave birth to Jabal, who was the first of those who bought and sold and who lived in tents. His brother’s name was Jubal, the first of all who played the musical instruments. Lamech’s other wife, Zillah, gave birth to a son named Tubal-cain. He became a teacher of those who made things of brass and iron. Tubal-cain had a sister named Naamah. One day Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, listen to me! Listen to me, you wives of Lamech. I have killed a man who hurt me, a young man who wounded me. If someone who kills Cain is to be punished seven times as much, then the one who kills me will be punished seventy-seven times as much!” The Birth of Seth
[25-26] Adam had sex with his wife again, and she gave birth to another son. She named him Seth, and said, “God has granted me another son in place of Abel, whom Cain killed.” When Seth grew up, he had a son and named him Enosh. It was at that time that people first began to preach in the name of Yahweh.
The Descendants of Adam
5[1-5] This is the story of the descendants of Adam. When human beings were created, God made them to be like God. God created them, male and female, and blessed them and called them “human beings.” So when Adam was 130 years old, he had a son who was like him—in his own likeness. He named his son Seth. After the birth of Seth, Adam lived another 800 years, and had other sons and daughters. Adam lived 930 years, and then he died.
[6-8] When Seth was 105 years old, he had Enosh. After the birth of Enosh, Seth lived another 807 years, and had other sons and daughters. Seth lived 912 years, and then he died.
[9-11] When Enosh was 90 years old, he had Kenan. After the birth of Kenan, Enosh lived another 815 years, and had other sons and daughters. Enosh lived 905 years, and then he died.
[12-14] When Kenan was 70 years old, he had Mahalalel. After the birth of Mahalalel, Kenan lived another 840 years, and had other sons and daughters. Kenan lived 910 years, and then he died.
[15-17] When Mahalalel was 65 years old, he had Jared. After the birth of Jared, Mahalalel lived another 830 years, and had other sons and daughters. Mahalalel lived 895 years, and then he died.
[18-20] When Jared was 162 years old, he had Enoch. After the birth of Enoch, Jared lived another 800 years, and had other sons and daughters. Jared lived 962 years, and then he died.
[21-24] When Enoch was 65 years old, he had Methuselah. After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch kept living in the presence of God for another 300 years, and had other sons and daughters. Enoch lived 365 years, staying in the presence of God. Then he disappeared, because God took him.
[25-27] When Methuselah was 187 years old, he had Lamech. After the birth of Lamech, Methuselah lived another 782 years, and had other sons and daughters. Methuselah lived 969 years, and then he died.
[28-31] When Lamech was 182 years old, he had a son, who he named Noah. He said, “May he bring us rest from our work, the hard work of farming the land that Yahweh has cursed.” After the birth of Noah, Lamech lived another 595 years, and had other sons and daughters. Lamech lived 777 years, and then he died.
[32] Noah was 500 years old, and he had Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Chapters 1-5
The Creation
1[1-5] When God first created the skies and the earth, the earth was useless and empty and no light shined on the waters that covered the earth. As the Spirit of God hovered over the top of the waters, God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. Then God separated the light from the darkness, calling the light “day” and the darkness “night.” So there was evening and morning, which was the first day.
[6-8] Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, separating the waters of the earth from the waters of the skies.” So God made a space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the skies, and it happened fair as God said. And God called the space “sky.” So there was evening and morning, which was the second day.
[9-13] Then God said, “Let the waters under the sky come together in one place, so that the dry ground may be seen.” And it happened fair as God said. God called the dry land “earth” and the waters that had come together “seas.” And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the land grow grass and plants, which make the same kind of seeds, and fruit trees, which fruits make its seeds, to make the same kind of fruit trees.” And it happened fair as God said. So the earth grew grass and plants, which make the same kind of seeds, and fruit trees, which fruits make its seeds, to make the same kind of fruit trees. And God saw that it was good. So there was evening and morning, which was the third day.
[14-19] Then God said, “Let lights be made in the sky to separate the day from the night, which are for signs and seasons, days and years. Let them be for lights in the skies of the heavens to give light on the earth.” And it happened fair as God said. And God made two great lights, the sun, which is the greatest to light the day, and the smaller ones, the moon and the stars, to light the night. So God made the lights in the skies of the heavens to give light to the earth, to light the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So there was evening and morning, which was the fourth day.
