BereshitIn beginning

1Reading 1 Genesis 1:1–2:3Chapter page with footnotes →

The Creation

^1:1In beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

²And the earth was formlessness and emptiness, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the spirit of God was hovering upon the face of the waters.

³And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. ⁴And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided between the light and between the darkness. ⁵And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, day one.

⁶And God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide between waters and waters." ⁷And God made the firmament, and divided between the waters which were under the firmament and the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. ⁸And God called the firmament Heavens. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

⁹And God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered to one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so. ¹⁰And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering of the waters he called Seas; and God saw that it was good.

¹¹And God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, herb yielding seed, fruit tree making fruit after its kind, in which is its seed, upon the earth"; and it was so. ¹²And the earth brought forth vegetation, herb yielding seed after its kind, and tree making fruit, in which is its seed, after its kind; and God saw that it was good.

¹³And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.

¹⁴And God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens, to divide between the day and between the night; and let them be for signs and for appointed times (moedim), and for days and years; ¹⁵and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens, to give light upon the earth"; and it was so.

¹⁶And God made the two great lights — the great light for the rule of the day, and the small light for the rule of the night — and the stars.

¹⁷And God set them in the firmament of the heavens, to give light upon the earth, ¹⁸and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide between the light and between the darkness; and God saw that it was good.

¹⁹And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

²⁰And God said, "Let the waters swarm with swarms, a living soul; and let birds fly above the earth upon the face of the firmament of the heavens." ²¹And God created the great sea-creatures, and every living soul that creeps, with which the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good.

²²And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds multiply in the earth."

²³And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

²⁴And God said, "Let the earth bring forth a living soul after its kind, beast and creeping thing and living thing of the earth after its kind"; and it was so. ²⁵And God made the living thing of the earth after its kind, and the beast after its kind, and every creeping thing of the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.

²⁶And God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the beast, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth."

²⁷And God created the man in his image; in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

²⁸And God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that creeps upon the earth."

²⁹And God said, "Behold, I have given to you every herb yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food. ³⁰And to every living thing of the earth, and to every bird of the heavens, and to every thing that creeps upon the earth, in which is a living soul, I have given every green herb for food"; and it was so.

³¹And God saw all that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

The Seventh Day

^2:1And the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their host. ²And God finished on the seventh day his work which he had made, and he shabbatted on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

³And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it he shabbatted from all his work which God created to make.

2Reading 2 Genesis 2:4–19Chapter page with footnotes →

Man and Woman in the Garden

^2:4These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made earth and heavens.

⁵And every shrub of the field was not yet in the earth, and every herb of the field had not yet sprouted, for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no man to work the ground. ⁶And a mist went up from the earth and watered all the face of the ground.

⁷And the LORD God formed Adam of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and Adam became a living soul.

⁸And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, from the east, and there he put Adam whom he had formed. ⁹And the LORD God made to sprout from the ground every tree pleasant to sight and good for food, and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

¹⁰And a river was going out from Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four heads.

¹¹The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one surrounding all the land of Havilah, where there is gold. ¹²And the gold of that land is good; there is the bdellium and the onyx stone.

¹³And the name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one surrounding all the land of Cush.

¹⁴And the name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one going east of Asshur. And the fourth river, it is the Euphrates.

¹⁵And the LORD God took Adam and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and to keep it.

¹⁶And the LORD God commanded Adam, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you shall surely eat, ¹⁷but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it, for in the day you eat of it you shall surely die."

¹⁸And the LORD God said, "It is not good for Adam to be alone; I will make him a helper as his counterpart."

¹⁹And the LORD God formed out of the ground every living thing of the field and every bird of the heavens, and brought it to Adam to see what he would call it; and whatever Adam called it, the living soul, that was its name.

3Reading 3 Genesis 2:20–3:21Chapter page with footnotes →

^2:20And Adam called names to all the cattle and to the bird of the heavens and to every living thing of the field; but for Adam he did not find a helper as his counterpart.

