What the Bible Says About Primeval Times

Scripture

¹ In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
² The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
³ And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
⁴ And God saw that the light was good.
⁵ God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
⁶ And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”
⁷ And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so.
⁸ And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
⁹ And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so.
¹⁰ God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
¹¹ And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so.
¹² The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
¹³ And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
¹⁴ And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years,
¹⁵ and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so.
¹⁶ And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars.
¹⁷ And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,
¹⁸ to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
¹⁹ And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
²⁰ And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.”
²¹ So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
²² And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”
²³ And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
²⁴ And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so.
²⁵ And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
²⁷ So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
²⁸ And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
²⁹ And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.
³⁰ And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.
³¹ And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Genesis 1:1-31

Genesis 2:1-25: ² Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
² And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.
³ So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
⁴ These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
⁵ When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground,
⁶ And a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground.
⁷ then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
⁸ And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.
⁹ And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
¹⁰ A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers.
¹¹ The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.
¹² The gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there.
¹³ The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush.
¹⁴ The name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
¹⁵ The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,
¹⁷ but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
¹⁸ Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”
¹⁹ Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.
²⁰ The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field.
²¹ So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.
²² And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.
²³ Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”
²⁴ Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
²⁵ And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Genesis 3:1-24: ¹ Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
² And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden,
³ but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
⁴ But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.
⁵ For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
⁶ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
⁷ Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
⁸ And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
⁹ But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
¹⁰ And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”
¹¹ He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
¹² The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”
¹³ Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
¹⁴ The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
¹⁵ I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
¹⁶ To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.”
¹⁷ And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
¹⁸ thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.
¹⁹ By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
²⁰ The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
²¹ And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.
²² Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—”
²³ therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.
²⁴ He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

Genesis 4:1-26: ¹ Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.”
² And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground.
³ In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground.
⁴ and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering,
⁵ but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.
⁶ The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen?
⁷ If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”
⁸ Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.
⁹ Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?”
¹⁰ And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.
¹¹ And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
¹² When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.
¹³ Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.
¹⁴ Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.
¹⁵ Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him.
¹⁶ Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
¹⁷ Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch.
¹⁸ To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech.
¹⁹ Lamech took two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.
²⁰ Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock.
²¹ His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe.
²² The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.
²³ Lamech said to his wives: “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say: I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me.
²⁴ If Cain’s revenge is sevenfold,
then Lamech’s is seventy-sevenfold.”
²⁵ And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.”
²⁶ To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord.

Genesis 5:1-32: ¹ This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God.
² Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created.
³ When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.
⁴ The days of Adam after he fathered Seth were 800 years; and he had other sons and daughters.
⁵ Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died.
⁶ When Seth had lived 105 years, he fathered Enosh.
⁷ Thus all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died.
⁸ Thus all the days of Seth were 912 years, and he died.
⁹ When Enosh had lived 90 years, he fathered Kenan.
¹⁰ After he fathered Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters.
¹¹ Thus all the days of Enosh were 905 years, and he died.
¹² When Kenan had lived 70 years, he fathered Mahalalel.
¹³ Thus all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years, and he died.
¹⁴ And Kenan lived after he fathered Mahalalel 840 years and had other sons and daughters.
¹⁵ When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he fathered Jared.
¹⁶ Thus all the days of Mahalalel were 895 years, and he died.
¹⁷ Thus all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years, and he died.
¹⁸ When Jared had lived 162 years, he fathered Enoch.
¹⁹ Jared lived after he fathered Enoch 800 years and had other sons and daughters.
²⁰ Thus all the days of Jared were 962 years, and he died.
²¹ When Enoch had lived sixty-five years, he fathered Methuselah.
²² Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah three hundred years and had other sons and daughters.
²³ Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years.
²⁴ Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.
²⁵ When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he fathered Lamech.
²⁶ When Seth had lived 105 years, he fathered Enosh.
²⁷ Thus all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty-nine years, and he died.
²⁸ When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son.
²⁹ and called his name Noah, saying, “Out of the ground that the LORD has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.”
³⁰ Lamech lived after he fathered Noah five hundred ninety-five years and had other sons and daughters.
³¹ Thus all the days of Lamech were 777 years, and he died.
³² After Noah was 500 years old, Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Genesis 6:1-22: ⁵ The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
² the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose.
³ Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.”
⁴ There were giants in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
⁵ The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
⁶ And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.
⁷ So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”
⁸ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
⁹ These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.
¹⁰ These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.
¹¹ Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence.
¹² And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.
¹³ And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
¹⁴ Make yourself an ark of gopher wood.
¹⁵ This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.
¹⁶ Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks.
¹⁷ For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die.
¹⁸ But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.
¹⁹ And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female.
²⁰ Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive.
²¹ And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself, and it shall be food for you and for them.
²² Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.

