TMSG Genesis 4:6 - 7:10
6God spoke to Cain: “Why this tantrum? Why the sulking?
7If you do well, won’t you be accepted? And if you don’t do well, sin is lying in wait for you, ready to pounce; it’s out to get you, you’ve got to master it.”
8Cain had words with his brother. They were out in the field; Cain came at Abel his brother and killed him.
9God said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?”
He said, “How should I know? Am I his babysitter?”
10God said, “What have you done! The voice of your brother’s blood is calling to me from the ground. 11From now on you’ll get nothing but curses from this ground; you’ll be driven from this ground that has opened its arms to receive the blood of your murdered brother. 12You’ll farm this ground, but it will no longer give you its best. You’ll be a homeless wanderer on Earth.”
13Cain said to God, “My punishment is too much. I can’t take it! 14You’ve thrown me off the land and I can never again face you. I’m a homeless wanderer on Earth and whoever finds me will kill me.”
15God told him, “No. Anyone who kills Cain will pay for it seven times over.” God put a mark on Cain to protect him so that no one who met him would kill him.
16Cain left the presence of God and lived in No-Man’s-Land, east of Eden.
17Cain slept with his wife. She conceived and had Enoch. He then built a city and named it after his son, Enoch.
18Enoch had Irad,
Irad had Mehujael,
Mehujael had Methushael,
Methushael had Lamech.
19Lamech married two wives, Adah and Zillah. 20Adah gave birth to Jabal, the ancestor of all who live in tents and herd cattle. 21His brother’s name was Jubal, the ancestor of all who play the lyre and flute. 22Zillah gave birth to Tubal-Cain, who worked at the forge making bronze and iron tools. Tubal-Cain’s sister was Naamah.
23Lamech said to his wives,
Adah and Zillah, listen to me;
you wives of Lamech, hear me out:
I killed a man for wounding me,
a young man who attacked me.
24If Cain is avenged seven times,
for Lamech it’s seventy-seven!
25Adam slept with his wife again. She had a son whom she named Seth. She said, “God has given me another child in place of Abel whom Cain killed.” 26And then Seth had a son whom he named Enosh.
That’s when men and women began praying and worshiping in the name of God.
Genesis 5
The Family Tree of the Human Race
1This is the family tree of the human race: When God created the human race, he made it godlike, with a nature akin to God. 2He created both male and female and blessed them, the whole human race.
3When Adam was 130 years old, he had a son who was just like him, his very spirit and image, and named him Seth. 4After the birth of Seth, Adam lived another 800 years, having more sons and daughters. 5Adam lived a total of 930 years. And he died.
6When Seth was 105 years old, he had Enosh. 7After Seth had Enosh, he lived another 807 years, having more sons and daughters. 8Seth lived a total of 912 years. And he died.
9When Enosh was ninety years old, he had Kenan. 10After he had Kenan, he lived another 815 years, having more sons and daughters. 11Enosh lived a total of 905 years. And he died.
12When Kenan was seventy years old, he had Mahalalel. 13After he had Mahalalel, he lived another 840 years, having more sons and daughters. 14Kenan lived a total of 910 years. And he died.
15When Mahalalel was sixty-five years old, he had Jared. 16After he had Jared, he lived another 830 years, having more sons and daughters. 17Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years. And he died.
18When Jared was 162 years old, he had Enoch. 19After he had Enoch, he lived another 800 years, having more sons and daughters. 20Jared lived a total of 962 years. And he died.
21When Enoch was sixty-five years old, he had Methuselah. 22Enoch walked steadily with God. After he had Methuselah, he lived another 300 years, having more sons and daughters. 23Enoch lived a total of 365 years.
24Enoch walked steadily with God. And then one day he was simply gone: God took him.
25When Methuselah was 187 years old, he had Lamech. 26After he had Lamech, he lived another 782 years. 27Methuselah lived a total of 969 years. And he died.
28When Lamech was 182 years old, he had a son. 29He named him Noah, saying, “This one will give us a break from the hard work of farming the ground that God cursed.” 30After Lamech had Noah, he lived another 595 years, having more sons and daughters. 31Lamech lived a total of 777 years. And he died.