[20-23] Then God said, “Let the seas be filled with living creatures, and let the skies of the earth be filled with birds.” So God created the great sea creatures, the fish, and every other living thing that moves, which are in the water, each after its own kind, and every bird with wings, each after its own kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God blessed them, saying, “Create more of your own kind and make many more. Let the sea creatures fill the seas, and let the birds fill the earth.” So there was evening and morning, which was the fifth day.
[24-25] Then God said, “Let the earth make living creatures, each animal after its own kind, the tame animals, the small animals that run around in the land, and the wild animals, each after their own kind.” And it happened fair as God said. And God made all kinds of wild animals, tame animals, and small animals to live in the land, each after its own kind. And God saw that it was good.
[26-28] Then God said, “Let us make human beings in Our likeness, as a reflection of Ourselves to rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the tame animals, all the wild animals of the earth, and the small animals that run around in the land.” So God created human beings to be like God. God created them, male and female, in the likeness of God. Then God blessed them and said, “Create more of your own kind and make many more people to fill the earth and take charge of it. Take charge of the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that run around in the land.”
[29-31] Then God said, “Look! I have given you every plant on the face of the earth, which makes its own seed and all the trees, which make their own fruit, for your food. And I have given every green plant as food for all the animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that run around in the land, everything that breathes with life.” And it happened fair as God said. Then God saw everything that was done, and it was very good! So there was evening and morning, which was the sixth day.
2[1-3] So the heavens and the earth and everything in them was finished. God had finished the work of creation by the seventh day, so God stopped to rest on the seventh day. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because it was the day God stopped working on all the creation. Adam and Eve in the Garden
[4-6] This is the story of the birth of the skies and the earth in their creation. When Yahweh God made the earth and the heavens, neither plants nor grasses were growing on the earth yet. Yahweh God had not yet sent rain on the earth, and there were no people to work the soil. At that time, a mist came up from the ground and watered all the land.
[7-9] Then Yahweh God formed the first human being from the dust of the ground. God breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person. Then Yahweh God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and placed the man who God had made in it. So Yahweh God made every tree that was beautiful or good for food to grow from the ground. And God placed in the middle of the garden the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
[10-14] A river went out of Eden, which watered the garden and which parts into four smaller rivers. The first one is called Pishon, which flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where gold is found. The gold of that land is very good, and aromatic resin and onyx stone are also found there. The second one is called Gihon, which flowed around the whole land of Cush. The third one is called Tigris, which flowed east of the land of Asshur. The fourth one is called Euphrates.
[15-17] So Yahweh God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it. But Yahweh God told the man, “You may eat of every tree in the garden, except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. On the day you eat of it, you’ll start dying, and then you’ll die.”
[18-20] Then Yahweh God said, “It’s not good for man to be alone. I’ll make him a helper, who will be his equal.” Yahweh God had formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. So God brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and whatever the man called them became the name for each one. The man gave names to all the tame animals, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals of the lands. But for the man, there was not yet a helper to be his equal.
[21-25] So Yahweh God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, Yahweh God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the flesh where it was. Then Yahweh God built up the rib that was taken from the man, making it into a woman. And when God brought her to the man, the man said, “This was the right thing to do. This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She’ll be called woman, because she was taken from man.” (This is why a man leaves his father and mother and stays with his wife, and the two become as one person.) Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they weren’t ashamed of themselves.
The Fall of Humanity
3[1-5] Now the snake was the trickiest of all the animals that Yahweh God had made, and said to the woman, “Is it true that God said you can’t eat from any of the trees in the garden?” And the Woman said to the snake, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden, but only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; or you’ll begin to die.’” Then the snake said to the woman “You won’t begin to die! God knows that in the day you eat it, you’ll have knowledge, and you’ll be like God, knowing good and evil.”
[6-7] The woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was beautiful to look at and she wanted it to be wise. So she took some of the fruit and ate it, and gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. Suddenly, they both knew that they were naked and were ashamed. So they sewed fig leaves together to make themselves clothes.
[8-13] Then the man and his wife heard Yahweh God walking through the garden in the breeze of the day, so they hid from the face of Yahweh God among the trees. Then Yahweh God called to the man, “Where are you?” So the man said, “I heard you walking in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” Then Yahweh God asked, “Who told you that you were naked?” “Have you eaten from the tree which I told you not to eat?” Then the man said, “The woman You placed with me gave me the fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Then Yahweh God asked the woman, “What have you done?” And she said, “The snake made me forget and I ate it.”
