The Fall

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

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You¹ shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ^v‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 ^wBut the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise,² she took of its fruit ^xand ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, ^yand he ate. 7 ^zThen the eyes of both were opened, ^aand they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool³ of the day, and the man and his wife ^bhid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”⁴ 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, ^cbecause I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, ^d“The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, ^e“The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

14 The Lord God said to the serpent,

16 To the woman he said,

17 And to Adam he said,

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

22 Then the Lord God said, ^q“Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand ^rand take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden ^sto work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the ^tcherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

Cain and Abel

1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten⁸ a man with the help of the Lord.” 2 And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. 3 In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of ^uthe fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of ^vthe firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord ^whad regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but ^xfor Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 6 The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 ^yIf you do well, will you not be accepted?⁹ And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. ^zIts desire is contrary to¹⁰ you, but you must rule over it.”

8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother.¹¹ And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and ^akilled him. 9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, ^b“I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood ^cis crying to me from the ground. 11 And now ^dyou are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” 13 Cain said to the Lord, “My ^epunishment is greater than I can bear.¹² 14 Behold, ^fyou have driven me today away from the ground, and ^gfrom your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, ^hand whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him ⁱsevenfold.” And the Lord ^jput a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. 16 Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod,¹³ east of Eden.

17 Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. 19 And Lamech took two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. 20 Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. 22 Zillah also bore Tubal-cain; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

23 Lamech said to his wives:

25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has appointed¹⁴ for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.” 26 To ^lSeth also a son was born, and he called his name ^mEnosh. At that time people began ⁿto call upon the name of the Lord.

Adam’s Descendants to Noah

1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, ^ohe made him in the likeness of God. 2 Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man¹⁵ when they were created. 3 When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and ^pnamed him Seth. 4 ^qThe days of Adam after he fathered Seth were 800 years; and he had other sons and daughters. 5 Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, ^rand he died.

6 When Seth had lived 105 years, ^she fathered Enosh. 7 Seth lived after he fathered Enosh 807 years and had other sons and daughters. 8 Thus all the days of Seth were 912 years, and he died.

9 When Enosh had lived 90 years, he fathered Kenan. 10 Enosh lived after he fathered Kenan 815 years and had other sons and daughters. 11 Thus all the days of Enosh were 905 years, and he died.

12 When Kenan had lived 70 years, he fathered Mahalalel. 13 Kenan lived after he fathered Mahalalel 840 years and had other sons and daughters. 14 Thus all the days of Kenan were 910 years, and he died.

15 When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he fathered Jared. 16 Mahalalel lived after he fathered Jared 830 years and had other sons and daughters. 17 Thus all the days of Mahalalel were 895 years, and he died.

18 When Jared had lived 162 years, he fathered ^tEnoch. 19 Jared lived after he fathered Enoch 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 20 Thus all the days of Jared were 962 years, and he died.

21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. 22 Enoch ^uwalked with God¹⁶ after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. 24 Enoch ^uwalked with God, and he was not,^{17 v}for God took him.

25 When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he fathered Lamech. 26 Methuselah lived after he fathered Lamech 782 years and had other sons and daughters. 27 Thus all the days of Methuselah were 969 years, and he died.

28 When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son 29 and called his name Noah, saying, “Out of the ground ^wthat the Lord has cursed, this one shall bring us relief¹⁸ from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.” 30 Lamech lived after he fathered Noah 595 years and had other sons and daughters. 31 Thus all the days of Lamech were 777 years, and he died.

32 After Noah was 500 years old, Noah fathered ^xShem, Ham, and ^yJapheth.

The Birth of Jesus Christ

1 In those days ^la decree went out from ^mCaesar Augustus that all the world should be ⁿregistered. 2 This was the first ⁿregistration when¹ Quirinius ^owas governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up ^pfrom Galilee, from the town of ^qNazareth, to Judea, to ^rthe city of David, which is called ^sBethlehem, ^tbecause he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed,² who was with child. 6 And ^twhile they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and ^uwrapped him in swaddling cloths and ^vlaid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in ^wthe inn.³

The Shepherds and the Angels

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord ^xappeared to them, and ^ythe glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all ^zthe people. 11 For ^aunto you is born this day in ^bthe city of David ^ca Savior, who is ^dChrist ^ethe Lord. 12 And ^fthis will be a sign for you: you will find a baby ^gwrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel ^ha multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby ^mlying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But ⁿMary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, ^oglorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

21 And ^pat the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, ^qhe was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Jesus Presented at the Temple

22 And ^rwhen the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem ^sto present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in ^tthe Law of the Lord, ^u“Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in ^tthe Law of the Lord, ^v“a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was ^wrighteous and ^xdevout, ^ywaiting for ^zthe consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not ^asee death before he had seen ^bthe Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when ^cthe parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and ^dblessed God and said,

33 And ^mhis father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed ⁿfor the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign ^othat is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

36 And there was ^pa prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, 37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.⁶ She did not depart from the temple, ^qworshiping with ^rfasting and prayer night and day. 38 And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were ^swaiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

The Return to Nazareth

39 And when they had performed everything according to ^tthe Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of ^uNazareth. 40 ^vAnd the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.

The Boy Jesus in the Temple

41 Now ^whis parents went ^xto Jerusalem every year at ^ythe Feast of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, ^zthey went up according to custom. 43 And when the feast ^awas ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. ^wHis parents did not know it, 44 but supposing him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, 45 and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, ^bsitting among ^cthe teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 And when his parents⁷ saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, ^dyour father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” 49 And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that ^eI must be in ^fmy Father’s house?”⁸ 50 And ^gthey did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. 51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And ^hhis mother treasured up all these things in her heart.

52 And Jesus ⁱincreased in wisdom and in stature⁹ and in ⁱfavor with God and man.