32When Noah was 500 years old, he had Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Genesis 6
Giants in the Land
1When the human race began to increase, with more and more daughters being born, 2the sons of God noticed that the daughters of men were beautiful. They looked them over and picked out wives for themselves.
3Then God said, “I’m not going to breathe life into men and women endlessly. Eventually they’re going to die; from now on they can expect a life span of 120 years.”
4This was back in the days (and also later) when there were giants in the land. The giants came from the union of the sons of God and the daughters of men. These were the mighty men of ancient lore, the famous ones.
Noah and His Sons
5God saw that human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil—evil, evil, evil from morning to night. 6God was sorry that he had made the human race in the first place; it broke his heart. 7God said, “I’ll get rid of my ruined creation, make a clean sweep: people, animals, snakes and bugs, birds—the works. I’m sorry I made them.”
8But Noah was different. God liked what he saw in Noah.
9This is the story of Noah: Noah was a good man, a man of integrity in his community. Noah walked with God. 10Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11As far as God was concerned, the Earth had become a sewer; there was violence everywhere. 12God took one look and saw how bad it was, everyone corrupt and corrupting—life itself corrupt to the core.
13God said to Noah, “It’s all over. It’s the end of the human race. The violence is everywhere; I’m making a clean sweep.
14“Build yourself a ship from teakwood. Make rooms in it. Coat it with pitch inside and out. 15Make it 450 feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty-five feet high. 16Build a roof for it and put in a window eighteen inches from the top; put in a door on the side of the ship; and make three decks, lower, middle, and upper.
17“I’m going to bring a flood on the Earth that will destroy everything alive under Heaven. Total destruction.
18“But I’m going to establish a covenant with you: You’ll board the ship, and your sons, your wife and your sons’ wives will come on board with you. 19You are also to take two of each living creature, a male and a female, on board the ship, to preserve their lives with you: 20two of every species of bird, mammal, and reptile—two of everything so as to preserve their lives along with yours. 21Also get all the food you’ll need and store it up for you and them.”
22Noah did everything God commanded him to do.
Genesis 7
1Next God said to Noah, “Now board the ship, you and all your family—out of everyone in this generation, you’re the righteous one.
2“Take on board with you seven pairs of every clean animal, a male and a female; one pair of every unclean animal, a male and a female; 3and seven pairs of every kind of bird, a male and a female, to insure their survival on Earth. 4In just seven days I will dump rain on Earth for forty days and forty nights. I’ll make a clean sweep of everything that I’ve made.”
5Noah did everything God commanded him.
6Noah was 600 years old when the floodwaters covered the Earth. 7Noah and his wife and sons and their wives boarded the ship to escape the flood. 8Clean and unclean animals, birds, and all the crawling creatures 9came in pairs to Noah and to the ship, male and female, just as God had commanded Noah. 10In seven days the floodwaters came.
Proverbs 28
If You Desert God’s Law
1The wicked are edgy with guilt, ready to run off
even when no one’s after them;
Honest people are relaxed and confident,
bold as lions.
2When the country is in chaos,
everybody has a plan to fix it—
But it takes a leader of real understanding
to straighten things out.
3The wicked who oppress the poor
are like a hailstorm that beats down the harvest.
4If you desert God’s law, you’re free to embrace depravity;
if you love God’s law, you fight for it tooth and nail.
5Justice makes no sense to the evilminded;
those who seek God know it inside and out.
6It’s better to be poor and direct
than rich and crooked.
7Practice God’s law—get a reputation for wisdom;
hang out with a loose crowd—embarrass your family.
8Get as rich as you want
through cheating and extortion,
But eventually some friend of the poor
is going to give it all back to them.
9God has no use for the prayers
of the people who won’t listen to him.
10Lead good people down a wrong path
and you’ll come to a bad end;
do good and you’ll be rewarded for it.
11The rich think they know it all,
but the poor can see right through them.
12When good people are promoted, everything is great,
but when the bad are in charge, watch out!
