The Beginning

       In the beginning GOD created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and The Spirit of GOD was hovering over the waters.
And GOD said, "Let there be light," and there was light. GOD saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. GOD called the light "day," and the darkness He called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day.
And GOD said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." So GOD made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. GOD called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning--the second day.
And GOD said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. GOD called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters He called "seas." And GOD saw that it was good.
       Then GOD said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And GOD saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the third day.
And GOD said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. GOD made two great lights--the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. GOD set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And GOD saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the fourth day.
And GOD said, "Let the water team with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." So GOD created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teams, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And GOD saw that it was good. GOD blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." And there was evening, and there was morning--the fifth day.
And GOD said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. GOD made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And GOD saw that it was good.
       Then GOD said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

       So GOD created man in His own image,
in the image of GOD He created him;
male and female He created them.

       GOD blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
       Then GOD said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground--everything that has the breath of life in it--I give every green plant for food." And it was so.
       GOD saw all that He had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the sixth day.

       Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all there vast array.

By the seventh day GOD had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work. And GOD blessed the seventh day and made it Holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done.

       This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created.

       When The Lord GOD made the earth and the heavens--and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for The Lord GOD had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground--The Lord GOD formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
       Now The Lord GOD had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there He put the man He had formed. And The Lord GOD made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground--trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the Garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
       A river watering the Garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.


The Book of Genesis: chapter 1 & chapter 2, verses 1 - 14

The Lord GOD and Mankind

       The Lord GOD took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And The Lord GOD commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the Garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
       The Lord GOD said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
       Now The Lord GOD had formed out of the ground all the beast of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beast of the field.
       But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So The Lord GOD caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, He took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then The Lord GOD made a woman from the rib He had taken out of the man, and He brought her to the man.
              The man said,

                 "This is now bone of my bones
                        and flesh of my flesh;
                     she shall be called 'woman,'
                            for she was taken out of man."

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
       The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

       Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals The Lord GOD had made. He said to the woman, "Did GOD really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the Garden'?"
       The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the Garden, but GOD did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the Garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'"
       "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For GOD knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like GOD, knowing good and evil."
       When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
       Then the man and his wife heard the sound of The Lord GOD as He was walking in the Garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from The Lord GOD among the trees of the Garden. But The Lord GOD called to the man, "Where are you?"
       He answered, "I heard You in the Garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
       And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"
       The man said, "The woman You put here with me--she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."
       Then The Lord GOD said to the woman, "What is this you have done?"
       The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
       So The Lord GOD said to the serpent, "Because you have done this,

              "Cursed are you above all the livestock
                 and all the wild animals!
              You will crawl on your belly
                 and you will eat dust
                 all the days of your life.
              And I will put enmity
                 between you and the woman,
                 and between your offspring and hers;
              he will crush your head,
                 and you will strike his heel."

              To the woman He said,

              "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing;
                 with pain you will give birth to children.
              Your desire will be for your husband,
                 and he will rule over you."

              To Adam He said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,'

              "Cursed is the ground because of you;
                 through painful toil you will eat of it
                 all the days of your life.
              It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
                 and you will eat the plants of the field.
              By the sweat of your brow
                 you will eat your food
              until you return to the ground,
                 since from it you were taken;
              for dust you are
                 and to dust you will return."


The Book of Genesis: chapter 2, verses 15 - 25 & chapter 3, verses 1 - 19

The Lord Speaks

Then The Lord answered Job out of the storm. He said:

       "Who is this that darkens My counsel
          with words without knowledge?
       Brace yourself like a man;
          I will question you,
          and you shall answer Me.

       "Where were you when I laid the earth's
              foundation?
          Tell Me, if you understand.
       Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
          Who stretched a measuring line across it?
       On what were its footings set,
          or who laid its cornerstone--
       while the morning stars sang together
          and all the angels shouted for joy?

       "Who shut up the sea behind doors
          when it burst forth from the womb,
       when I made the clouds its garment
          and wrapped it in thick darkness,
       when I fixed limits for it
          and set its doors and bars in place,
       when I said, 'This far you may come and no farther;
          here is where your proud waves halt'?

       "Have you ever given orders to the morning,
          or shown the dawn its place,
       that it might take the earth by the edges
          and shake the wicked out of it?
       The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;
          its features stand out like those of a garment.
       The wicked are denied their light,
          and their upraised arm is broken.

       "Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
          or walked in the recesses of the deep?
       Have the gates of death been shown to you?
          Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
       Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?
          Tell Me, if you know all this.