Genesis 7:1-24: ¹ Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.
² Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate,
³ and seven pairs of the birds of the heavens also, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth.
⁴ For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.
⁵ And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him.
⁶ Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth.
⁷ And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood.
⁸ Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground,
⁹ two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah.
¹⁰ And after seven days the waters of the flood came upon the earth.
¹¹ In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened.
¹² And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
¹³ On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark,
¹⁴ they and every beast, according to its kind, and all the livestock according to their kinds, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, according to its kind, and every bird, according to its kind, every winged creature.
¹⁵ They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life.
¹⁶ And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the Lord shut him in.
¹⁷ The flood continued forty days on the earth. The waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth.
¹⁸ The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters.
¹⁹ And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered.
²⁰ The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep.
²¹ And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind.
²² Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died.
²³ He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark.
²⁴ And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days.

Genesis 8:1-22: ¹ But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.
² The fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained,
³ The waters receded from the earth continually. At the end of 150 days the waters had abated.
⁴ And in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.
⁵ The waters continued to recede until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.
⁶ At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made.
⁷ and sent out a raven. It went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth.
⁸ Then he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground.
⁹ But the dove found no place to set her foot, and she returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her and brought her into the ark with him.
¹⁰ He waited another seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark.
¹¹ And the dove came back to him in the evening, and behold, in her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth.
¹² And he waited yet another seven days and sent forth the dove, and she did not return to him anymore.
¹³ In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried from off the earth. And Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry.
¹⁴ In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth had dried out.
¹⁵ Then God said to Noah,
¹⁶ “Go out from the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you.”
¹⁷ Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh—birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth—so that they may swarm on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”
¹⁸ So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him.
¹⁹ Every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out by families from the ark.
²⁰ Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
²¹ And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. I will never again strike down every living creature as I have done.
²² While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.

Genesis 9:1-29: ¹ And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.
² The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered.
³ Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.
⁴ But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.
⁵ And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.
⁶ “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.”
⁷ And you, be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it.
⁸ Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him,
⁹ “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you,”
¹⁰ and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth.
¹¹ I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
¹² And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations:
¹³ I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
¹⁴ When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds,
¹⁵ I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.
¹⁶ When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”
¹⁷ God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”
¹⁸ The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan.
¹⁹ These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the people of the whole earth were dispersed.
²⁰ Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard.
²¹ He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent.
²² And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside.
²³ Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.
²⁴ When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him,
²⁵ he said, “Cursed be Canaan;
a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”
²⁶ He also said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant.”
²⁷ May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant.”
²⁸ And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.
²⁹ All the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years, and he died.

Genesis 10:1-32: ¹ These are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood.
² The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.
³ The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.
⁴ The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
⁵ From these the coastland peoples spread in their lands, each with his own language, by their clans, in their nations.
⁶ The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan.
⁷ The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.
⁸ Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man.
⁹ He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. So it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.”
¹⁰ The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
¹¹ From that land he went into Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah,
¹² and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city.
¹³ Egypt fathered Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim,
¹⁴ Pathrusim, Casluhim (from whom the Philistines came), and Caphtorim.
¹⁵ Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn and Heth,
¹⁶ the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites,
¹⁷ the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites,
¹⁸ the Arvadite, the Zemarite, and the Hamathite. Afterward the clans of the Canaanites spread abroad.
¹⁹ And the territory of the Canaanites extended from Sidon in the direction of Gerar as far as Gaza, and in the direction of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.
²⁰ These are the sons of Ham, by their clans, their languages, their lands, and their nations.
²¹ To Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth, children were born.
²² The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram.
²³ The sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.
²⁴ Arpachshad fathered Shelah; and Shelah fathered Eber.
²⁵ To Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided, and his brother’s name was Joktan.
²⁶ Joktan fathered Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah,
²⁷ Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn and Heth,
²⁸ Obal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab; all these were the sons of Joktan.
²⁹ Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab; all these were the sons of Joktan.
³⁰ The territory in which they lived extended from Mesha in the direction of Sephar to the hill country of the east.
³¹ These are the sons of Shem, by their clans, their languages, their lands, and their nations.
³² These are the clans of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, in their nations, and from these the nations spread abroad on the earth after the flood.