13You can’t whitewash your sins and get by with it;
you find mercy by admitting and leaving them.
14A tenderhearted person lives a blessed life;
a hardhearted person lives a hard life.
15Lions roar and bears charge—
and the wicked lord it over the poor.
16Among leaders who lack insight, abuse abounds,
but for one who hates corruption, the future is bright.
17A murderer haunted by guilt
is doomed—there’s no helping him.
18Walk straight—live well and be saved;
a devious life is a doomed life.
Doing Great Harm in Seemingly Harmless Ways
19Work your garden—you’ll end up with plenty of food;
play and party—you’ll end up with an empty plate.
20Committed and persistent work pays off;
get-rich-quick schemes are ripoffs.
21Playing favorites is always a bad thing;
you can do great harm in seemingly harmless ways.
22A miser in a hurry to get rich
doesn’t know that he’ll end up broke.
23In the end, serious reprimand is appreciated
far more than bootlicking flattery.
24Anyone who robs father and mother
and says, “So, what’s wrong with that?”
is worse than a pirate.
25A grasping person stirs up trouble,
but trust in God brings a sense of well-being.
26If you think you know it all, you’re a fool for sure;
real survivors learn wisdom from others.
27Be generous to the poor—you’ll never go hungry;
shut your eyes to their needs, and run a gauntlet of curses.
28When corruption takes over, good people go underground,
but when the crooks are thrown out, it’s safe to come out.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Saturday, January 27, 2007
January 27, 2007 (Saturday)
TMSG Genesis 1:1 - 4:5
1First this: God created the Heavens and Earth—all you see, all you don’t see.
2Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God’s Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.
3God spoke: “Light!”
And light appeared.
4God saw that light was good
and separated light from dark.
5God named the light Day,
he named the dark Night.
It was evening, it was morning—
Day One.
6God spoke: “Sky! In the middle of the waters;
separate water from water!”
7God made sky.
He separated the water under sky
from the water above sky.
And there it was:
8he named sky the Heavens;
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Two.
9God spoke: “Separate!
Water-beneath-Heaven, gather into one place;
Land, appear!”
And there it was.
10God named the land Earth.
He named the pooled water Ocean.
God saw that it was good.
11God spoke: “Earth, green up! Grow all varieties
of seed-bearing plants,
Every sort of fruit-bearing tree.”
And there it was.
12Earth produced green seed-bearing plants,
all varieties,
And fruit-bearing trees of all sorts.
God saw that it was good.
13It was evening, it was morning—
Day Three.
14God spoke: “Lights! Come out!
Shine in Heaven’s sky!
Separate Day from Night.
Mark seasons and days and years,
15Lights in Heaven’s sky to give light to Earth.”
And there it was.
16God made two big lights, the larger
to take charge of Day,
The smaller to be in charge of Night;
and he made the stars.
17God placed them in the heavenly sky
to light up Earth
18And oversee Day and Night,
to separate light and dark.
God saw that it was good.
19It was evening, it was morning—
Day Four.
20God spoke: “Swarm, Ocean, with fish and all sea life!
Birds, fly through the sky over Earth!”
21God created the huge whales,
all the swarm of life in the waters,
And every kind and species of flying birds.
God saw that it was good.
22God blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Ocean!
Birds, reproduce on Earth!”
23It was evening, it was morning—
Day Five.
24God spoke: “Earth, generate life! Every sort and kind:
cattle and reptiles and wild animals—all kinds.”
And there it was:
25wild animals of every kind,
Cattle of all kinds, every sort of reptile and bug.
God saw that it was good.
26God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them
reflecting our nature
So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,
the birds in the air, the cattle,
And, yes, Earth itself,
and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.”
27God created human beings;
he created them godlike,
Reflecting God’s nature.
He created them male and female.
28God blessed them:
“Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.”
29Then God said, “I’ve given you
every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth
And every kind of fruit-bearing tree,
given them to you for food.
30To all animals and all birds,
everything that moves and breathes,
I give whatever grows out of the ground for food.”
And there it was.
