1And so the whole universe was completed. 2#Ex 20.11 #He 4.4,10 By the seventh day God finished what he had been doing and stopped working. 3He blessed the seventh day and set it apart as a special day, because by that day he had completed his creation#2.3: by that day he had completed his creation; or on that day he completed his creation. and stopped working. 4And that is how the universe was created.

The Garden of Eden

When the Lord#2.4: the Lord: Where the Hebrew text has Yahweh, traditionally transliterated as Jehovah, this translation employs Lord with capital letters, following a usage which is widespread in English versions. God made the universe, 5there were no plants on the earth and no seeds had sprouted, because he had not sent any rain, and there was no one to cultivate the land; 6but water would come up from beneath the surface and water the ground.

7 # Ws 15.8,11; 1 Co 15.45 Then the Lord God took some soil from the ground and formed a man#2.7: ground … man: The Hebrew words for “man” and “ground” have similar sounds. out of it; he breathed life-giving breath into his nostrils and the man began to live.

8Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the East, and there he put the man he had formed. 9#Rev 2.7; 22.2,14 He made all kinds of beautiful trees grow there and produce good fruit. In the middle of the garden stood the tree that gives life and the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad.#2.9: knowledge of what is good and what is bad; or knowledge of everything.

10A stream flowed in Eden and watered the garden; beyond Eden it divided into four rivers. 11The first river is the Pishon; it flows around the country of Havilah. ( 12Pure gold is found there and also rare perfume and precious stones.) 13The second river is the Gihon; it flows around the country of Cush.#2.13: Cush (of Mesopotamia); or Ethiopia. 14The third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria, and the fourth river is the Euphrates.

15Then the Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and guard it. 16He told him, “You may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden, 17except the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad.#2.17: knowledge of what is good and what is bad; or knowledge of everything. You must not eat the fruit of that tree; if you do, you will die the same day.”

18Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to live alone. I will make a suitable companion to help him.” 19So he took some soil from the ground and formed all the animals and all the birds. Then he brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and that is how they all got their names. 20So the man named all the birds and all the animals; but not one of them was a suitable companion to help him.

21Then the Lord God made the man fall into a deep sleep, and while he was sleeping, he took out one of the man's ribs and closed up the flesh. 22He formed a woman out of the rib and brought her to him. 23Then the man said,

“At last, here is one of my own kind—

Bone taken from my bone, and flesh from my flesh.

‘Woman’ is her name because she was taken out of man.”#2.23: Woman … man: The Hebrew words for “woman” and “man” have rather similar sounds.

24 # Mt 19.5; Mk 10.7,8; 1 Co 6.16; Eph 5.31 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united with his wife, and they become one.

25The man and the woman were both naked, but they were not embarrassed.

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Genesis 2

The Seventh Day—Rest

1So the earth, the sky, and everything in them were finished. 2God finished the work he was doing, so on the seventh day he rested from his work. 3God blessed the seventh day and made it a holy day. He made it special because on that day he rested from all the work he did while creating the world.

The First Man and the Garden of Eden

4This is the story about the creation of the sky and the earth. This is what happened when the Lord God made the earth and the sky. 5This was before there were plants on the earth. Nothing was growing in the fields because the Lord God had not yet made it rain on the earth, and there was no one to care for the plants.

6So water#2:6 water Or “a mist.” came up from the earth and spread over the ground. 7Then the Lord God took dust from the ground and made a man.#2:7 man The Hebrew word means “man,” “people,” or the name “Adam.” It is like the word meaning “earth” or “red clay.” He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nose, and the man became a living thing. 8Then the Lord God planted a garden in the East,#2:8 East This usually means the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers as far east as the Persian Gulf. in a place named Eden. He put the man he made in that garden. 9Then the Lord God caused all the beautiful trees that were good for food to grow in the garden. In the middle of the garden, he put the tree of life and the tree that gives knowledge about good and evil.

10A river flowed from Eden and watered the garden. The river then separated and became four smaller rivers. 11The name of the first river was Pishon. This river flowed around the entire country of Havilah.#2:11 Havilah The land along the west coast of the Arabian peninsula and possibly, the part of Africa south of Ethiopia. 12(There is gold in that country, and that gold is pure. A kind of expensive perfume and onyx are also found there.) 13The name of the second river was Gihon. This river flowed around the whole land of Cush.#2:13 Cush Usually this means Ethiopia, but here, it probably refers to the area north and east of the Tigris River. 14The name of the third river was Tigris. This river flowed east of Assyria. The fourth river was the Euphrates.

15The Lord God put the man in the Garden of Eden to work the soil and take care of the garden. 16The Lord God gave him this command: “You may eat from any tree in the garden. 17But you must not eat from the tree that gives knowledge about good and evil. If you eat fruit from that tree, on that day you will certainly die!”

A Companion for Adam

18Then the Lord God said, “I see that it is not good for the man to be alone. I will make the companion he needs, one just right for him.”

19The Lord God used dust from the ground and made every animal in the fields and every bird in the air. He brought all these animals to the man, and the man gave them all a name. 20The man gave names to all the tame animals, to all the birds in the air, and to all the wild animals. He saw many animals and birds, but he could not find a companion that was right for him. 21So the Lord God caused the man to sleep very deeply. While he was asleep, God took one of the ribs from the man’s body. Then he closed the man’s skin where the rib had been. 22The Lord God used the rib from the man to make a woman. Then he brought the woman to the man. 23And the man said,

“Finally! One like me,

with bones from my bones

and a body from my body.

She was taken out of a man,

so I will call her ‘woman.’”

24That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife. In this way two people become one.

25The man and his wife were naked, but they were not ashamed.

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Good News Translation (US Version)

Genesis 2

Genesis 2