[14-19] Then Yahweh God said to the snake, “Because you’ve done this, you are cursed more than all the animals, both tame and wild. You’ll move around on your belly, and eat the dust as long as you live. And I’ll make you and the woman hate each other, and cause your child and her Child to be enemies. Her Child will hurt your head, and you’ll hurt her Child’s heel.” Then he said to the woman, “I’ll greatly increase your child bearing and your pain when you give birth. In sorrow, you’ll bear children, but you’ll want your husband anyway. In this way, He’ll have control over you.” And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree, which fruit I told you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. You’ll eat from it in sorrow all your life. When you eat the plants of the fields, It’ll grow thorns and brambles as well. You’ll eat by the sweat of your face until you go back to the ground from which you were made. You were made from dust, and you’ll go back to dust.” God’s Judgment
[20-24] And the man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all humanity. And Yahweh God made clothes for Adam and his wife from the skin of an animal that was killed and put it on them. Then Yahweh God said, “Look, the human beings have become like Us, knowing both good and evil. Now if they reach out, and take the fruit from the tree of life, and eat it, they’ll live forever!” So Yahweh God sent them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to work the ground from which he had been made. Then, Yahweh God put strong angels to the east of the Garden of Eden, and a flaming sword that moved to guard the way of the tree of life. Cain and Abel
4[1-7] Now, Adam had sex with his wife, Eve, and she became pregnant. When she gave birth to Cain, she said, “Yahweh God has given me a man child!” Then she gave birth to his brother and named him Abel. When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, and Cain became a farmer. At the end of the year, when it was time for the harvest, Cain brought some of his crops as a gift to Yahweh and Abel also brought the fattest of the firstborn lambs from his flock. Yahweh accepted Abel and his gift, but he didn’t accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked upset. So Yahweh asked Cain. “Why are you so angry?” “Why do you look so upset? Won’t you be accepted if you do what’s right? But if you don’t do what’s right, sin follows. Sin wants to have control over you, but you must control it.
[8-12] Then Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go into the field.” And when they were in the field, Cain fought with his brother, Abel, and killed him. Then Yahweh asked Cain, “Where is your brother, Abel?” So Cain said, “I don’t know! Am I my brother’s keeper?” Then God said, “What have you done? The sound of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground! Now you are cursed from the ground, which has swallowed your brother’s blood, which you killed. When you work the land, it won’t give you anymore crops to make you strong! From now on you’ll be a wanderer on the earth, trembling with fright.”
[13-16] Then Cain said to Yahweh, “My punishment is too great for me! You’ve sent me from the land and I hide from your presence; you’ve made me a trembling wanderer. Everyone who finds me will try to kill me!” So Yahweh said, “No, I’ll punish anyone who kills you seven times as much.” Then Yahweh put a mark on Cain to warn anyone who might try to kill him. So Cain left Yahweh’s presence and wandered around, living in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
The Descendants of Cain
17-24 Cain had sex with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Then Cain built a city, which he named Enoch, after his son. Enoch had Irad. Irad had Mehujael. Mehujael had Methushael. Methushael had Lamech. And Lamech married two women. The first was named Adah, and the second was Zillah. Adah gave birth to Jabal, who was the first of those who bought and sold and who lived in tents. His brother’s name was Jubal, the first of all who played the musical instruments. Lamech’s other wife, Zillah, gave birth to a son named Tubal-cain. He became a teacher of those who made things of brass and iron. Tubal-cain had a sister named Naamah. One day Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, listen to me! Listen to me, you wives of Lamech. I have killed a man who hurt me, a young man who wounded me. If someone who kills Cain is to be punished seven times as much, then the one who kills me will be punished seventy-seven times as much!” The Birth of Seth
[25-26] Adam had sex with his wife again, and she gave birth to another son. She named him Seth, and said, “God has granted me another son in place of Abel, whom Cain killed.” When Seth grew up, he had a son and named him Enosh. It was at that time that people first began to preach in the name of Yahweh.
The Descendants of Adam
5[1-5] This is the story of the descendants of Adam. When human beings were created, God made them to be like God. God created them, male and female, and blessed them and called them “human beings.” So when Adam was 130 years old, he had a son who was like him—in his own likeness. He named his son Seth. After the birth of Seth, Adam lived another 800 years, and had other sons and daughters. Adam lived 930 years, and then he died.
