GENESIS 4 1The heavens and the earth and all who live in them were completed. 2On the sixth day God completed all the work that he had done, and on the seventh day God rested from all the work that he had done. 3God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all the work of creation. 4This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. World’s creation in the garden On the day the LORD God made earth and sky— 5before any wild plants appeared on the earth, and before any field crops grew, because the LORD God hadn’t yet sent rain on the earth and there was still no human being to farm the fertile land, 6though a stream rose from the earth and watered all of the fertile land— 7the LORD God formed the human from the topsoil of the fertile land and blew life’s breath into his nostrils. The human came to life. 8The LORD God planted a garden in Eden in the east and put there the human he had formed. 9In the fertile land, the LORD God grew every beautiful tree with edible fruit, and also he grew the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10A river flows from Eden to water the garden, and from there it divides into four headwaters. 11The name of the first river is the Pishon. It flows around the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12That land’s gold is pure, and the land also has sweet-smelling resins and gemstones. 13The name of the second river is the Gihon. It flows around the entire land of Cush. 14The name of the third river is the Tigris, flowing east of Assyria; and the name of the fourth river is the Euphrates. 15The LORD God took the human and settled him in the garden of Eden to farm it and to take care of it. 16The LORD God commanded the human, “Eat your fill from all of the garden’s trees; 17but don’t eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because on the day you eat from it, you will die!” 18Then the LORD God said, “It’s not good that the human is alone. I will make him a helper that is perfect for him.” 19So the LORD God formed from the fertile land all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky and brought them to the human to see what he would name them. The human gave each living being its name. 20The human named all the livestock, all the birds in the sky, and all the wild animals. But a helper perfect for him was nowhere to be found. 21So the LORD God put the human into a deep and heavy sleep, and took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh over it. 22With the rib taken from the human, the LORD God fashioned a woman and brought her to the human being. 23The human said, “This one finally is bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh. She will be called a woman because from a man she was taken.” 24This is the reason that a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife, and they become one flesh. 25The two of them were naked, the man and his wife, but they weren’t embarrassed.
