And Adam had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man,” she said.
Later she gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, while Cain was a tiller of the soil.
So in the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruit of the soil as an offering to the LORD,
while Abel brought the best portions of the firstborn of his flock. And the LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
but He had no regard for Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell.
. . .
By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous when God gave approval to his gifts. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.
Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did Cain slay him? Because his own deeds were evil, while those of his brother were righteous.
Then Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.
And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
And Adam again had relations with his wife, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another seed in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.”
“Why are you angry,” said the LORD to Cain, “and why has your countenance fallen?
If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you refuse to do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires you, but you must master it.”
“Not so!” replied the LORD. “If anyone slays Cain, then Cain will be avenged sevenfold.” And the LORD placed a mark on Cain, so that no one who found him would kill him.
So in the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruit of the soil as an offering to the LORD,
while Abel brought the best portions of the firstborn of his flock. And the LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
but He had no regard for Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell.
“Why are you angry,” said the LORD to Cain, “and why has your countenance fallen?
If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you refuse to do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires you, but you must master it.”
. . .
Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see.
This is why the ancients were commended.
By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous when God gave approval to his gifts. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.
By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
. . .
If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you refuse to do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires you, but you must master it.”
Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’”
The woman answered the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden,
but about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You must not eat of it or touch it, or you will die.’”
“You will not surely die,” the serpent told her.
“For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
. . .
And Adam had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man,” she said.
Later she gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, while Cain was a tiller of the soil.
So in the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruit of the soil as an offering to the LORD,
while Abel brought the best portions of the firstborn of his flock. And the LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
but He had no regard for Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell.
. . .
Then Lamech said to his wives: “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; wives of Lamech, listen to my speech. For I have slain a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me.
If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
And Adam had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man,” she said.
Later she gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, while Cain was a tiller of the soil.
So in the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruit of the soil as an offering to the LORD,
while Abel brought the best portions of the firstborn of his flock. And the LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
but He had no regard for Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell.
. . .
And Adam had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man,” she said.
Later she gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, while Cain was a tiller of the soil.
Then Lamech said to his wives: “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; wives of Lamech, listen to my speech. For I have slain a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me.
from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, all of it will be charged to this generation.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
And God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness.
God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
. . .
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
And by the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on that day He rested from all His work.
Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on that day He rested from all the work of creation that He had accomplished.
This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made them.
Now no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth, nor had any plant of the field sprouted; for the LORD God had not yet sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground.
. . .
As a result, this generation will be charged with the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the foundation of the world,
from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, all of it will be charged to this generation.
And the LORD said, “If they refuse to believe you or heed the witness of the first sign, they may believe that of the second.
But if they do not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. Then the water you take from the Nile will become blood on the ground.”
So Cain went out from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
And Cain had relations with his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. Then Cain built a city and named it after his son Enoch.
Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had resided, the land of Canaan.
This is the account of Jacob. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was tending the flock with his brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah, and he brought their father a bad report about them.
Now Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons, because Joseph had been born to him in his old age; so he made him a robe of many colors.
When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.
Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.
. . .
But Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.
Behold, this day You have driven me from the face of the earth, and from Your face I will be hidden; I will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
Behold, this day You have driven me from the face of the earth, and from Your face I will be hidden; I will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
And the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I do not know!” he answered. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
“What have you done?” replied the LORD. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.
Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
When you till the ground, it will no longer yield its produce to you. You will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”
But Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.
. . .
This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in His own likeness.
Male and female He created them, and He blessed them. And in the day they were created, He called them “man.”
When Adam was 130 years old, he had a son in his own likeness, after his own image; and he named him Seth.
And after he had become the father of Seth, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.
So Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died.
. . .
As Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee invited Him to dine with him; so He went in and reclined at the table.
But the Pharisee was surprised to see that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.
“Now then,” said the Lord, “you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.
You fools! Did not the One who made the outside make the inside as well?
But give as alms the things that are within you, and you will see that everything is clean for you.
. . .
And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed in the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.
She was pregnant and crying out in the pain and agony of giving birth.
Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon with seven heads, ten horns, and seven royal crowns on his heads.
His tail swept a third of the stars from the sky, tossing them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, ready to devour her child as soon as she gave birth.
And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was caught up to God and to His throne.
. . .
