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.