(from One New Man Bible translated by William Morford)

B’reshite

(Genesis 1:1 – 6:8)

Creation

1.1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2. And the earth was totally empty, devoid of all life, (Jer. 4:23) both animal and plant; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God hovered, brooded, over the face of the waters.

1:3. And God said, “Light, Be!” And there was light. 4. And God saw the light, that it was good, and God divided the light from the darkness. 5. And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, day one.

1:6. And God said, “Firmament, Be in the midst of the waters! Divide the waters from the waters!” 7. And God made the firmament and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8. And God called the firmament the Heavens. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

1:9. And God said, “Waters under the heavens, Be gathered together to one place! Dry land, Appear!” And it was so. 10. And God called the dry land Earth, and He called the gathering together of the waters the Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11. And God said, “Earth, Bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after its kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth!” And it was so. 12. And the earth brought forth grass and herb yielding seed after its kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

1:14. And God said, “Lights, Be in the firmament of the heavens, to divide the day from the night! Be for signs and for appointed times and for days and years! 15. Lights, Be in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth!” And it was so. 16. And God made two great lights, the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. 17. And God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth, 18. and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

1:20. And God said, “Waters, Teem abundantly with the moving creature that has life, and fowl to fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven!” 21. And God created the great whales and every living creature that moves, with which the waters teemed abundantly, after their kind and every winged fowl after its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22. And God blessed them saying, “Be fruitful! Multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and fowl, multiply on the earth!” 23. And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

1:24. And God said, “Earth, Bring forth the living creature after its kind, cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth after its kind!” And it was so. 25. And God made the beast of the earth after its kind and cattle after their kind and everything that creeps upon the earth after its kind. And God saw that it was good.

1:26. Then God said, “We will make mankind in our image, after our likeness and have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the fowl of the air, over the cattle, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” 27. So God created mankind in His own image; He created him in the image of God. He created them male and female. (Matt. 19:4) 28. And God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fruitful! Multiply! Fill the earth! Subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth!”

1:29. And God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in which is the fruit of   a tree yielding seed; it will be food for you. 30. And to every beast of the earth, to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creeps upon the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food.” And it was so.

1:31. And God saw everything that He had made and, behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

First Sabbath

2.1. Thus the heavens and the earth and the entire host of them were finished. 2. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. (Heb. 4:4) 3. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.

2:4 These are the chronicles of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD* God made the earth and the heavens. 5. And no plant of the field was yet on the earth and no herb of the field had yet grown, for the LORD* God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. 6. But there went up a mist from the earth and it watered the whole face of the ground. 7. And the LORD* God formed man from the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.

2:8. And the LORD* God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9. And the LORD* God made to grow out of the ground every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food: also the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and bad. (Rev. 2:7; 22:2,14)

2:10. And a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it was divided, and became into four headwaters. 11. The name of the first headwater is Pishon: that is it which encompasses the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12. And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. 13. And the name of the second river is Gihon: the one that encompasses the whole land of Cush. 14. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that it is which goes toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

2:15. And the LORD* God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to till it and to keep it. 16. And the LORD* God commanded the man saying, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden, 17. but you will not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and bad, for in the day that you eat of it you will surely die.”

2:18. And the LORD* God said, “It is not good that the man, Adam, should be alone. I shall make a helper for him, corresponding to him.” 19. And out of the ground the LORD* formed every beast of the field and every fowl of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them, and whatever Adam called every living creature, that was its name. 20. And Adam gave names to all cattle, to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper for him.

2:21. And the LORD* God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept. And He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh in its place. 22. And He built the rib, which the LORD* God had taken from man, into a woman and brought her to the man. 23. And Adam said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She will be called Wife (Ishah), because she was taken out of Husband (Ish).

24. Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother and will cling to his wife, and they will be one flesh.” (Matt. 19:5, 1 Cor. 6:2, Eph. 5:32)

2:25. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Mankind’s First Test

3.1. Now the serpent was more tricky than any beast of the field which the LORD* God had made. And he said to the woman, “Really? Has God said, ‘You will not eat of every tree of the garden?’” 2. And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, 3. but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God said, ‘You will not eat of it, neither will you touch it, lest you die.’” 4. And the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die, 5. for God knows that in the day you eat of it, then your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good and bad.” 6. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit of it and ate, and gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. 7. And the eyes of them both were opened and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons. 8. And they heard the voice of the LORD* God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD* God among the trees of the garden. 9. And the LORD* God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” 10. And he said, “I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11. And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”

12. And the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I did eat.”

3:13. And the LORD* God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent beguiled me, and I ate.” 14. And the LORD* God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this you are cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field. You will go upon your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15. And I shall put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed; he will bruise your head and you will bruise his heel.”

3:16. To the woman He said, “I shall greatly multiply your sadness and your child-bearing: you will bring forth children in sorrow, and your desire will be to your husband and he will rule over you.” 17. And to Adam He said, “Because you have hearkened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree, of which I commanded you saying, ‘You will not eat of it.’ Cursed is the ground for your sake. You will eat of it in sorrow all the days of your life. 18. Also thorns and thistles will it bring forth to you, and you will eat the herb of the field. 19. By the sweat of your brow will you eat bread, until you return to the ground, for out of dust were you taken, for you are from dust and to dust will you return.”

3:20. And Adam called his wife’s name Eve because she was the mother of all living.

3:21. For Adam and also for his wife the LORD* God made garments of skins, and clothed them.

