Genesis (Entire Book – List of Chapters)

In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth.

The earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the deep, and the Spirit of God moved over the waters.

“God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”

God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.

God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water, and let it separate water from water.”

God made the firmament and separated the water under the firmament from the water above the firmament, and it became so.

God called the dome “sky.” Evening came, then morning—the second day.

God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear.” It happened that way.

God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering of the waters he called Seas. God saw that it was good.

God said, “Let the earth produce vegetation: plants yielding seed [according to their kinds] and fruit trees bearing fruit [in which is their seed, according to their kinds] on the earth.” It was so.

The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed according to their kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, according to their kinds. God saw that it was good.

Evening came, then morning—the third day.

God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth, to divide the day from the night. Let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years.”

They shall be lights in the expanse of heaven to give light upon the earth.” It was so.

God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—[and the stars].

God placed them in the expanse of heaven to give light upon the earth.

To rule over the day and the night, to separate the light from the darkness, and God saw that it was good.

Evening came, and morning came: the fourth day.

God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.”

God created the great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters swarmed according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. God saw that it was good.

God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, [and let the birds multiply on the earth].”

And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kind: cattle, reptiles, and wild animals of the earth according to their kind.” It happened this way.

God made the wild animals according to their kind, the livestock according to their kind, and all the creatures that crawl on the ground according to their kind. God saw that it was good.

Then God said, “Let us make humankind according to our image and according to our likeness, [and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth].”

God created humanity in his own image; in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, [and over every living thing that moves on the earth].”

“Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth, and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They shall be food for you.”

“To all the wild animals of the earth, to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps upon the earth—everything that has the breath of life in it—I have given every green plant for food.” It was so.

God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

So, the heavens and the earth were completed, along with everything in them.

By the seventh day, God had finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.

God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on that day he rested from all his work that he had done in creating.

This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, on the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven.

No shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, because the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no human being to work the ground.

But a spring would rise from the earth and water the entire surface of the ground.

Then the Lord God formed the human from dust of the ground and breathed into his face a breath of life, and the human became a living being.¹ — ¹ The Greek ψυχὴν ζῶσαν (literally “a living soul”) is rendered here as “a living being” to capture the full sense: not a body receiving a […]

The Lord God planted a garden in Eden, toward the east, and there he placed the man whom he had formed.

The LORD God made every kind of tree grow from the ground—trees that were beautiful to look at and good for food—with the tree of life in the middle of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it divided and became four branches.

The name of the first is Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold.

The gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are also there.

The second river is called Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush.

The third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria, and the fourth river is the Euphrates.

The LORD God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and to guard it.

The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may freely eat from every tree in the garden.”

“But from the tree of knowing good and evil—you must not eat from it, because on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make him a helper suited to him.”

Out of the ground the Lord God formed every wild animal and every bird of the sky, and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them; whatever the man called each living creature, that became its name.

The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal, but for the man himself no helper was found who was his counterpart.

The Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh in its place.

The Lord God built the rib he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man.

“This one is now bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh; she will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from man.”

This is why a man leaves his father and mother and holds fast to his wife, and the two become one flesh.

Both the man and his wife were naked, and they felt no shame.

The serpent was more cunning than any of the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat from the fruit of the trees in the garden,

“But about the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat from it, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'”

The serpent said to the woman, “You will not really die.”

“For God knows that on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods,¹ knowing good and evil.” — ¹ Or “like God.” The Greek θεοί is plural and can mean “divine beings” or, in context, could refer to God himself. The serpent’s statement is deliberately ambiguous.

The woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasing to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable for gaining understanding. She took some of its fruit and ate it, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked. So, they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool¹ of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. — ¹ The Greek τὸ δειλινόν refers to the late afternoon breeze or evening wind; “cool” […]

The Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

“I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid because I am naked, so I hid myself.”

“Who told you that you are naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?”

The man said, “The woman you gave to be with me—she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.”

The man said, “The woman you gave to be with me—she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.”

The Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed beyond all the livestock and beyond all the wild animals of the field. On your belly you will go, and dust you will eat all the days of your life.”

“I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers. He will strike at your head, and you will strike at his heel.”¹ — ¹ The Greek αὐτός (“he”) is masculine, referring grammatically to σπέρμα (“offspring/seed”), which is neuter. The pronoun’s gender has been debated: some traditions read it as […]

To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pain and your groaning.¹ In pain you will bear children, and your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” — ¹ The Greek (LXX-A) reads “your pain and your groaning” (τὰς λύπας σου καὶ τὸν στεναγμόν σου). The MT has […]

To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife’s voice and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’—cursed is the ground because of you. In pain you will eat from it all the days of your life.”

It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.

“By the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you will return.”

The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.

The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and for his wife, and he clothed them.

The LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Now, so that he does not reach out his hand and also take from the tree of life and eat and live forever—”¹ — ¹ The sentence breaks off abruptly in the source text; what follows in verse […]

So, the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.

He drove the man out, and he stationed the cherubim east of the garden of Eden, along with the flaming sword that turned in every direction, to guard the way to the tree of life.

The man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. She said, “I have acquired a man with the help of the Lord.”

She then gave birth again, to his brother Abel. Abel became a shepherd of flocks, while Cain became a worker of the ground.

After some time, Cain brought an offering to the LORD from the fruit of the ground.

Abel also brought an offering—from the firstborn of his flock, including their fat portions. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering.

But he paid no attention to Cain and his offering. Cain became deeply angry, and his face fell.

The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen?”

“If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must master it.”

Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out to the field.”¹ When they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. — ¹ The phrase “Let us go out to the field” appears in the LXX, the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Vulgate, and the Peshitta, but is absent […]

The Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” He replied, “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”

“What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground.”

“When you work the ground, it will no longer give you its strength. You will be a wanderer and a fugitive on the earth.”

Cain said to the Lord, “My guilt is too great to bear.”

“Behold, you have driven me out today from the face of the earth, and from your face I will be hidden; I will be a wanderer and a fugitive on the earth, and it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me.”

The Lord said to him, “Therefore, anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance sevenfold.” Then the Lord placed a sign on Cain so that no one who found him would strike him down.

Cain left the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod,¹ east of Eden. — ¹ “Nod” means “wandering” in Hebrew, creating a wordplay with Cain’s fate as a wanderer.

Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. He was building a city, and he named the city after his son, Enoch.

Irad was born to Enoch, and Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech.

Lamech took two wives for himself; the name of the first was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah.

Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and keep livestock.

His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the lyre and pipe.

Zillah also gave birth to Tubal-cain, who forged every kind of bronze and iron tool; Tubal-cain’s sister was Naamah.

Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, listen to my voice; wives of Lamech, hear my words: I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me.¹” — ¹ The Hebrew parallelism here (“a man … a young man”) likely refers to a single person, not two separate victims; the […]

“If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”

Adam knew his wife again, and she gave birth to a son. She named him Seth, saying, “God has given me another child in place of Abel, because Cain killed him.”

Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time, people began to call upon the name of the Lord.

This is the book of the generations of Adam. On the day God made Adam, he made him in the likeness of God.

He made them male and female, and he blessed them and named them “Humanity”¹ on the day they were created. — ¹ Greek: *Ἀδάμ* (Adam). The name functions here as a collective term for humankind rather than as a personal name.

When Adam was one hundred and thirty years old, he fathered a son in his likeness, according to his image, and he named him Seth.

After this, Adam lived eight hundred years and fathered other sons and daughters.

Adam lived a total of nine hundred and thirty years, and then he died.

Seth lived one hundred and five years, and he fathered Enosh.

Seth lived another eight hundred and seven years after he fathered Enosh, and he had other sons and daughters.

Seth lived a total of nine hundred and twelve years, and then he died.

Enosh lived ninety years and fathered Kenan.

Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years after he became the father of Kenan, and he had other sons and daughters.

All the days of Enosh came to nine hundred and five years, and he died.

Kenan lived seventy years and fathered Mahalalel.

Kenan lived eight hundred and forty years after he fathered Mahalalel, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

All the days of Kenan came to nine hundred and ten years, and he died.

Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and then he fathered Jared.

Mahalalel lived another 830 years after he became the father of Jared, and he had other sons and daughters.

Mahalalel lived a total of eight hundred ninety-five years, and then he died.

Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and he fathered Enoch.

Jared lived eight hundred years after he fathered Enoch, and he had other sons and daughters.

Jared lived a total of nine hundred sixty-two years, and then he died.

Enoch lived sixty-five years and fathered Methuselah.

Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah for three hundred years, and he fathered sons and daughters.

Enoch lived a total of three hundred sixty-five years.

Enoch walked with God, and then he was no longer there, because God took him.

Methuselah lived one hundred and sixty-seven years and fathered Lamech.

Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years after he fathered Lamech, and he had other sons and daughters.

Methuselah lived a total of nine hundred sixty-nine years, and then he died.

When Lamech was one hundred eighty-two years old, he fathered a son.

He named him Noah, saying, “This one will bring us relief from our work and from the painful labor of our hands, because of the ground that the LORD has cursed.”

After this, Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years, and he fathered sons and daughters.

Lamech lived a total of seven hundred and seventy-seven years, and then he died.

Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

When humanity began to multiply across the face of the earth and daughters were born to them,

The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they took as wives whichever ones they chose.

The sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they took as wives whichever ones they chose.