Now King David was old and well along in years, and though they covered him with blankets, he could not keep warm.
So his servants said to him, “Let us search for a young virgin for our lord the king, to attend to him and care for him and lie by his side to keep him warm.”
Then they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful girl, and they found Abishag the Shunammite and brought her to the king.
The girl was unsurpassed in beauty; she cared for the king and served him, but he had no relations with her.
Now King David was old and well along in years, and though they covered him with blankets, he could not keep warm.
So his servants said to him, “Let us search for a young virgin for our lord the king, to attend to him and care for him and lie by his side to keep him warm.”
Then they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful girl, and they found Abishag the Shunammite and brought her to the king.
The girl was unsurpassed in beauty; she cared for the king and served him, but he had no relations with her.
At that time Adonijah, David’s son by Haggith, began to exalt himself, saying, “I will be king!” And he acquired chariots and horsemen and fifty men to run ahead of him.
. . .
Now Adonijah son of Haggith went to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, and she asked, “Do you come in peace?” “Yes, in peace,” he replied.
Then he said, “I have something to tell you.” “Say it,” she answered.
“You know that the kingship was mine,” he said. “All Israel expected that I should reign, but the kingship has turned to my brother, for it has come to him from the LORD.
So now I have just one request of you; do not deny me.” “State your request,” she told him.
Adonijah replied, “Please speak to King Solomon, since he will not turn you down. Let him give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.”
. . .
But Samuel declared: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams.
After David had finished speaking with Saul, the souls of Jonathan and David were knit together, and Jonathan loved him as himself.
And from that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father’s house.
Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.
And Jonathan removed the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, his sword, his bow, and his belt.
So David marched out and prospered in everything Saul sent him to do, and Saul set him over the men of war. And this was pleasing in the sight of all the people, and of Saul’s officers as well.
. . .
When Samuel died, all Israel gathered to mourn for him; and they buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David set out and went down to the Wilderness of Paran.
Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. He was a very wealthy man with a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing in Carmel.
His name was Nabal, and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband, a Calebite, was harsh and evil in his dealings.
While David was in the wilderness, he heard that Nabal was shearing sheep.
So David sent ten young men and instructed them, “Go up to Nabal at Carmel. Greet him in my name
. . .
In the spring, at the time when kings march out to war, David sent out Joab and his servants with the whole army of Israel. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Jerusalem.
One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing—a very beautiful woman.
So David sent and inquired about the woman, and he was told, “This is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.”
Then David sent messengers to get her, and when she came to him, he slept with her. (Now she had just purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned home.
And the woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”
. . .
During the war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner had continued to strengthen his position in the house of Saul.
Meanwhile, Saul had a concubine named Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. So Ish-bosheth questioned Abner, “Why did you sleep with my father’s concubine?”
Abner was furious over Ish-bosheth’s accusation. “Am I the head of a dog that belongs to Judah?” he asked. “All this time I have been loyal to the house of your father Saul, to his brothers, and to his friends. I have not delivered you into the hand of David, but now you accuse me of wrongdoing with this woman!
May God punish Abner, and ever so severely, if I do not do for David what the LORD has sworn to him:
to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and to establish the throne of David over Israel and Judah, from Dan to Beersheba.”
. . .
David again assembled the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand in all.
And he and all his troops set out for Baale of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name—the name of the LORD of Hosts, who is enthroned between the cherubim that are on it.
They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart,
bringing with it the ark of God. And Ahio was walking in front of the ark.
David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the LORD with all kinds of wood instruments, harps, stringed instruments, tambourines, sistrums, and cymbals.
. . .
I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
So in the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruit of the soil as an offering to the LORD,
while Abel brought the best portions of the firstborn of his flock. And the LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
but He had no regard for Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell.
“Why are you angry,” said the LORD to Cain, “and why has your countenance fallen?
If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you refuse to do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires you, but you must master it.”
Now when men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born to them,
the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they took as wives whomever they chose.
So the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days shall be 120 years.”
The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and afterward as well—when the sons of God had relations with the daughters of men. And they bore them children who became the mighty men of old, men of renown.
Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time.
. . .
This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon come to pass. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John,
who testifies to everything he saw. This is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and obey what is written in it, because the time is near.
John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from Him who is and was and is to come, and from the seven Spirits before His throne,
and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood,
. . .