Immerse: Beginnings Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 19
3:16–4:5
G enesis
7
Then he said to the woman,
“I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy,
and in pain you will give birth.
And you will desire to control your husband,
but he will rule over you.”
And to the man he said,
“Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree
whose fruit I commanded you not to eat,
the ground is cursed because of you.
All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.
It will grow thorns and thistles for you,
though you will eat of its grains.
By the sweat of your brow
will you have food to eat
until you return to the ground
from which you were made.
For you were made from dust,
and to dust you will return.”
Then the m
an—Adam—named his wife Eve, because she would be the
mother of all who live. And the Lord God made clothing from animal
skins for Adam and his wife.
Then the Lord God said, “Look, the human beings have become like
us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from
the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” So the Lord God
banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. After sending them out,
the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of
Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard
the way to the tree of life.
Now Adam had sexual relations with his wife, Eve, and she became pregnant. When she gave birth to Cain, she said, “With the Lord’s help, I
have produced a man!” Later she gave birth to his brother and named
him Abel.
When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain cultivated
the ground. When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his
crops as a gift to the Lord. Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of
the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift,
but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and
he looked dejected.