31God looked over everything he had made;
it was so good, so very good!
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Six.
Genesis 2
1Heaven and Earth were finished,
down to the last detail.
2By the seventh day
God had finished his work.
On the seventh day
he rested from all his work.
3God 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.
4This is the story of how it all started,
of Heaven and Earth when they were created.
Adam and Eve
5At 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 6(the whole Earth was watered by underground springs)— 7God formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive—a living soul!
8Then God planted a garden in Eden, in the east. He put the Man he had just made in it. 9God 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.
10A river flows out of Eden to water the garden and from there divides into four rivers. 11The first is named Pishon; it flows through Havilah where there is gold. 12The gold of this land is good. The land is also known for a sweet-scented resin and the onyx stone. 13The second river is named Gihon; it flows through the land of Cush. 14The third river is named Hiddekel and flows east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.
15God took the Man and set him down in the Garden of Eden to work the ground and keep it in order.
16God commanded the Man, “You can eat from any tree in the garden, 17except from the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil. Don’t eat from it. The moment you eat from that tree, you’re dead.”
18God said, “It’s not good for the Man to be alone; I’ll make him a helper, a companion.” 19So 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. 20The Man named the cattle, named the birds of the air, named the wild animals; but he didn’t find a suitable companion.
21God put the Man into a deep sleep. As he slept he removed one of his ribs and replaced it with flesh. 22God then used the rib that he had taken from the Man to make Woman and presented her to the Man.
23The Man said,
“Finally! Bone of my bone,
flesh of my flesh!
Name her Woman
for she was made from Man.”
24Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife. They become one flesh.
25The two of them, the Man and his Wife, were naked, but they felt no shame.
Genesis 3
1The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made. He spoke to the Woman: “Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?”
2The Woman said to the serpent, “Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. 3It’s only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘Don’t eat from it; don’t even touch it or you’ll die.’”
4The serpent told the Woman, “You won’t die. 5God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you’ll see what’s really going on. You’ll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil.”
6When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she’d know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate.
7Immediately the two of them did “see what’s really going on”—saw themselves naked! They sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for themselves.
8When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God.
9God called to the Man: “Where are you?”
10He said, “I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked. And I hid.”
11God said, “Who told you you were naked? Did you eat from that tree I told you not to eat from?”
12The Man said, “The Woman you gave me as a companion, she gave me fruit from the tree, and, yes, I ate it.”
13God said to the Woman, “What is this that you’ve done?”
“The serpent seduced me,” she said, “and I ate.”
14God told the serpent:
“Because you’ve done this, you’re cursed,
cursed beyond all cattle and wild animals,
Cursed to slink on your belly
and eat dirt all your life.
15I’m declaring war between you and the Woman,
between your offspring and hers.
He’ll wound your head,
you’ll wound his heel.”
16He told the Woman:
“I’ll multiply your pains in childbirth;
you’ll give birth to your babies in pain.
You’ll want to please your husband,
but he’ll lord it over you.”
17He told the Man:
“Because you listened to your wife
and ate from the tree
That I commanded you not to eat from,
‘Don’t eat from this tree,’
The very ground is cursed because of you;
getting food from the ground
Will be as painful as having babies is for your wife;
you’ll be working in pain all your life long.
18The ground will sprout thorns and weeds,
you’ll get your food the hard way,
Planting and tilling and harvesting,
19sweating in the fields from dawn to dusk,
Until you return to that ground yourself, dead and buried;
you started out as dirt, you’ll end up dirt.”
20The Man, known as Adam, named his wife Eve because she was the mother of all the living.
21God made leather clothing for Adam and his wife and dressed them.
22God said, “The Man has become like one of us, capable of knowing everything, ranging from good to evil. What if he now should reach out and take fruit from the Tree-of-Life and eat, and live forever? Never—this cannot happen!”
23So God expelled them from the Garden of Eden and sent them to work the ground, the same dirt out of which they’d been made. 24He threw them out of the garden and stationed angel-cherubim and a revolving sword of fire east of it, guarding the path to the Tree-of-Life.