²¹And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept, and he took one of his ribs and closed up flesh in its place. ²²And the LORD God built the rib which he had taken from Adam into a woman, and brought her to Adam. ²³And Adam said, "This now is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; for this one it shall be called Woman, because from Man this one was taken."

²⁴Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and cleave to his woman, and they shall become one flesh.

²⁵And they were both naked, Adam and his woman, and they were not ashamed.

The Serpent’s Deception

^3:1And the serpent was more cunning than every living thing of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?"

²And the woman said to the serpent, "Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat, ³but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat of it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'"

⁴And the serpent said to the woman, "You shall not surely die, ⁵for God knows that in the day you eat of it, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be like God, knowing good and evil."

⁶And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a desire to the eyes, and the tree was desirable to make one wise; and she took of its fruit and ate, and she gave also to her man with her, and he ate.

⁷And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves and made for themselves girdles.

God Arraigns Adam and Eve

⁸And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking about in the garden at the spirit of the day; and Adam and his woman hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God in the midst of the trees of the garden.

⁹And the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?"

¹⁰And he said, "I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself."

¹¹And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree which I commanded you not to eat of it?"

¹²And Adam said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate."

¹³And the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

The Fate of the Serpent

¹⁴And the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all the cattle and above every living thing of the field; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.

¹⁵And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and Seed-H(Seed of the LORD); He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.

The Punishment of Mankind

¹⁶To the woman he said, "I will greatly multiply your pain and your conception; in pain you shall bear children, and to your man shall be your desire, and he shall rule over you."

¹⁷And to Adam he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your woman and have eaten of the tree which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it'; cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life.

¹⁸And thorns and thistles it shall sprout for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field.

¹⁹By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, until(ad עד) you return to the ground; for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.

²⁰And Adam called his woman's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

Sent Out from the Garden of Eden

²¹And the LORD God made for Adam and for his woman garments of skin, and clothed them.

4Reading 4 Genesis 3:22–4:18Chapter page with footnotes →

^3:22And the LORD God said, "Behold, Adam has become like one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever—"

²³And the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to work the ground from which he was taken. ²⁴And he drove out Adam, and he stationed east of the garden of Eden the cherubim and the flame of the whirling sword, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Cain and Abel

^4:1And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived and bore Cain, and said: "I have gotten a man, the LORD."

²And she continued to bear his brother, Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a worker of the ground. ³And it came to pass at the end of days, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to the LORD. ⁴And Abel, he also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD looked with favor to Abel and to his offering, ⁵but to Cain and to his offering he did not look. And it burned to Cain greatly, and his face fell.

⁶And the LORD said to Cain, "Why has it burned to you, and why has your face fallen? ⁷Is it not, if you do well, a lifting up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and to you is its desire, but you shall rule over it."

⁸And Cain said to Abel his brother. And it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

⁹And the LORD said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" And he said, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?"

¹⁰And he said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground. ¹¹And now cursed are you from the ground, which has opened its mouth to take your brother's blood from your hand. ¹²When you work the ground, it shall not continue to give its strength to you; a wanderer and a fugitive you shall be in the earth."

¹³And Cain said to the LORD, "My iniquity is too great to bear. ¹⁴Behold, you have driven me this day from upon the face of the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden; and I shall be a wanderer and a fugitive in the earth, and it shall come to pass that anyone finding me will kill me."

¹⁵And the LORD said to him, "Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken sevenfold." And the LORD set a sign for Cain, lest anyone finding him should strike him.

¹⁶And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

The Descendants of Cain

¹⁷And Cain knew his woman, and she conceived and bore Enoch; and he was building a city, and he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch.

¹⁸And to Enoch was born Irad; and Irad begot Mehujael; and Mehujael begot Methushael; and Methushael begot Lamech.

5Reading 5 Genesis 4:19–22Chapter page with footnotes →

^4:19And Lamech took for himself two women; the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the second, Zillah.

²⁰And Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those dwelling in tents and with livestock. ²¹And his brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of all who handle the harp and pipe.