[6-8] When Seth was 105 years old, he had Enosh. After the birth of Enosh, Seth lived another 807 years, and had other sons and daughters. Seth lived 912 years, and then he died.
[9-11] When Enosh was 90 years old, he had Kenan. After the birth of Kenan, Enosh lived another 815 years, and had other sons and daughters. Enosh lived 905 years, and then he died.
[12-14] When Kenan was 70 years old, he had Mahalalel. After the birth of Mahalalel, Kenan lived another 840 years, and had other sons and daughters. Kenan lived 910 years, and then he died.
[15-17] When Mahalalel was 65 years old, he had Jared. After the birth of Jared, Mahalalel lived another 830 years, and had other sons and daughters. Mahalalel lived 895 years, and then he died.
[18-20] When Jared was 162 years old, he had Enoch. After the birth of Enoch, Jared lived another 800 years, and had other sons and daughters. Jared lived 962 years, and then he died.
[21-24] When Enoch was 65 years old, he had Methuselah. After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch kept living in the presence of God for another 300 years, and had other sons and daughters. Enoch lived 365 years, staying in the presence of God. Then he disappeared, because God took him.
[25-27] When Methuselah was 187 years old, he had Lamech. After the birth of Lamech, Methuselah lived another 782 years, and had other sons and daughters. Methuselah lived 969 years, and then he died.
[28-31] When Lamech was 182 years old, he had a son, who he named Noah. He said, “May he bring us rest from our work, the hard work of farming the land that Yahweh has cursed.” After the birth of Noah, Lamech lived another 595 years, and had other sons and daughters. Lamech lived 777 years, and then he died.
[32] Noah was 500 years old, and he had Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Go Fish Ministries, Inc. News Letter Mar.1, 2010
Go Fish Ministries, Inc. News Letter Mar.1, 2010
Jesus said: Follow me and I will make you fishers for the souls of others. Matthew 4:19
Sis. Kimberly Hartfield, B.S. M.S. Christian Community Consultant/Spiritual Peer Counselor Contact: gofishbooks@gmail.com
Counselors’ Corner
March is finally here and with it the last of the coldest days, I hope. I’ve been working in my garden as much as possible and trying to get things growing. It’s coming along. I’ve learned that you can add wood ash and lime to the soil to build it up some and make it more fertile. I’ve also learned that you need a compost pile, which I’ve not done very well as of yet, but I’m working on it. I’m learning as I go. Well, the first of my spring flowers are up and out of the ground. My snow drops and yellow daffodils are in full bloom, and my hyacinths and daylilies are coming along as well. I just transplanted a bunch of daffodils and spider lilies along my walking trail to try to brighten it up a bit. I want to eventually have something of color on it year round. The azaleas are just starting to get their juices flowing, so I think it will be awhile before I see any flowers, but maybe by Easter. I hope so any way. Please, don’t forget to tell your children and grandchildren the true meaning of Easter, that is, the story of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. This next generation needs Jesus badly.
I went to an interesting meeting last night, which I wish every Christian in Hattiesburg could have been at. It was put on by the 912 project of Hattiesburg, which is part of a political watchdog organization that has groups nationwide. You can find their website at www.912projecthattiesburg.com if you want to find out a little more about them. Any way, David Dearman was the speaker and he had some very interesting information to give us. It seems he’d been researching the financial markets to make some investments, but found out some intriguing facts along the way. The main thing he found out is that the one world monetary system spoken of in the Revelation, is already in existence and has control over our government and many others. This One World Bank is based in Switzerland and is called The Bank of International Settlements, which is a private entity run by the Rothschilds, who are Jewish, and a few others. Encarta encyclopedia says this: “During the 19th century, members of the Rothschild family became the most influential bankers in all Europe and probably in the world. This international banking family was founded by German financier Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1743-1812), but it soon spread to all the major European financial capitals.” Microsoft ® Encarta ® Reference Library 2005. © 1993-2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. This Bank has basically franchised into many countries loaning great amounts of money to governments around the globe putting nearly the whole world in its debt. Our U.S. dollar is going to collapse in the near future. All this bank has to do to make that happen is pull a few strings. Once the dollar collapses, nothing can stop this very small group of rich men from ruling the world. Soon it will be just one man, who will be the antichrist. Oh, by the way, these Rothschild people took over all the finances of the Catholic church world wide way back in 1823. They now have control of the Federal Reserve as well. So basically what I want you to know is that it’s useless to depend on the American dollar, investments in the stock market, gold, silver, or oil exchanges. They control it all. Don’t depend on anything but God, people. If you put your faith in the world systems, you will be disappointed.