The LORD said, “My spirit will not remain in humanity forever, because they are flesh; their days will be one hundred twenty years.”

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men of old, men of renown.

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went in to the daughters of humans, and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men of old, men of renown.

The LORD saw that human wickedness on the earth was great, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil, all day long.

The Lord regretted that he had made humankind on the earth, and he was grieved in his heart.

The Lord said, “I will wipe out humanity, whom I created, from the face of the earth—from human beings to cattle to crawling creatures to the birds of the sky—because I regret that I made them.”

The Lord said, “I will wipe out humankind, whom I created, from the face of the earth—from human beings to cattle to creeping things to the birds of the sky—because I regret that I made them.”

Noah, however, found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a righteous man, blameless among his contemporaries. Noah walked with God.

Noah fathered three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

The earth had become corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

God looked at the earth, and behold, it was ruined, for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth.

God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before me, because the earth is filled with wrongdoing because of them. Behold, I am destroying them along with the earth.”

“Make yourself an ark of squared timber; you will construct the ark with compartments, and you will coat it inside and out with pitch.”

This is how you are to build it: the ark’s length will be three hundred cubits,¹ its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. — ¹ A cubit is roughly eighteen inches (about 45 cm), the distance from elbow to fingertip. This would make the ark approximately 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and […]

You are to make a window for the ark, and you will complete it to a cubit from the top.¹ Put the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third stories. — ¹ The Greek is ambiguous about what exactly is being measured or finished “to a cubit.” The […]

“Behold, I am bringing the flood—water upon the earth—to destroy all flesh that has the breath of life in it from under heaven. Everything that is on the earth will die.”

“Behold, I am bringing a flood of water upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which there is a breath of life under heaven; everything that is on the earth will die.”

“I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.”

“From every living thing—from all flesh—you are to bring two of each into the ark to keep them alive with you: they must be male and female.”

From every kind of bird, from every kind of livestock, and from every kind of creature that moves along the ground—two of each will come to you to be kept alive.

Take with you every kind of food that is eaten, and gather it to yourself, and it will be food for you and for them.

Noah did everything exactly as God commanded him.

Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him.

Then the Lord said to Noah, “Enter the ark, you and your entire household, because I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.”

Then the Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and your whole household, because I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.”

“From every clean animal, take with you seven pairs, a male and its mate, and from the animals that are not clean, two, a male and its mate.”

Also take seven pairs of every bird of the sky, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth.

Also take seven pairs of every bird of the sky, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth.

“For in seven more days I will bring rain upon the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe away every living thing that I have made from the face of the earth.”

“For in seven days I am bringing rain upon the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe out every living thing that I have made from the face of the ground.”

Noah did everything that the Lord commanded him.

Noah did everything that the Lord commanded him.

Noah was six hundred years old when the flood came—water upon the earth.

Noah went into the ark with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives because of the water of the flood.

Of the clean animals and of the unclean animals, and of the birds, and of everything that crawls upon the earth,

Two by two they came to Noah and entered the ark, male and female, just as God had commanded Noah.

Seven days later, the floodwaters came upon the earth.

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month—on that day all the springs of the abyss burst open, and the floodgates of heaven were opened.

The rain fell on the earth for forty days and forty nights.

On that very day Noah entered the ark, along with Shem, Ham, and Japheth—Noah’s sons—and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them.

They—along with every wild animal according to its kind, every domestic animal according to its kind, every crawling creature that moves on the earth according to its kind, and every bird according to its kind, every winged creature—entered the ark.

They entered the ark with Noah, two by two, from every creature that has the breath of life in it.

Those that entered, male and female of every kind of flesh, went in just as God had commanded him; then the Lord shut him in.

The flood continued on the earth for forty days, and the waters rose and lifted the ark so that it was raised above the earth.

The waters rose and increased greatly over the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the waters.

The water rose so tremendously over the earth that all the high mountains under the entire sky were covered.

The water rose fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered.

Every creature that moved on the earth perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth, and every human being.

Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died.

He wiped out every living thing on the face of the earth—from humans to livestock to crawling creatures to the birds of the sky—they were wiped out from the earth. Only Noah remained, along with those who were with him in the ark.

The water prevailed over the earth for one hundred fifty days.

God remembered Noah—along with every wild animal and all the livestock that were with him in the ark—and God sent a wind over the earth, and the waters began to subside.

The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were closed, and the rain from heaven was held back.

The fountains of the deep and the floodgates of heaven were closed, and the rain from heaven was held back.

The waters gradually receded from the earth, and after one hundred fifty days the waters had diminished.

The ark came to rest in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat.

The waters continued to recede until the tenth month; on the first day of the tenth month, the tops of the mountains became visible.

The waters kept receding until the tenth month; on the first day of the tenth month, the tops of the mountains became visible.

After forty days, Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made.