In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was void and without form, and filled with darkness. And the Spirit of God moved over its waters. And God commanded, "Let there be light." And light came to be. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. He called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.
And the evening and the morning were the first day. Then God said, "Let there be a divide in the waters." And the waters separated. God called the area that appeared Sky.
And the evening and morning were the second day.
Then God said, "Let the waters below be gathered together, and let dry ground appear." And so it happened, just as God commanded. The waters that gathered together, God called Seas. And the dry ground, He called Land. Then God said, "Let the land bring forth grass, and plants and trees bearing fruit with seed to reproduce." And again, it happened. Grass, plants, and trees came up from the ground, and God was pleased.
And the evening and the morning were the third day. Then God spoke again. "Let there be light in the expanse of the heavens to light the earth and separate day from night."
So God created the sun, the moon, and the stars and by them established days, seasons, and years. And God saw that this was good.
And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. Again God spoke, and said "Let the seas be filled with living creatures, and the sky be filled with birds. So, by His word, God created all living creatures great and small which live in the sea. And God created every variety of winged bird, and He was pleased. Then God blessed them, saying "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters, and the earth, and the sky."
And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
Then God gave another command. "Let the earth produce livestock, creatures that crawl, every beast and all wildlife according to their kind." And so it was, just as God commanded. And God saw that His creation was good.
After this, God formed a man out of the dust of the earth and breathed life into him. And the man became a living soul. God named the man Adam and gave him dominion over all creatures on the land, in the sky, and in the sea.
Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east in Eden.
In there, he placed Adam to tend the garden and cultivate it.
In the garden, God caused beautiful trees to grow, which provided fruit that was good to eat. God also provided care for the garden by causing a mist to rise from the Earth to water the ground and a river that went through the garden into the surrounding land.
In the garden there were also two very distinct trees. One was the tree of life, and the other tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Then God spoke to Adam "From every tree in the garden you may freely eat, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. For if you do, you will surely die."
Then the Lord brought every animal that he had created to Adam, and Adam named each of the animals according to its kind. All the creatures that God had created had their mate, expect for Adam. And the Lord God said "It is not good for the man to be alone."
So God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept, God removed one of Adam's ribs. From the rib, God created a mate and helper suitable for Adam. When Adam woke up and saw God's new creation, he exclaimed, "You are bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh.
And because you were formed from Man, you will be called Woman."
And the woman was named Eve, for she is the mother of all the living.
And so it was that God created man and woman after His own image. And the man and the woman were naked, and yet they were not ashamed.
God blessed Adam and Eve, and said "Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and rule over it. I give you dominion over every living creature that I have created."
And so God provided man with a mate and established that when a man and his wife unite, the two would become as one.
And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
On the seventh day, the Lord God rested from all that He created: the heavens, and the earth, and all of their wonders. So He blessed the seventh day, and He made it holy.
Now the serpent, who was craftier than any of the creatures that the Lord God had made, was in the garden. And he came to Eve, saying "Did God really say not to eat of any tree in the garden?"
"Oh. No. We may eat the fruit of any tree, expect the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Of that tree we must never eat, for if we do, God said we shall surely die."
"Come now. You will not surely die. God knows that if you eat from that tree your eyes will be truly opened, and you will become as wise as God Himself. Is God withholding good from you? Don't you want to be wise, wise like God?" Tempted by the serpent's words, Eve turned her gaze to the forbidden tree. The more she looked at it, the more attractive it seemed, until she wanted nothing more than to taste its fruit.
"What harm could possibly come if I eat this? And indeed, I shall gain wisdom. How can that be wrong?" So Eve went against God's command, and she ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and shared it wither her husband.
After eating the forbidden fruit, the two realized they were naked. And for the first time, they felt shame. They became afraid. Adam and Eve realized they had disobeyed their Creator.
They quickly gathered fig leaves, interweaving them to cover their naked bodies. Soon after, they heard the sound of God, as He was walking in the garden in the cool of day.
"Adam. Adam. Where are you?"
"I.. I heard your voice in the garden, and I was ashamed and afraid, because we are naked."
"Who told you you were naked?
Have you eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the one tree from which I commanded you not to eat?"
"The woman you created, she gave me the fruit, and yes, I ate it."
"Eve, what have you done?"
"The serpent. He deceived me and I ate."
Turning to the serpent, God said, "Because you have done this, cursed are you. Cursed above all living creatures. You shall crawl on your belly and eat the dust of the earth all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and
between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Then the Lord God turned to Eve. "I will multiply sorrow in childbearing. In great pain shall you give birth. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you."
And then unto Adam, God said "Cursed is the ground because of you, for you have listened to your wife and have eaten from the tree I commanded you not to eat. All the days of your life, you shall have to work the ground. In sorrow and sweat, you shall work the ground for your food until you return to the ground from which you were taken, for dust you are, and to dust you shall return."
In His mercy, the Lord God made coats of animal skins to clothe Adam and Eve. Then He said, "Behold the man, has become like one of us, understanding good and evil. He must not be allowed to eat from the tree of life and live forever in such a state.
So the Lord God drove the man from the Garden of Eden along with his wife to work the ground from which he was formed.
And he placed the Cherubim-and a flaming sword which turned in every direction to guard the tree of life.
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