Genesis 4
1Adam slept with Eve his wife. She conceived and had Cain. She said, “I’ve gotten a man, with God’s help!”
2Then she had another baby, Abel. Abel was a herdsman and Cain a farmer.
3Time passed. Cain brought an offering to God from the produce of his farm. 4Abel also brought an offering, but from the firstborn animals of his herd, choice cuts of meat. God liked Abel and his offering, 5but Cain and his offering didn’t get his approval. Cain lost his temper and went into a sulk.
Proverbs 27
You Don’t Know Tomorrow
1Don’t brashly announce what you’re going to do tomorrow;
you don’t know the first thing about tomorrow.
2Don’t call attention to yourself;
let others do that for you.
3Carrying a log across your shoulders
while you’re hefting a boulder with your arms
Is nothing compared to the burden
of putting up with a fool.
4We’re blasted by anger and swamped by rage,
but who can survive jealousy?
5A spoken reprimand is better
than approval that’s never expressed.
6The wounds from a lover are worth it;
kisses from an enemy do you in.
7When you’ve stuffed yourself, you refuse dessert;
when you’re starved, you could eat a horse.
8People who won’t settle down, wandering hither and yon,
are like restless birds, flitting to and fro.
9Just as lotions and fragrance give sensual delight,
a sweet friendship refreshes the soul.
10Don’t leave your friends or your parents’ friends
and run home to your family when things get rough;
Better a nearby friend
than a distant family.
11Become wise, dear child, and make me happy;
then nothing the world throws my way will upset me.
12A prudent person sees trouble coming and ducks;
a simpleton walks in blindly and is clobbered.
13Hold tight to collateral on any loan to a stranger;
be wary of accepting what a transient has pawned.
14If you wake your friend in the early morning
by shouting “Rise and shine!”
It will sound to him
more like a curse than a blessing.
15A nagging spouse is like
the drip, drip, drip of a leaky faucet;
16You can’t turn it off,
and you can’t get away from it.
Your Face Mirrors Your Heart
17You use steel to sharpen steel,
and one friend sharpens another.
18If you care for your orchard, you’ll enjoy its fruit;
if you honor your boss, you’ll be honored.
19Just as water mirrors your face,
so your face mirrors your heart.
20Hell has a voracious appetite,
and lust just never quits.
21The purity of silver and gold is tested
by putting them in the fire;
The purity of human hearts is tested
by giving them a little fame.
22Pound on a fool all you like—
you can’t pound out foolishness.
23Know your sheep by name;
carefully attend to your flocks;
24(Don’t take them for granted;
possessions don’t last forever, you know.)
25And then, when the crops are in
and the harvest is stored in the barns,
26You can knit sweaters from lambs’ wool,
and sell your goats for a profit;
27There will be plenty of milk and meat
to last your family through the winter.
1First this: God created the Heavens and Earth—all you see, all you don’t see.
2Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God’s Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.
3God spoke: “Light!”
And light appeared.
4God saw that light was good
and separated light from dark.
5God named the light Day,
he named the dark Night.
It was evening, it was morning—
Day One.
6God spoke: “Sky! In the middle of the waters;
separate water from water!”
7God made sky.
He separated the water under sky
from the water above sky.
And there it was:
8he named sky the Heavens;
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Two.
9God spoke: “Separate!
Water-beneath-Heaven, gather into one place;
Land, appear!”
And there it was.
10God named the land Earth.
He named the pooled water Ocean.
God saw that it was good.
11God spoke: “Earth, green up! Grow all varieties
of seed-bearing plants,
Every sort of fruit-bearing tree.”
And there it was.
12Earth produced green seed-bearing plants,
all varieties,
And fruit-bearing trees of all sorts.
God saw that it was good.
13It was evening, it was morning—
Day Three.
14God spoke: “Lights! Come out!
Shine in Heaven’s sky!
Separate Day from Night.
Mark seasons and days and years,
15Lights in Heaven’s sky to give light to Earth.”
And there it was.
16God made two big lights, the larger
to take charge of Day,
The smaller to be in charge of Night;
and he made the stars.
