The Story, NKJV

The Story

ZONDERVAN

Contents

Creation:The Beginning of Life as We Know It

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Theearth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the faceof the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face ofthe waters.

Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. AndGod saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light fromthe darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He calledNight. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

Then God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of thewaters, and let it divide the waters from the waters." Thus Godmade the firmament, and divided the waters which were under thefirmament from the waters which were above the firmament; andit was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. So the eveningand the morning were the second day.

Then God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gatheredtogether into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so.And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together ofthe waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb thatyields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind,whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so. And the earthbrought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind,and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according toits kind. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and themorning were the third day.

Then God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of theheavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signsand seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights inthe firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth"; and it wasso. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule theday, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also.God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on theearth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to dividethe light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So theevening and the morning were the fourth day.

Then God said, "Let the waters abound with an abundance ofliving creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the faceof the firmament of the heavens." So God created great sea creaturesand every living thing that moves, with which the watersabounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird accordingto its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessedthem, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in theseas, and let birds multiply on the earth." So the evening and themorning were the fifth day.

Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth the living creatureaccording to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of theearth, each according to its kind"; and it was so. And God madethe beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according toits kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to itskind. And God saw that it was good.

Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according toOur likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, overthe birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and overevery creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God createdman in His own image; in the image of God He created him; maleand female He created them. Then God blessed them, and Godsaid to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdueit; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air,and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yieldsseed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whosefruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast ofthe earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps onthe earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb forfood"; and it was so. Then God saw everything that He had made,and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning werethe sixth day.

Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, werefinished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which Hehad done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His workwhich He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctifiedit, because in it He rested from all His work which God hadcreated and made.

This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they werecreated, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and theheavens, before any plant of the field was in the earth and beforeany herb of the field had grown. For the Lord God had not causedit to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground;but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face ofthe ground.

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, andbreathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became aliving being.

The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and thereHe put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground theLord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight andgood for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden,and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the gardenof Eden to tend and keep it. And the Lord God commanded theman, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; butof the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, forin the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."

And the Lord God said, "It is not good that man should bealone; I will make him a helper comparable to him." Out of theground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and everybird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he wouldcall them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, thatwas its name. So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds ofthe air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was notfound a helper comparable to him.

And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, andhe slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in itsplace. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man Hemade into a woman, and He brought her to the man.

And Adam said:

"This is now bone of my bonesAnd flesh of my flesh;She shall be called Woman,Because she was taken out of Man."

Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joinedto his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were notashamed.

God had created a beautiful world and filled it with glorious,diverse creatures. Of all his creation, he singled out two humansto build a relationship with — Adam and Eve. These two peoplewere blessed to share their paradise with each other and God,so why would they want anything else?

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the fieldwhich the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "HasGod indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?"

And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit ofthe trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in themidst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shallyou touch it, lest you die.' "

Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surelydie. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will beopened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, thatit was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise,she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her,and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and theyknew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together andmade themselves coverings.

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the gardenin the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselvesfrom the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, "Whereare you?"

So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraidbecause I was naked; and I hid myself."

And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have youeaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you shouldnot eat?"

Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave to be withme, she gave me of the tree, and I ate."

And the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you havedone?"

The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

So the Lord God said to the serpent:

"Because you have done this,You are cursed more than all cattle,And more than every beast of the field;On your belly you shall go,And you shall eat dustAll the days of your life.And I will put enmityBetween you and the woman,And between your seed and her Seed;He shall bruise your head,And you shall bruise His heel."

To the woman He said:

"I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception;In pain you shall bring forth children;Your desire shall be for your husband,And he shall rule over you."

Then to Adam He said, "Because you have heeded the voice ofyour wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commandedyou, saying, 'You shall not eat of it':

"Cursed is the ground for your sake;In toil you shall eat of itAll the days of your life.Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,And you shall eat the herb of the field.In the sweat of your face you shall eat breadTill you return to the ground,For out of it you were taken;For dust you are,And to dust you shall return."

And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was themother of all living.

Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin,and clothed them.

Then the Lord God said, "Behold, the man has become likeone of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out hishand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever" — thereforethe Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to tillthe ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man;and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and aflaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to thetree of life.

Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and boreCain, and said, "I have acquired a man from the Lord." Then shebore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper ofsheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the process oftime it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruitof the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn ofhis flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and hisoffering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cainwas very angry, and his countenance fell.

So the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why hasyour countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted?And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is foryou, but you should rule over it."

Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass,when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel hisbrother and killed him.

The tragic accounts of the mistakes and poor choices of Adamand Eve, and their firstborn son Cain, are echoed in the laterstories of hardship and tragedy for their children and theirchildren's children. As people began to populate the globe,leaving the area of Eden and traveling as far as feet and beastcould carry them, humanity's legacy of hate, anger, murder anddeception play out as people continue to neglect their relationshipwith God. Eventually, nearly everyone just plain forgetstheir Creator and the whole point of being alive. For mostpeople, life becomes one big party with no thought of consequences... except for one man.

Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great inthe earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart wasonly evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had mademan on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lordsaid, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of theearth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, forI am sorry that I have made them." But Noah found grace in theeyes of the Lord.

This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfectin his generations. Noah walked with God. And Noah begot threesons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filledwith violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it wascorrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.

And God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come beforeMe, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold,I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopherwood;make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outsidewith pitch. And this is how you shall make it: The length of theark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and itsheight thirty cubits. You shall make a window for the ark, and youshall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the arkin its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, todestroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life;everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish Mycovenant with you; and you shall go into the ark — you, your sons,your wife, and your sons' wives with you. And of every living thingof all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keepthem alive with you; they shall be male and female. Of the birdsafter their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creepingthing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind will come to youto keep them alive. And you shall take for yourself of all food thatis eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food foryou and for them."

Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him,so he did.

Then the Lord said to Noah, "Come into the ark, you and allyour household, because I have seen that you are righteous beforeMe in this generation."

"For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earthforty days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of theearth all living things that I have made."

Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters were onthe earth.

So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives, went intothe ark because of the waters of the flood. Of clean animals, ofanimals that are unclean, of birds, and of everything that creepson the earth, two by two they went into the ark to Noah, male andfemale, as God had commanded Noah. And it came to pass afterseven days that the waters of the flood were on the earth.

On the very same day Noah and Noah's sons, Shem, Ham,and Japheth, and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons withthem, entered the ark — they and every beast after its kind, all cattleafter their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earthafter its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort.And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh inwhich is the breath of life. So those that entered, male and femaleof all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the Lordshut him in.