One Year Pray for the Persecuted Bible - Flipbook - Page 23
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January 2
the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said,
‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do,
you will die.’”
4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the
woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be
opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be
like God, knowing both good and evil.”
6 The woman was convinced. She saw that
the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would
give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate
it. Then she gave some to her husband, who
was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they
sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.
8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man* and his wife heard the Lord God
walking about in the garden. So they hid from
the Lord God among the trees. 9 Then the Lord
God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He replied, “I heard you walking in the
garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was
naked.”
11 “Who told you that you were naked?” the
Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the
tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?”
12 The man replied, “It was the woman you
gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”
13 Then the Lord God asked the woman,
“What have you done?”
“The serpent deceived me,” she replied.
“That’s why I ate it.”
14 Then the Lord God said to the serpent,
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“Because you have done this, you are
cursed
more than all animals, domestic and wild.
You will crawl on your belly,
groveling in the dust as long as you live.
And I will cause hostility between you and
the woman,
and between your offspring and her
offspring.
He will strike* your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
16 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.*”
17 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,
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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.”
20 Then the man—Adam—named his wife
Eve, because she would be the mother of all
who live.* 21 And the Lord God made clothing
from animal skins for Adam and his wife.
22 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!” 23 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. 24 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.
4:1 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!” 2 Later she gave
birth to his brother and named him Abel.
When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain cultivated the ground. 3 When
it was time for the harvest, Cain presented
some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. 4 Abel
also brought a g ift—the best portions of the
firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, 5 but he did not accept
Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry,
and he looked dejected.
6 “Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked
Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? 7 You will
be accepted if you do what is right. But if you
refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin
is crouching at the door, eager to control you.
But you must subdue it and be its master.”
8 One day Cain suggested to his brother,
“Let’s go out into the fields.”* And while they
were in the field, Cain attacked his brother,
Abel, and killed him.
9 Afterward the Lord asked Cain, “Where is
your brother? Where is Abel?”
“I don’t know,” Cain responded. “Am I my
brother’s guardian?”
10 But the Lord said, “What have you done?
Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me