Another interesting thing I learned is that a group called Monsanto owns 93% of the world’s food seed market. Now if that much of the world’s food seed is controlled by this one company then they can truly control the world. A people can be controlled if they’re hungry. The masses will follow anyone who has the food. This is what Encarta had to say about this company: In the 1990s Monsanto began to expand its agricultural products division. The company purchased the biotech firm Calgene and began aggressive development of genetically altered foods. In the late 1990s Monsanto debuted an herbicide-resistant soybean plant and bought biotech firms DEKALB Genetics, a division of agricultural company Cargill, Incorporated; Holden’s Foundation Seeds, a company that specialized in developing genetically altered corn seeds; and a British wheat-breeding business. Microsoft ® Encarta ® Reference Library 2005. © 1993-2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. I would add that several mergers have taken place with Monsanto and the new company is called Pfizer, Inc., one of the largest drug manufactures in the world. They not only have control of the world’s food supply, but the drugs we need as well. It isn’t good to have a few people controlling almost all of the world’s food and drugs.
In light of this information, I suggest to all of you Christians out there, you better be planting back yard gardens and soon. Stock up on all the vegetable seeds you can get and don’t buy hybrids or genetically improved seed. Most of these are infertile seed producers or produce no seed at all. If you can get heirloom seeds do that instead. When you plant your garden save seed for the future when your plant goes to seed. And learn all you can about gardening before it gets really serious, which I am afraid is already nearly upon us. People, the last days are here! Wake up! Before it’s too late. I hope and pray that God will save us from the worst of what is to come, but we still need to do everything we can to prepare us for the days ahead. We need to be on our knees and praying! God has given us the signs and the warnings in the scriptures. Read it! The Bible has much to say about the last days and the end of the world as we know it. The one world government, the one world monetary system, and the one world religion is all right there in the Revelation. If it’s been awhile since you last read it, study it again. Look a little more deeply. Here are the links to my paraphrase of the Revelation if you’d like to read it online.
Revelation 1-3 http://relijournal.com/christianity/the-holy-bible-the-revelation-of-john-chapters-1-3/
Revelation 4-7 http://relijournal.com/christianity/the-revelation-of-john-chapters-4-7/
Revelation 8-11 http://relijournal.com/christianity/the-holy-bible-revelation-of-john-chapters-8-11/
Revelation 12-13 http://relijournal.com/christianity/the-holy-bible-the-revelation-of-john-chapter-12-13/
Revelation 14-15 http://relijournal.com/christianity/the-holy-bible-the-revelation-of-john-chapters-14-15/
Revelation 16-18 http://relijournal.com/christianity/the-holy-bible-the-revelation-of-john-chapters-16-18/
Revelation 19-20 http://relijournal.com/christianity/the-holy-bible-the-revelation-of-john-chapters-19-20/
Revelation 21-22 http://relijournal.com/christianity/the-holy-bible-the-revelation-of-john-21-22/
Jesus said: Follow me and I will make you fishers for the souls of others. Matthew 4:19
Sis. Kimberly Hartfield, B.S. M.S. Christian Community Consultant/Spiritual Peer Counselor Contact: gofishbooks@gmail.com
Counselors’ Corner
March is finally here and with it the last of the coldest days, I hope. I’ve been working in my garden as much as possible and trying to get things growing. It’s coming along. I’ve learned that you can add wood ash and lime to the soil to build it up some and make it more fertile. I’ve also learned that you need a compost pile, which I’ve not done very well as of yet, but I’m working on it. I’m learning as I go. Well, the first of my spring flowers are up and out of the ground. My snow drops and yellow daffodils are in full bloom, and my hyacinths and daylilies are coming along as well. I just transplanted a bunch of daffodils and spider lilies along my walking trail to try to brighten it up a bit. I want to eventually have something of color on it year round. The azaleas are just starting to get their juices flowing, so I think it will be awhile before I see any flowers, but maybe by Easter. I hope so any way. Please, don’t forget to tell your children and grandchildren the true meaning of Easter, that is, the story of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. This next generation needs Jesus badly.