²²And Zillah, she also bore Tubal-cain, a hammerer of every cutting tool of bronze and iron; and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

6Reading 6 Genesis 4:23–5:24Chapter page with footnotes →

^4:23And Lamech said to his women, "Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; women of Lamech, give ear to my speech; for I have slain a man for my wound, and a young man for my bruise.

²⁴For sevenfold Cain shall be avenged, but Lamech seventy and seven."

Seth and Enosh

²⁵And Adam knew his woman again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth: "For God has appointed for me another seed instead of Abel, because Cain killed him."

²⁶And to Seth, to him also a son was born; and he called his name Enosh. Then it was begun to call upon the name of the LORD.

The Descendants of Adam

^5:1This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day God created man, in the likeness of God he made him. ²Male and female he created them, and he blessed them, and he called their name Man in the day they were created.

³And Adam lived thirty and a hundred years, and he begot in his likeness, after his image, and he called his name Seth. ⁴And the days of Adam after he begot Seth were eight hundred years, and he begot sons and daughters. ⁵And all the days of Adam that he lived were nine hundred years and thirty years, and he died.

⁶And Seth lived five years and a hundred years, and he begot Enosh. ⁷And Seth lived after he begot Enosh seven years and eight hundred years, and he begot sons and daughters. ⁸And all the days of Seth were twelve years and nine hundred years, and he died.

⁹And Enosh lived ninety years, and he begot Kenan. ¹⁰And Enosh lived after he begot Kenan fifteen years and eight hundred years, and he begot sons and daughters. ¹¹And all the days of Enosh were five years and nine hundred years, and he died.

¹²And Kenan lived seventy years, and he begot Mahalalel. ¹³And Kenan lived after he begot Mahalalel forty years and eight hundred years, and he begot sons and daughters. ¹⁴And all the days of Kenan were ten years and nine hundred years, and he died.

¹⁵And Mahalalel lived five years and sixty years, and he begot Jared. ¹⁶And Mahalalel lived after he begot Jared thirty years and eight hundred years, and he begot sons and daughters. ¹⁷And all the days of Mahalalel were five and ninety years and eight hundred years, and he died.

God Takes Up Enoch

¹⁸And Jared lived two and sixty years and a hundred years, and he begot Enoch. ¹⁹And Jared lived after he begot Enoch eight hundred years, and he begot sons and daughters. ²⁰And all the days of Jared were two and sixty years and nine hundred years, and he died.

²¹And Enoch lived five and sixty years, and he begot Methuselah. ²²And Enoch walked with God after he begot Methuselah three hundred years, and he begot sons and daughters. ²³And all the days of Enoch were five and sixty years and three hundred years.

²⁴And Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.

7Reading 7 Genesis 5:25–6:8Chapter page with footnotes →

From Methuselah to Noah

^5:25And Methuselah lived seven and eighty years and a hundred years, and he begot Lamech. ²⁶And Methuselah lived after he begot Lamech two and eighty years and seven hundred years, and he begot sons and daughters. ²⁷And all the days of Methuselah were nine and sixty years and nine hundred years, and he died.

²⁸And Lamech lived two and eighty years and a hundred years, and he begot a son. ²⁹And he called his name Noah, saying, "This one will comfort us from our work and from the toil of our hands, from the ground which the LORD cursed." ³⁰And Lamech lived after he begot Noah five and ninety years and five hundred years, and he begot sons and daughters. ³¹And all the days of Lamech were seven and seventy years and seven hundred years, and he died.

³²And Noah was a son of five hundred years, and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Corruption on the Earth

^6:1And it came to pass, when man began to multiply upon the face of the ground, and daughters were born to them, ²the sons of God saw the daughters of man, that they were good; and they took for themselves women of all whom they chose.

³And the LORD said, "My spirit shall not abide in man forever, in that he also is flesh; and his days shall be a hundred and twenty years."

⁴The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man, and they bore to them; they are the mighty ones who were of old, the men of the name.

⁵And the LORD saw that the evil of man was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the day. ⁶And the LORD regretted that he had made man in the earth, and he grieved to his heart. ⁷And the LORD said, "I will blot out man whom I created from upon the face of the ground, from man to beast, to creeping thing, and to bird of the heavens; for I am sorry that I made them."

