Genesis 2

1Heaven and Earth were finished,

down to the last detail.

2-4By the seventh day

God had finished his work.

On the seventh day

he rested from all his work.

God blessed the seventh day.

He made it a Holy Day

Because on that day he rested from his work,

all the creating God had done.

This is the story of how it all started,

of Heaven and Earth when they were created.

Adam and Eve

5-7At the time God made Earth and Heaven, before any grasses or shrubs had sprouted from the ground—God hadn’t yet sent rain on Earth, nor was there anyone around to work the ground (the whole Earth was watered by underground springs)—God formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive—a living soul!

8-9Then God planted a garden in Eden, in the east. He put the Man he had just made in it. God made all kinds of trees grow from the ground, trees beautiful to look at and good to eat. The Tree-of-Life was in the middle of the garden, also the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil.

10-14A river flows out of Eden to water the garden and from there divides into four rivers. The first is named Pishon; it flows through Havilah where there is gold. The gold of this land is good. The land is also known for a sweet-scented resin and the onyx stone. The second river is named Gihon; it flows through the land of Cush. The third river is named Hiddekel and flows east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

15 God took the Man and set him down in the Garden of Eden to work the ground and keep it in order.

16-17 God commanded the Man, “You can eat from any tree in the garden, except from the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil. Don’t eat from it. The moment you eat from that tree, you’re dead.”

18-20 God said, “It’s not good for the Man to be alone; I’ll make him a helper, a companion.” So God formed from the dirt of the ground all the animals of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the Man to see what he would name them. Whatever the Man called each living creature, that was its name. The Man named the cattle, named the birds of the air, named the wild animals; but he didn’t find a suitable companion.

21-22 God put the Man into a deep sleep. As he slept he removed one of his ribs and replaced it with flesh. God then used the rib that he had taken from the Man to make Woman and presented her to the Man.

23-25The Man said,

“Finally! Bone of my bone,

flesh of my flesh!

Name her Woman

for she was made from Man.”

Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife. They become one flesh.

The two of them, the Man and his Wife, were naked, but they felt no shame.

Genesis 2

1So the heavens and the earth and everything else were created.

The seventh day

2By the seventh day God had finished his work, and so he rested.#Ex 20.11.#He 4.4,10. 3God blessed the seventh day and made it special because on that day he rested from his work.

4That's how God created the heavens and the earth.

The Garden of Eden

When the LORD God made the heavens and the earth, 5no grass or plants were growing anywhere. God had not yet sent any rain, and there was no one to work the land. 6But streams#2.6 streams: Or “mist”. came up from the ground and watered the earth.

7The LORD God took a handful of soil and made a man.#2.7 man: In Hebrew “man” comes from the same word as “soil”. God breathed life into the man, and the man started breathing.#1 Co 15.45. 8The LORD made a garden in a place called Eden, which was in the east, and he put the man there.

9The LORD God placed all kinds of beautiful trees and fruit trees in the garden. Two other trees were in the middle of the garden. One of the trees gave life—the other gave the power to know the difference between right and wrong.#Rev 2.7; 22.2,14.

10From Eden a river flowed out to water the garden, then it divided into four rivers. 11The first one is the River Pishon that flows through the land of Havilah, 12where pure gold, rare perfumes, and precious stones are found. 13The second is the River Gihon that winds through Ethiopia.#2.13 Ethiopia: The Hebrew text has “Cush”, which was a region south of Egypt that included parts of the present countries of Ethiopia and Sudan. 14The River Tigris that flows east of Assyria is the third, and the fourth is the River Euphrates.

15The LORD God put the man in the Garden of Eden to take care of it and to look after it. 16But the LORD told him, “You may eat fruit from any tree in the garden, 17except the one that has the power to let you know the difference between right and wrong. If you eat any fruit from that tree, you will die before the day is over!”

18The LORD God said, “It isn't good for the man to live alone. I need to make a suitable partner for him.” 19-20So the LORD took some soil and made animals and birds. He brought them to the man to see what names he would give each of them. Then the man named the tame animals and the birds and the wild animals. That's how they got their names.

None of these was the right kind of partner for the man. 21So the LORD God made him fall into a deep sleep, and he took out one of the man's ribs. Then after closing the man's side, 22the LORD made a woman out of the rib.

The LORD God brought her to the man, 23and the man exclaimed,

“Here is someone like me!

She is part of my body,

my own flesh and bones.

She came from me, a man.

So I will name her Woman!”#2.23 a man…woman: In Hebrew the words “man” and “woman” are similar.

24That's why a man will leave his own father and mother. He marries a woman, and the two of them become like one person.#Mt 19.5; Mk 10.7,8; 1 Co 6.16; Eph 5.31.

25Although the man and his wife were both naked, they were not ashamed.

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The Message

Genesis 2

Genesis 2