       "What is the way to the abode of light?
          And where does darkness reside?
       Can you take them to their places?
          Do you know the paths to their dwellings?
       Surely you know, for you were already born!
          You have lived so many years!

       "Have you entered the store houses of the snow
          or seen the storehouses of the hail,
       which I reserve for times of trouble,
          for days of war and battle?
       What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,
          or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?
       Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
          and a path for the thunderstorm,
       to water a land where no man lives,
          a desert with no one in it,
       to satisfy a desolate wasteland
          and make it sprout with grass?
       Does the rain have a father?
          Who fathers the drops of dew?
       From whose womb comes the ice?
          Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens
       when the waters become hard as stone,
          when the surface of the deep is frozen?

       "Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades?
          Can you loose the cords of Orion?
       Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons
          or lead out the Bear with its cubs?
       Do you know the laws of the heavens?
          Can you set up GOD's dominion over the earth?

       "Can you raise your voice to the clouds
          and cover yourself with a flood of water?
       Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?
          Do they report to you, 'Here we are'?
       Who endowed the heart with wisdom
          or gave understanding to the mind?
       Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
          Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens
       when the dust becomes hard
          and the clods of earth stick together?

       "Do you hunt the prey for the lioness
          and satisfy the hunger of the lions
       when they crouch in their dens
          or lie in wait in a thicket?
       Who provides food for the raven
          when its young cry out to GOD
       and wonder about for lack of food?

       "Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?
          Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?
       Do you count the months till they bear?
          Do you know the time they give birth?
       They crouch down and bring forth their young;
          their labor pains are ended.
       Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds;
          they leave and do not return.

       "Who let the wild donkey go free?
          Who untied his ropes?
       I gave him the wasteland as his home,
          the salt flats as his habitat.
       He laughs at the commotion in the town;
          he does not hear a driver's shout.
       He ranges the hills for his pasture
          and searches for any green thing.

       "Will the wild ox consent to serve you?
          Will he stay by your manger at night?
       Can you hold him to the furrow with a harness?
          Will he till the valleys behind you?
       Will you rely on him for his great strength?
          Will you leave your heavy work to him?
       Can you trust him to bring in your grain
          and gather it to your threshing floor?

       "The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,
          but they cannot compare with the pinions and
                 feathers of the stork.
       She lays her eggs on the ground
          and lets them warm in the sand,
       unmindful that a foot may crush them,
          that some wild animal may trample them.
       She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers;
          she cares not that her labor was in vain,
       for GOD did not endow her with wisdom
          or give her a share of good sense.
       Yet when she spreads her feathers to run,
          she laughs at horse and rider.

       "Do you give the horse his strength
          or clothe his neck with a flowing mane?
       Do you make him leap like a locust,
          striking terror with his proud snorting?
       He paws fiercely, rejoicing in his strength,
          and charges into the fray.
       He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing;
          he does not shy away from the sword.
       The quiver rattles against his side,
          along with the flashing spear and lance.
       In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground;
          he cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.
       At the blast of the trumpet he snorts, 'Aha!'
          He catches the scent of battle from afar,
          the shout of commanders and the battle cry.

       "Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom
          and spread his wings toward the south?
       Does the eagle soar at your command
          and build his nest on high?
       He dwells on a cliff and stays there at night;
          a rocky crag is his stronghold.
       From there he seeks out his food;
          his eyes detect it from afar.
       His young ones feast on blood,
          and where the slain are, there is he."


The Book of Job: chapter 38 & chapter 39

The Lord Speaks More

The Lord said to Job:

       "Will the one who contends with The Almighty correct Him?
          Let him who accuses GOD answer Him!"

Then Job answered The Lord:

       "I am unworthy--how can I reply to You?
          I put my hand over my mouth.
       I spoke once, but I have no answer--
          twice, but I will say no more."

Then The Lord spoke to Job out of the storm:

       "Brace yourself like a man;
          I will question you,
          and you shall answer me.

       "Would you discredit My justice?
          Would you condemn Me to justify yourself?
       Do you have an arm like GOD's,
          and can your voice thunder like His?
       Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor,
          and clothe yourself in honor and majesty.
       Unleash the fury of your wrath,
          look at every proud man and bring him low,
       look at every proud man and humble him,
          crush the wicked where they stand.
       Bury them all in the dust together;
          shroud their faces in the grave.
       Then I Myself will admit to you
          that your own right hand can save you.

