HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 375
G ENESIS 2
page 5
every sort of bird—each producing offspring
of the same kind. And God saw that it was
good. 22 Then God blessed them, saying,
“Be fruitful and multiply. Let the fish fill
the seas, and let the birds multiply on
the earth.”
23 And evening passed and morning
came, marking the fifth day.
24 Then
God said, “Let the earth produce every
sort of animal, each producing offspring
of the same kind—livestock, small animals
that scurry along the ground, and wild
animals.” And that is what happened. 25 God
made all sorts of wild animals, livestock,
and small animals, each able to produce
offspring of the same kind. And God saw
that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make human
beings* in our image, to be like us. They will
reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in
the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals
on the earth,* and the small animals that
scurry along the ground.”
27
So God created human beings* in his
own image.
In the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be
fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and
govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the
birds in the sky, and all the animals that
scurry along the ground.”
29 Then God said, “Look! I have given you
every seed-bearing plant throughout the
earth and all the fruit trees for your food.
30 And I have given every green plant as food
for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky,
and the small animals that scurry along the
ground—everything that has life.” And that
is what happened.
31 Then God looked over all he had made,
and he saw that it was very good!
And evening passed and morning came,
marking the sixth day.
The Man and Woman in Eden
When the Lord God made the earth and the
heavens, 5 neither wild plants nor grains were
growing on the earth. For the Lord God had
not yet sent rain to water the earth, and there
were no people to cultivate the soil. 6 Instead,
springs* came up from the ground and watered
all the land. 7 Then the Lord God formed the
man from the dust of the ground. He breathed
the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the
man became a living person.
8 Then the Lord God planted a garden in
Eden in the east, and there he placed the man
he had made. 9 The Lord God made all sorts of
trees grow up from the ground—trees that were
beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In
the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life
and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 A river flowed from the land of Eden, watering the garden and then dividing into four
branches. 11 The first branch, called the Pishon,
flowed around the entire land of Havilah, where
gold is found. 12 The gold of that land is exceptionally pure; aromatic resin and onyx stone
are also found there. 13 The second branch,
called the Gihon, flowed around the entire land
of Cush. 14 The third branch, called the Tigris,
flowed east of the land of Asshur. The fourth
branch is called the Euphrates.
15 The Lord God placed the man in the Garden
of Eden to tend and watch over it. 16 But the Lord
God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of
every tree in the garden—17 except the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit,
you are sure to die.”
18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for
the man to be alone. I will make a helper who
is just right for him.” 19 So the Lord God formed
from the ground all the wild animals and all the
birds of the sky. He brought them to the man*
to see what he would call them, and the man
• Rest
G E N E S I S 2:1-3
2
So the creation of the heavens and
the earth and everything in them was
completed. 2 On the seventh day God had
finished his work of creation, so he rested*
from all his work. 3 And God blessed the
seventh day and declared it holy, because
it was the day when he rested from all his
work of creation.
4 This
is the account of the creation of the heavens and the earth.
1:26a Or man; Hebrew reads adam. 1:26b As in Syriac
version; Hebrew reads all the earth. 1:27 Or the man; Hebrew
reads ha-adam. 2:2 Or ceased; also in 2:3. 2:6 Or mist.
2:19 Or Adam, and so throughout the chapter.
Why would the omnipotent God of
the universe rest following his work of
creation? Surely it wasn’t because the
Almighty was physically tired! Our clue
is that God, in ceasing from his work,
called his rest “holy.” God also knew that
we would need to cease from our work
to care for our spiritual needs. Work is
good, but it must be balanced by regular
attention to worship and the health of our
souls. Do you observe regular times for
worship and spiritual refreshment?