17God placed them in the heavenly sky
to light up Earth
18And oversee Day and Night,
to separate light and dark.
God saw that it was good.
19It was evening, it was morning—
Day Four.
20God spoke: “Swarm, Ocean, with fish and all sea life!
Birds, fly through the sky over Earth!”
21God created the huge whales,
all the swarm of life in the waters,
And every kind and species of flying birds.
God saw that it was good.
22God blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Ocean!
Birds, reproduce on Earth!”
23It was evening, it was morning—
Day Five.
24God spoke: “Earth, generate life! Every sort and kind:
cattle and reptiles and wild animals—all kinds.”
And there it was:
25wild animals of every kind,
Cattle of all kinds, every sort of reptile and bug.
God saw that it was good.
26God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them
reflecting our nature
So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,
the birds in the air, the cattle,
And, yes, Earth itself,
and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.”
27God created human beings;
he created them godlike,
Reflecting God’s nature.
He created them male and female.
28God blessed them:
“Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.”
29Then God said, “I’ve given you
every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth
And every kind of fruit-bearing tree,
given them to you for food.
30To all animals and all birds,
everything that moves and breathes,
I give whatever grows out of the ground for food.”
And there it was.
31God looked over everything he had made;
it was so good, so very good!
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Six.
Genesis 2
1Heaven and Earth were finished,
down to the last detail.
2By the seventh day
God had finished his work.
On the seventh day
he rested from all his work.
3God 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.
4This is the story of how it all started,
of Heaven and Earth when they were created.
Adam and Eve
5At 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 6(the whole Earth was watered by underground springs)— 7God formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive—a living soul!
8Then God planted a garden in Eden, in the east. He put the Man he had just made in it. 9God 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.
10A river flows out of Eden to water the garden and from there divides into four rivers. 11The first is named Pishon; it flows through Havilah where there is gold. 12The gold of this land is good. The land is also known for a sweet-scented resin and the onyx stone. 13The second river is named Gihon; it flows through the land of Cush. 14The third river is named Hiddekel and flows east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.
15God took the Man and set him down in the Garden of Eden to work the ground and keep it in order.
16God commanded the Man, “You can eat from any tree in the garden, 17except from the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil. Don’t eat from it. The moment you eat from that tree, you’re dead.”
18God said, “It’s not good for the Man to be alone; I’ll make him a helper, a companion.” 19So 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. 20The Man named the cattle, named the birds of the air, named the wild animals; but he didn’t find a suitable companion.
21God put the Man into a deep sleep. As he slept he removed one of his ribs and replaced it with flesh. 22God then used the rib that he had taken from the Man to make Woman and presented her to the Man.
23The Man said,
“Finally! Bone of my bone,
flesh of my flesh!
Name her Woman
for she was made from Man.”
24Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife. They become one flesh.
25The two of them, the Man and his Wife, were naked, but they felt no shame.
Genesis 3
1The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made. He spoke to the Woman: “Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?”
2The Woman said to the serpent, “Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. 3It’s only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘Don’t eat from it; don’t even touch it or you’ll die.’”
4The serpent told the Woman, “You won’t die. 5God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you’ll see what’s really going on. You’ll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil.”
6When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she’d know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate.
7Immediately the two of them did “see what’s really going on”—saw themselves naked! They sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for themselves.
8When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God.
9God called to the Man: “Where are you?”
10He said, “I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked. And I hid.”
11God said, “Who told you you were naked? Did you eat from that tree I told you not to eat from?”
12The Man said, “The Woman you gave me as a companion, she gave me fruit from the tree, and, yes, I ate it.”
13God said to the Woman, “What is this that you’ve done?”
“The serpent seduced me,” she said, “and I ate.”
14God told the serpent:
“Because you’ve done this, you’re cursed,
cursed beyond all cattle and wild animals,
Cursed to slink on your belly
and eat dirt all your life.
15I’m declaring war between you and the Woman,
between your offspring and hers.
He’ll wound your head,
you’ll wound his heel.”
