Genesis 2
2
The Seventh Day—Rest
1So the sky, the earth, and all that filled them were finished. 2By the seventh day God finished the work he had been doing, so he rested from all his work. 3God blessed the seventh day and made it a holy day, because on that day he rested from all the work he had done in creating the world.
The First People
4This is the story of the creation of the sky and the earth. When the Lord God first made the earth and the sky, 5there were still no plants on the earth. Nothing was growing in the fields because the Lord God had not yet made it rain on the land. And there was no person to care for the ground, 6but a mist would rise up from the earth and water all the ground.
7Then the Lord God took dust from the ground and formed a man from it. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nose, and the man became a living person. 8Then the Lord God planted a garden in the east, in a place called Eden, and put the man he had formed into it. 9The Lord God caused every beautiful tree and every tree that was good for food to grow out of the ground. In the middle of the garden, God put the tree that gives life and also the tree that gives the knowledge of good and evil.
10A river flowed through Eden and watered the garden. From there the river branched out to become four rivers. 11The first river, named Pishon, flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12The gold of that land is excellent. Bdellium and onyx are also found there. 13The second river, named Gihon, flows around the whole land of Cush. 14The third river, named Tigris, flows out of Assyria toward the east. The fourth river is the Euphrates.
15The Lord God put the man in the garden of Eden to care for it and work it. 16The Lord God commanded him, “You may eat the fruit from any tree in the garden, 17but you must not eat the fruit from the tree which gives the knowledge of good and evil. If you ever eat fruit from that tree, you will die!”
The First Woman
18Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is right for him.”
19From the ground God formed every wild animal and every bird in the sky, and he brought them to the man so the man could name them. Whatever the man called each living thing, that became its name. 20The man gave names to all the tame animals, to the birds in the sky, and to all the wild animals. But Adam did not find a helper that was right for him. 21So the Lord God caused the man to sleep very deeply, and while he was asleep, God removed one of the man’s ribs. Then God closed up the man’s skin at the place where he took the rib. 22The Lord God used the rib from the man to make a woman, and then he brought the woman to the man.
23And the man said,
“Now, this is someone whose bones came from my bones,
whose body came from my body.
I will call her ‘woman,’
because she was taken out of man.”
24So a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will become one body.
25The man and his wife were naked, but they were not ashamed.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Genesis 2
2
1And the heavens and the earth and all their host were finished. 2And God#GodHebrew: Elohim had finished on the seventh day his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3And God#GodHebrew: Elohim blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it, because that on it he rested from all his work which God#GodHebrew: Elohim had created in making it.
4These are the histories of the heavens and the earth, when they were created, in the day that Jehovah Elohim made earth and heavens, 5and every shrub of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew; for Jehovah Elohim had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground. 6But a mist went up from the earth, and moistened the whole surface of the ground. 7And Jehovah Elohim formed Man, dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and Man became a living soul.
8And Jehovah Elohim planted a garden in Eden eastward, and there put Man whom he had formed. 9And out of the ground Jehovah Elohim made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; and the tree of life, in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10And a river went out of Eden, to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became four main streams. 11The name of the one is Pison: that is it which surrounds the whole land of Havilah, where the gold is. 12And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and the onyx stone are there. 13And the name of the second river is Gihon: that is it which surrounds the whole land of Cush. 14And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which flows forward toward Asshur. And the fourth river, that is Euphrates. 15And Jehovah Elohim took Man, and put him into the garden of Eden, to till it and to guard it.
16And Jehovah Elohim commanded Man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou shalt freely eat; 17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest of it thou shalt certainly die.
18And Jehovah Elohim said, It is not good that Man should be alone; I will make him a helpmate, his like. 19And out of the ground Jehovah Elohim had formed every animal of the field and all fowl of the heavens, and brought them to Man, to see what he would call them; and whatever Man called each living soul, that was its name. 20And Man gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the heavens, and to every beast of the field; but as for Adam, he found no helpmate, his like.
21And Jehovah Elohim caused a deep sleep to fall upon Man; and he slept. And he took one of his ribs and closed up flesh in its stead. 22And Jehovah Elohim built the rib that he had taken from Man into a woman; and brought her to Man. 23And Man said, This time it is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh: this shall be called Woman, because this was taken out of a man. 24Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. 25And they were both naked, Man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.