Genesis 11:1-9: ¹ Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.
² And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
³ And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.
⁴ Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”
⁵ And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built.
⁶ And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.
⁷ Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.
⁸ So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.
⁹ Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.

Job 38:1-41: ¹ Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
² “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
³ Dress for action like a man;
I will question you, and you make it known to me.
⁴ “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
⁵ Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
⁶ On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone,
⁷ when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
⁸ “Or who shut in the sea with doors
when it burst out from the womb,
⁹ when I made the clouds its garment
and thick darkness its swaddling band,
¹⁰ and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors,
¹¹ and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?
¹² “Have you commanded the morning since your days began,
and caused the dawn to know its place,
¹³ that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it?
¹⁴ It is changed like clay under the seal, and its features stand out like a garment.
¹⁵ “From the wicked their light is withheld,
and their uplifted arm is broken.”
¹⁶ “Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep?”
¹⁷ Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?
¹⁸ Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? Tell me, if you know all this.
¹⁹ “Where is the way to the dwelling of light, and where is the place of darkness,”
²⁰ that you may take it to its territory
and that you may discern the paths to its home?
²¹ You know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great!
²² “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,”
²³ which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
for the day of battle and war?
²⁴ What is the way to the place where the light is distributed, or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?
²⁵ Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain
and a way for the thunderbolt,
²⁶ to bring rain on a land where no man is, on the desert in which there is no man,
²⁷ to satisfy the waste and desolate land, and to make the ground sprout with grass?
²⁸ “Has the rain a father, or who has begotten the drops of dew?”
²⁹ “From whose womb did the ice come forth, and who has given birth to the frost of heaven?
³⁰ “The waters become hard like stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.”
³¹ “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loose the cords of Orion?”
³² “Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season,
or can you guide the Bear with its children?
³³ Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?
Can you establish their rule on the earth?
³⁴ “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
that a flood of waters may cover you?
³⁵ Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go
and say to you, ‘Here we are’?
³⁶ Who has put wisdom in the inward parts
or given understanding to the mind?
³⁷ Who can number the clouds by wisdom?
Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens,
³⁸ “when the dust runs into a mass and the clods stick fast together?”
³⁹ “Can you hunt the prey for the lion,
or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
⁴⁰ when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in their thicket?
⁴¹ Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God for help, and wander about for lack of food?

Job 39:1-30: ¹ “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?
Do you observe the calving of the does?
² Do you know the time when the mountain goats give birth?
Do you observe the calving of the does?
³ Do you number the months that they fulfill, and do you know the time when they give birth,
⁴ Their young ones become strong; they grow up in the open; they go out and do not return to them.
⁵ “Who has let the wild donkey go free? Who has loosed the bonds of the swift donkey,
⁶ to the wild donkey the wilderness is his home, and the salt land his dwelling place.
⁷ He scorns the tumult of the city;
he hears not the shouts of the driver.
⁸ He ranges the mountains as his pasture, and he searches after every green thing.
⁹ “Is the wild ox willing to serve you?
Will he spend the night at your manger?
¹⁰ Can you bind the wild ox to his furrow with ropes,
or will he harrow the valleys after you?
¹¹ Do you give the horse his might?
Do you clothe his neck with a mane?
¹² Will you have faith in him that he will return your grain and gather it to your threshing floor?
¹³ “The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, but are they the pinions and plumage of love?”
¹⁴ For she leaves her eggs to the earth and lets them be warmed on the ground,
¹⁵ She forgets that a foot may crush them and that the wild beast may trample them.
¹⁶ She deals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers; though her labor be in vain, yet she has no fear,
¹⁷ because God has made her forget wisdom
and given her no share in understanding.
¹⁸ When she rouses herself to flee, she laughs at the horse and his rider.
¹⁹ “Do you give the horse his might?
Do you clothe his neck with a mane?
²⁰ Do you make him leap like the locust? His majestic snorting is terrifying.
²¹ It paws in the valley and exults in its strength; it goes out to meet the weapons.
²² He laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
he does not turn back from the sword.
²³ “The quiver rattles against him,
the flashing spear and javelin.
²⁴ He laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
he does not turn back from the sword.
²⁵ As often as the trumpet sounds he says, ‘Aha!’ and he smells the battle from afar, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
²⁶ “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars and spreads his wings toward the south?
²⁷ Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes his nest on high?
²⁸ On the rock it dwells and makes its home,
on the rocky crag and stronghold.
²⁹ From there it spies out the prey; its eyes behold it from far away.
³⁰ His young ones suck up blood,
and where the slain are, there is he.”