Noah’s Favor with God

⁸But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

PIsaiah 42:5–43:10Chapter page with footnotes →

^42:5Thus says the God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people upon it, and spirit to those who walk in it:

⁶I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness, and I hold your hand, and I keep you, and I give you for a covenant of the people, for a light to the nations;

⁷to open blind eyes, to bring out the prisoner from the dungeon, those who sit in darkness from the prison house.

⁸I am the LORD, that is my name; and my glory I will not give to another, nor my praise to graven images.

⁹Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare; before they spring forth I make you hear them.

A New Song of Praise

¹⁰Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the end of the earth; you that go down to the sea, and its fullness, the coastlands and their inhabitants.

¹¹Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar inhabits; let the inhabitants of Sela sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains.

¹²Let them give glory to the LORD, and declare his praise in the coastlands.

¹³The LORD goes forth as a mighty one, as a man of war he stirs up zeal; he shall cry, yea, he shall shout aloud, he shall prevail against his enemies.

¹⁴I have long held my peace, I have been still and restrained myself; now I will cry like a woman in labor, I will gasp and pant together.

¹⁵I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers into islands, and dry up the pools.

¹⁶And I will lead the blind in a way they did not know, in paths they did not know I will guide them; I will make darkness into light before them, and crooked places into level ground. These are the things I will do, and I will not forsake them.

¹⁷They shall be turned back, utterly ashamed, those who trust in a graven image, who say to molten images: You are our gods.

Israel Is Deaf and Blind

¹⁸Hear, you deaf; and look, you blind, that you may see.

¹⁹Who is blind but my servant, or deaf as my messenger whom I send? Who is blind as he that is at peace, and blind as the servant of the LORD?

²⁰Seeing many things, but you do not observe; opening the ears, but he does not hear.

²¹The LORD was pleased for his righteousness' sake, to magnify the Torah and make it glorious.

²²But this is a people robbed and plundered, all of them snared in holes, and hidden in prison houses; they have become a prey with none to deliver, a spoil with none to say: Restore.

²³Who among you will give ear to this, will hearken and hear for the time to come?

²⁴Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned? For they would not walk in his ways, neither did they obey his Torah.

²⁵So he poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle; and it set him aflame round about, yet he did not know, and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.

Israel’s Only Savior

^43:1But now, thus says the LORD who created you, O Jacob, and who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name, you are mine.

²When you pass through the waters, I am with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you; when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

³For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior (your salvation); I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place.

⁴Since you are precious in my eyes, you are honored, and I have loved you; therefore I give man in your place, and peoples in place of your soul.

⁵Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your seed from the east, and gather you from the west.

⁶I will say to the north: Give up; and to the south: Do not keep back; bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the end of the earth;

⁷everyone who is called by my name, and whom I created for my glory; I formed him, yea, I made him.

⁸Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears.

⁹All the nations are gathered together, and the peoples are assembled; who among them can declare this, and make us hear former things? Let them bring their witnesses, that they may be justified; and let them hear and say: It is truth.

¹⁰You are my witnesses, says the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen; that you may know and believe me, and understand that I am he; before me no God was formed, neither shall there be after me.

AJohn 1:1–18Chapter page with footnotes →

The Beginning

^1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was toward-together-with God, and the Word was God. ²He was in the beginning toward-together-with God. ³All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. ⁴In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

The Witness of John

⁶There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷He came as a witness, to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him. ⁸He was not the light, but came to testify about the light.

⁹There was the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. ¹⁰He was in the world, and the world came into being through Him, and the world did not know Him. ¹¹He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. ¹²But as many as received Him, to them He gave the authority to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, ¹³who were born, not of blood nor of the will of flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

The Word Became Flesh

¹⁴And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory — glory as of the only-begotten from the Father — full of grace and truth.

¹⁵John testified about Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'"

¹⁶For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. ¹⁷For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Yeshua Messiah. ¹⁸No one has seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.