Genesis 1-3New International Version (NIV)

The Beginning
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2
Now the
earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the
deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3
And God said, Let there be light, and there was light. 4 God saw that the
light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.5 God
called the light day, and the darkness he called night. And there
was evening, and there was morningthe first day.
6
And God said, Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water
from water. 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under
the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God calledthe vault
sky. And there was evening, and there was morningthe second
day.
9
And God said, Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place,and
let dry ground appear. And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground
land, and the gathered waters he called seas. And God saw that it
was good.

Then God said, Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing

11

plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according
to their various kinds. And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation:
plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit
with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was
good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morningthe third day.
14
And God said, Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the
day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred
times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the
sky to give light on the earth. And it was so. 16 God made two great
lightsthe greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to
govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault
of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the
night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was
good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morningthe fourth
day.
20
And God said, Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly
above the earth across the vault of the sky. 21 So God createdthe
great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water
teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every
winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God
blessed them and said, Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the
water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth. 23 And there
was evening, and there was morningthe fifth day.
24
And God said, Let the land produce living creatures according to their
kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and
the wild animals, each according to its kind. And it was so. 25 God
made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock
according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the
ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26
Then God said, Let us make mankind in our image, in our
likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds
in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all
[a]

the creatures that move along the ground.

27
So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.

God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful and increase in

28

number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and
the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the
ground.
29
Then God said, I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of
the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will
be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds
in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground
everything that has the breath of life in itI give every green plant
for food. And it was so.

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was
31

evening, and there was morningthe sixth day.

2 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
2
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on
the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the
seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the
work of creating that he had done.

Adam and Eve

4
This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were
created, when the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.
5
Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet
[b]

sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was
no one to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and
[c]

watered the whole surface of the ground. 7 Then the LORD God formed a
man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the
[d]

breath of life, and the man became a living being.

8
Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there
he put the man he had formed. 9 The LORD God made all kinds of trees
grow out of the groundtrees that were pleasing to the eye and good for
food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil.

A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was
10

separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it
winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold
of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.)13 The name
[e]

of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush.
14
[f]
The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of
Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
15
The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it
and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, You are
free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when 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 a
18

helper suitable for him.

Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animalsand
19

all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would
name them; and whatever the man called each living creature,that was
its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the
sky and all the wild animals.

But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the LORD God caused the
[g]

man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of
the mans ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then
[h]

the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man,
[i]

and he brought her to the man.

23
The man said,

This is now bone of my bones

and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called woman,
for she was taken out of man.

That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife,
24

and they become one flesh.

25
Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

The Fall
3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals
the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, Did God really say, You
must not eat from any tree in the garden?
2
The woman said to the serpent, We may eat fruit from the trees in the
garden, 3 but God did say, You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in
the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.
4
You will not certainly die, the serpent said to the woman. 5 For God
knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be
like God, knowing good and evil.
6
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and
pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some
and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he
ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized
they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings
for themselves.
8
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was
walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from
the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to
the man, Where are you?

He answered, I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was
10

naked; so I hid.

And he said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from
11

the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?

12
The man said, The woman you put here with meshe gave me some
fruit from the tree, and I ate it.
13
Then the LORD God said to the woman, What is this you have done?

The woman said, The serpent deceived me, and I ate.

14
So the LORD God said to the serpent, Because you have done this,

Cursed are you above all livestock

and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
15
And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
[j]

he will crush your head,

[k]

and you will strike his heel.

16
To the woman he said,

I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;

with painful labor you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you.

To Adam he said, Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from
17

the tree about which I commanded you, You must not eat from it,

Cursed is the ground because of you;

through painful toil you will eat food from it
all the days of your life.
18
It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
 and you will eat the plants of the field.
19
By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return.

Adam named his wife Eve,

20 [l] [m]
because she would become the mother of
all the living.

The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed
21

them. 22 And the LORD God said, The man has now become like one of
us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand
and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.23 So
the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the
ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he
placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming
[n]

sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Footnotes:

a. Genesis 1:26 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text (see Syriac); Masoretic
Text the earth

b. Genesis 2:5 Or land; also in verse 6

c. Genesis 2:6 Or mist

d. Genesis 2:7 The Hebrew for man (adam) sounds like and may be related to the Hebrew
for ground (adamah); it is also the name Adam (see verse 20).

e. Genesis 2:12 Or good; pearls

f. Genesis 2:13 Possibly southeast Mesopotamia

g. Genesis 2:20 Or the man

h. Genesis 2:21 Or took part of the mans side

i. Genesis 2:22 Or part

j. Genesis 3:15 Or seed

k. Genesis 3:15 Or strike

l. Genesis 3:20 Or The man

m. Genesis 3:20 Eve probably means living.

n. Genesis 3:24 Or placed in front