3:22. And the LORD* God said, “Behold, the man has become as one of us, knowing good and bad, and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat and live forever.” (Rev. 22:2,14) 23. Therefore the LORD* God sent him out from the Garden of Eden, to till the ground from where he was taken. 24. So he drove the man out and He placed the Cherubim at the east of the Garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

Cain and Abel

4.1. And Adam knew Eve his wife and she conceived and bore Cain (Kayin), and said, “I have gotten a man from the LORD*.” 2. And she again bore his brother Abel (Hevel). And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

4:3. And in process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering to the LORD* from the fruit of the ground. 4. And Abel also brought from the firstlings of his flock and from its fat. And the LORD* turned to Abel and his offering, 5. but He did not turn to Cain and to his offering. And Cain was very, very angry and his countenance fell. 6. And the LORD* said to Cain, “Why are you so angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7. Behold, if you do well, you will be accepted. And if you do not do well, sin sits waiting at the door, and its desire is to possess you, but you can rule over it.”

4:8. And Cain talked with Abel his brother, and it happened when they were in the field that Cain rose to Abel his brother, and slew him. 9. And the LORD* said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I did not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” 10. And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries to Me from the ground. (Heb. 11:4) 11. And now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12. When you till the ground, from now on it will not yield its strength to you. You will be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth.” 13. And Cain said to the LORD*, “My punishment is greater than  I can bear. 14. Behold, You have driven me out this day from the face of the earth and I shall be hidden from Your face, and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will be that everyone who finds me will slay me.” 15. And the LORD* said to him, “Therefore whoever slays Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold.” And the LORD* set a mark upon Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him. 16. And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD* and dwelled in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.

4:17. And Cain knew his wife and she conceived, and bore Enoch: and he was building a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch.

18. And to Enoch was born Irad and Irad begot Mehujael and Mehujael begot Methusala and Methusala begot Lemekh.

4:19. And Lemekh took two wives for himself: the name of the one was Adah and the name of the other Zillah. 20. And Adah bore Jabal: he was the father of all who dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. 21. And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all who handle the harp and another stringed instrument. 22. And Zillah, she also bore Tubal-cain, a sharpener of every cutting tool in bronze and iron, and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

4:23. And Lemekh said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, Listen to my voice, you wives of Lemekh! Hearken to my speech, for have I slain a man because of my being wounded and a young man because of my injury? 24. If Cain will be avenged sevenfold, truly Lemekh seventy-seven fold.”

4:25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth (Shet), “For God has appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.” 26. And to Seth, a son was born to him also and he called his name Enosh. Then men began to call upon the name of the LORD*.

Descendants

5.1. This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created mankind, He made him in the likeness of God. 2. He created them male and female and blessed them, and called their name Mankind (Adam), in the day when they were created. 3. And Adam lived a hundred thirty years and begot in his own likeness, after his image and called his name Seth. 4. And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years, and he begot sons and daughters. 5. And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred thirty years and he died.

5:6. Seth lived one hundred five years and begot Enosh. 7. And Seth lived eight hundred seven years after he begot Enosh, and begot sons and daughters, 8. and all the days of Seth were nine hundred twelve years and he died.

5:9. And Enosh lived ninety years and begot Kenan. 10. And Enosh lived eight hundred fifteen years after he begot Kenan, and begot sons and daughters. 11. And all the days of Enosh were nine hundred five years, then he died.

5:12. And Kenan lived seventy years and begot Mahalalel. 13. And Kenan lived after he begot Mahalalel eight hundred forty years, and begot sons and daughters.

14. And all the days of Kenan were nine hundred ten years, then he died.

5:15. And Mahalalel lived sixty-five years and begot Jared. 16. And after he begot Jared, Mahalalel lived eight hundred thirty years and begot sons and daughters.

17. And all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred ninety-five years, then he died.

5:18. And Jared lived one hundred sixty-two years, and he begot Enoch. 19. And Jared lived eight hundred years after he begot Enoch, and begot sons and daughters. 20. And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty-two years, then he died.

5:21. And Enoch lived sixty-five years and begot Methuselah. 22. And Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he begot Methuselah, and begot sons and daughters. 23. And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty-five years. 24. And Enoch walked with God, then he was not, for God took him. (Heb. 11:6)

5:25. And Methuselah lived one hundred eighty-seven years and begot Lemekh. 26. And Methuselah lived after he begot Lemekh seven hundred eighty-two years and begot sons and daughters. 27. And all the days of Methuselahwere nine hundred sixty-nine years, then he died.

5:28. And Lemekh lived one hundred eighty-two years, and begot a son. 29. And he called his name Noah saying, “This one will bring us comfort from our work and the toil of our hands, from the ground which the LORD* has cursed.” 30. And Lemekh lived five hundred ninety-five years after he begot Noah, and begot sons and daughters. 31. All the days of Lemekh were seven hundred seventy-seven years, then he died.

5:32. And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham and Japheth.

Preparation for the Flood

6.1. And it was, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, 2. that the sons of the leaders saw the daughters of men, that they were fair and they took them for wives of all whom they chose. 3. And the LORD* said, “My spirit will not struggle forever with man, since he is but flesh. And his days will be one hundred twenty years.”

6:4. There were giants in the earth in those days and also after that, when the sons of the leaders came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them, the same became mighty, macho, men who, from old, were men of bad reputation.

6:5. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was continually only bad. 6. And the LORD* was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him in His heart. 7. And the LORD* said, “I shall destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth: man, beast, the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8. But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD*.

Next week’s Torah readings: Noah

(from One New Man Bible translated by William Morford)