I went to an interesting meeting last night, which I wish every Christian in Hattiesburg could have been at. It was put on by the 912 project of Hattiesburg, which is part of a political watchdog organization that has groups nationwide. You can find their website at www.912projecthattiesburg.com if you want to find out a little more about them. Any way, David Dearman was the speaker and he had some very interesting information to give us. It seems he’d been researching the financial markets to make some investments, but found out some intriguing facts along the way. The main thing he found out is that the one world monetary system spoken of in the Revelation, is already in existence and has control over our government and many others. This One World Bank is based in Switzerland and is called The Bank of International Settlements, which is a private entity run by the Rothschilds, who are Jewish, and a few others. Encarta encyclopedia says this: “During the 19th century, members of the Rothschild family became the most influential bankers in all Europe and probably in the world. This international banking family was founded by German financier Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1743-1812), but it soon spread to all the major European financial capitals.” Microsoft ® Encarta ® Reference Library 2005. © 1993-2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. This Bank has basically franchised into many countries loaning great amounts of money to governments around the globe putting nearly the whole world in its debt. Our U.S. dollar is going to collapse in the near future. All this bank has to do to make that happen is pull a few strings. Once the dollar collapses, nothing can stop this very small group of rich men from ruling the world. Soon it will be just one man, who will be the antichrist. Oh, by the way, these Rothschild people took over all the finances of the Catholic church world wide way back in 1823. They now have control of the Federal Reserve as well. So basically what I want you to know is that it’s useless to depend on the American dollar, investments in the stock market, gold, silver, or oil exchanges. They control it all. Don’t depend on anything but God, people. If you put your faith in the world systems, you will be disappointed.
Another interesting thing I learned is that a group called Monsanto owns 93% of the world’s food seed market. Now if that much of the world’s food seed is controlled by this one company then they can truly control the world. A people can be controlled if they’re hungry. The masses will follow anyone who has the food. This is what Encarta had to say about this company: In the 1990s Monsanto began to expand its agricultural products division. The company purchased the biotech firm Calgene and began aggressive development of genetically altered foods. In the late 1990s Monsanto debuted an herbicide-resistant soybean plant and bought biotech firms DEKALB Genetics, a division of agricultural company Cargill, Incorporated; Holden’s Foundation Seeds, a company that specialized in developing genetically altered corn seeds; and a British wheat-breeding business. Microsoft ® Encarta ® Reference Library 2005. © 1993-2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. I would add that several mergers have taken place with Monsanto and the new company is called Pfizer, Inc., one of the largest drug manufactures in the world. They not only have control of the world’s food supply, but the drugs we need as well. It isn’t good to have a few people controlling almost all of the world’s food and drugs.
In light of this information, I suggest to all of you Christians out there, you better be planting back yard gardens and soon. Stock up on all the vegetable seeds you can get and don’t buy hybrids or genetically improved seed. Most of these are infertile seed producers or produce no seed at all. If you can get heirloom seeds do that instead. When you plant your garden save seed for the future when your plant goes to seed. And learn all you can about gardening before it gets really serious, which I am afraid is already nearly upon us. People, the last days are here! Wake up! Before it’s too late. I hope and pray that God will save us from the worst of what is to come, but we still need to do everything we can to prepare us for the days ahead. We need to be on our knees and praying! God has given us the signs and the warnings in the scriptures. Read it! The Bible has much to say about the last days and the end of the world as we know it. The one world government, the one world monetary system, and the one world religion is all right there in the Revelation. If it’s been awhile since you last read it, study it again. Look a little more deeply. Here are the links to my paraphrase of the Revelation if you’d like to read it online.
Revelation 1-3 http://relijournal.com/christianity/the-holy-bible-the-revelation-of-john-chapters-1-3/
Revelation 4-7 http://relijournal.com/christianity/the-revelation-of-john-chapters-4-7/
Revelation 8-11 http://relijournal.com/christianity/the-holy-bible-revelation-of-john-chapters-8-11/
Revelation 12-13 http://relijournal.com/christianity/the-holy-bible-the-revelation-of-john-chapter-12-13/
Revelation 14-15 http://relijournal.com/christianity/the-holy-bible-the-revelation-of-john-chapters-14-15/
Revelation 16-18 http://relijournal.com/christianity/the-holy-bible-the-revelation-of-john-chapters-16-18/
Revelation 19-20 http://relijournal.com/christianity/the-holy-bible-the-revelation-of-john-chapters-19-20/
Revelation 21-22 http://relijournal.com/christianity/the-holy-bible-the-revelation-of-john-21-22/
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