16He told the Woman:
“I’ll multiply your pains in childbirth;
you’ll give birth to your babies in pain.
You’ll want to please your husband,
but he’ll lord it over you.”
17He told the Man:
“Because you listened to your wife
and ate from the tree
That I commanded you not to eat from,
‘Don’t eat from this tree,’
The very ground is cursed because of you;
getting food from the ground
Will be as painful as having babies is for your wife;
you’ll be working in pain all your life long.
18The ground will sprout thorns and weeds,
you’ll get your food the hard way,
Planting and tilling and harvesting,
19sweating in the fields from dawn to dusk,
Until you return to that ground yourself, dead and buried;
you started out as dirt, you’ll end up dirt.”
20The Man, known as Adam, named his wife Eve because she was the mother of all the living.
21God made leather clothing for Adam and his wife and dressed them.
22God said, “The Man has become like one of us, capable of knowing everything, ranging from good to evil. What if he now should reach out and take fruit from the Tree-of-Life and eat, and live forever? Never—this cannot happen!”
23So God expelled them from the Garden of Eden and sent them to work the ground, the same dirt out of which they’d been made. 24He threw them out of the garden and stationed angel-cherubim and a revolving sword of fire east of it, guarding the path to the Tree-of-Life.
Genesis 4
1Adam slept with Eve his wife. She conceived and had Cain. She said, “I’ve gotten a man, with God’s help!”
2Then she had another baby, Abel. Abel was a herdsman and Cain a farmer.
3Time passed. Cain brought an offering to God from the produce of his farm. 4Abel also brought an offering, but from the firstborn animals of his herd, choice cuts of meat. God liked Abel and his offering, 5but Cain and his offering didn’t get his approval. Cain lost his temper and went into a sulk.
Proverbs 27
You Don’t Know Tomorrow
1Don’t brashly announce what you’re going to do tomorrow;
you don’t know the first thing about tomorrow.
2Don’t call attention to yourself;
let others do that for you.
3Carrying a log across your shoulders
while you’re hefting a boulder with your arms
Is nothing compared to the burden
of putting up with a fool.
4We’re blasted by anger and swamped by rage,
but who can survive jealousy?
5A spoken reprimand is better
than approval that’s never expressed.
6The wounds from a lover are worth it;
kisses from an enemy do you in.
7When you’ve stuffed yourself, you refuse dessert;
when you’re starved, you could eat a horse.
8People who won’t settle down, wandering hither and yon,
are like restless birds, flitting to and fro.
9Just as lotions and fragrance give sensual delight,
a sweet friendship refreshes the soul.
10Don’t leave your friends or your parents’ friends
and run home to your family when things get rough;
Better a nearby friend
than a distant family.
11Become wise, dear child, and make me happy;
then nothing the world throws my way will upset me.
12A prudent person sees trouble coming and ducks;
a simpleton walks in blindly and is clobbered.
13Hold tight to collateral on any loan to a stranger;
be wary of accepting what a transient has pawned.
14If you wake your friend in the early morning
by shouting “Rise and shine!”
It will sound to him
more like a curse than a blessing.
15A nagging spouse is like
the drip, drip, drip of a leaky faucet;
16You can’t turn it off,
and you can’t get away from it.
Your Face Mirrors Your Heart
17You use steel to sharpen steel,
and one friend sharpens another.
18If you care for your orchard, you’ll enjoy its fruit;
if you honor your boss, you’ll be honored.
19Just as water mirrors your face,
so your face mirrors your heart.
20Hell has a voracious appetite,
and lust just never quits.
21The purity of silver and gold is tested
by putting them in the fire;
The purity of human hearts is tested
by giving them a little fame.
22Pound on a fool all you like—
you can’t pound out foolishness.
23Know your sheep by name;
carefully attend to your flocks;
24(Don’t take them for granted;
possessions don’t last forever, you know.)
25And then, when the crops are in
and the harvest is stored in the barns,
26You can knit sweaters from lambs’ wool,
and sell your goats for a profit;
27There will be plenty of milk and meat
to last your family through the winter.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)