       "Look at the behemoth,
          which I made along with you
          and which feeds on grass like an ox.
       What strength he has in his loins,
          what power in the muscles of his belly!
       His tail sways like a cedar;
          the sinews of his thighs are close-knit.
       His bones are tubes of bronze,
          his limbs like rods of iron.
       He ranks first among the works of GOD,
          yet his Maker can approach him with His sword.
       The hills bring him their produce,
          and all the wild animals play nearby.
       Under the lotus plants he lies,
          hidden among the reeds in the marsh.
       The lotuses conceal him in their shadow;
          the poplars by the stream surround him.
       When the river rages, he is not alarmed;
          he is secure, though the Jordan should surge against his mouth.
       Can anyone capture him by the eyes,
          or trap him and pierce his nose?

       "Can you pull in the leviathan with a fishhook
          or tie down his tongue with a rope?
       Can you put a cord through his nose
          or pierce his jaw with a hook?
       Will he keep begging you for mercy?
          Will he speak to you with gentle words?
       Will he make an agreement with you
          for you to take him as your slave for life?
       Can you make a pet of him like a bird
          or put him on a leash for your girls?
       Will traders barter for him?
          Will they divide him up among the merchants?
       Can you fill his hide with harpoons
          or his head with fishing spears?
       If you lay a hand on him,
          you will remember the struggle and never do it again!
       Any hope of subduing him is false;
          the mere sight of him is overpowering.
       No one is fierce enough to rouse him.
          Who then is able to stand against Me?
       Who has a claim against Me that I must pay?
          Everything under heaven belongs to Me.

       "I will not fail to speak of his limbs,
          his strength and his graceful form.
       Who can strip off his outer coat?
          Who would approach him with a bridle?
       Who dares open the doors of his mouth,
          ringed about with his fearsome teeth?
       His back has rows of shields
          tightly sealed together;
       each is so close to the next
          that no air can pass between.
       They are joined fast to one another;
          they cling together and cannot be parted.
       His snorting throws out flashes of light;
          his eyes are like the rays of dawn.
       Firebrands stream from his mouth;
          sparks of fire shoot out.
       Smoke pours from his nostrils
          as from a boiling pot over a fire of reeds
       His breath sets coals ablaze,
          and flames dart from his mouth.
       Strength resides in his neck;
          dismay goes before him.
       The folds of his flesh are tightly joined;
          they are firm and immovable.
       His chest is hard as rock,
          hard as a lower millstone.
       When he rises up, the mighty are terrified;
          they retreat before his thrashing.
       The sword that reaches him has no effect,
          nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin.
       Iron he treats like straw
          and bronze like rotten wood.
       Arrows do not make him flee;
          slingstones are like chaff to him.
       A club seems to him but a piece of straw;
          he laughs at the rattling of the lance.
       His undersides are jagged potsherds,
          leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.
       He makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron
          and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.
       Behind him he leaves a glistening wake;
          one would think the deep had white hair.
       Nothing on earth is his equal--
          a creature without fear.
       He looks down on all that are haughty;
          he is king over all that are proud."

Then Job replied to The Lord:

       "I know that You can do all things;
          no plan of Yours can be thwarted.
       You asked, 'Who is this that obscures My counsel without knowledge?'
          Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
          things too wonderful for me to know.

       "You said, 'Listen now, and I will speak;
          I will question you,
          and you shall answer me.'
       My ears had heard of You
          but now my eyes have seen You.
       Therefore I despise myself
          and repent in dust and ashes."


The Book of Job: chapter 40, chapter 41 & chapter 42, verses 1 - 6

Two Kinds of Wisdom

       Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

       But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.


The Epistle of James: chapter 3, verses 13 -18

Living in The Light

       That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched--this we proclaim concerning The Word of Life. The Life appeared; we have seen It and testify to It, and we proclaim to you The Eternal Life, which was with The Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with The Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.

       This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: GOD is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by The Truth. But if we walk in The Light, as He is in The Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.

       If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and The Truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives.

       My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to The Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, The Righteous One. He is The Atoning Sacrifice for our sins, and not only for our sins but also for the sins of the whole world.

       We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands. The man who says, "I know Him," but does not do what He commands is a liar, and The Truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys His word, GOD's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.

       Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in Him and you, because the darkness is passing and The True Light is already shinning.

       Anyone who claims to be in The Light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in The Light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.

              I write to you, dear children,
                 because your sins have been forgiven on account of His name.
              I write to you, fathers,
                 because you have known Him who is from the beginning.
              I write to you, young men,
                 because you have overcome the evil one.
              I write to you, dear children,
                 because you have known The Father.
              I write to you, fathers,
                 because you have known Him who is from the beginning.
              I write to you, young men,
                 because you are strong,
                 and The Word of GOD lives in you,
                 and you have overcome the evil one.

       Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of The Father is not in him. For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from The Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of GOD lives forever.


The Epistle of 1st John: chapter 1 & chapter 2, verses 1 - 17