Job 40:1-24: ¹ And the Lord said to Job:
² “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.”
³ Then Job answered the Lord:
⁴ “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth.
⁵ I have spoken once, and I will not answer;
twice, but I will proceed no further.”
⁶ Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
⁷ “Dress for action like a man;
I will question you, and you make it known to me.
⁸ Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be in the right?
⁹ Have you an arm like God,
and can you thunder with a voice like his?
¹⁰ “Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity; clothe yourself with glory and splendor.”
¹¹ “Pour out the overflowings of your anger, and look on everyone who is proud and abase him.”
¹² Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low
and tread down the wicked where they stand.
¹³ Hide them all in the dust together;
bind their faces in the world below.
¹⁴ Then I will also praise you, for your own right hand can save you.
¹⁵ “Behold, Behemoth, which I made as I made you; he eats grass like an ox.
¹⁶ Behold, his strength in his loins,
and his power in the muscles of his belly.
¹⁷ He makes his tail stiff like a cedar;
the sinews of his thighs are knit together.
¹⁸ His bones are tubes of bronze,
his limbs like bars of iron.
¹⁹ “He is the first of the works of God; let him who made him bring near his sword!”
²⁰ “Surely the mountains yield food for him, where all the wild beasts play.”
²¹ Under the lotus plants he lies, in the shelter of the reeds and in the marsh.
²² The lotus trees cover him with their shade; the willows of the brook surround him.
²³ Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened; he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth.
²⁴ Can one take him by his eyes,
or pierce his nose with a snare?

Job 41:1-34: ¹ “Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook or press down his tongue with a cord?”
² Can you put a rope in his nose
or pierce his jaw with a hook?
³ Will he make many pleas to you?
Will he speak to you soft words?
⁴ Will he make many pleas to you?
Will he speak to you soft words?
⁵ Will you play with him as with a bird,
or will you put him on a leash for your girls?
⁶ Will traders bargain over him?
Will they divide him up among the merchants?
⁷ Can you fill his skin with harpoons
or his head with fishing spears?
⁸ His back is made of rows of shields,
shut up closely as with a seal,
⁹ Behold, the hope of a man is false; he is laid low even at the sight of him.
¹⁰ No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up.
¹¹ Who has first given to me, that I should repay him?
Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.
¹² “I will not keep silence concerning his limbs,
or his mighty strength, or his goodly frame.
¹³ Who can strip off his outer garment? Who would come near him with a bridle?
¹⁴ Who can open the doors of his face?
Around his teeth is terror.
¹⁵ His back is made of rows of shields,
shut up closely as with a seal.
¹⁶ His sneezings flash forth light,
and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.
¹⁷ They are joined one to another; they clasp each other and cannot be separated.
¹⁸ Its sneezings flash forth light, and its eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.
¹⁹ Out of his mouth go flaming torches; sparks of fire leap forth.
²⁰ Out of his nostrils comes forth smoke,
as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
²¹ His breath kindles coals, and a flame comes out of his mouth.
²² In his neck abides strength,
and terror dances before him.
²³ The folds of his flesh stick together,
firmly cast on him and immovable.
²⁴ His heart is hard as a stone, hard as the lower millstone.
²⁵ When it raises itself up, the mighty are afraid; at the crashing they are beside themselves.
²⁶ “Though the sword reaches him, it does not avail, nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin.”
²⁷ “He counts iron as straw,
and bronze as rotten wood.
²⁸ The arrow cannot make him flee; for him, sling stones are turned to stubble.
²⁹ Clubs are counted as stubble; he laughs at the rattle of javelins.
³⁰ His underparts are like sharp potsherds;
he spreads himself like a threshing sledge on the mire.
³¹ He makes the deep boil like a pot; he makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
³² He makes a path shine after him; one would think the deep to be white-haired.
³³ Upon earth there is not his like, a creature without fear.
³⁴ He sees everything that is high; he is king over all the sons of pride.”

Psalm 104:1-35: ¹ Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, you are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty.
² Covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent.
³ He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters; he makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind;
⁴ The Lord is the one who makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his ministers.
⁵ The Lord established the earth on its foundations, so it will never move.
⁶ You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.
⁷ At your rebuke they fled; at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.
⁸ The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them.
⁹ You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth.
¹⁰ He sends forth springs in the valleys; they flow between the hills.
¹¹ They give drink to every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
¹² The birds of the heavens dwell in the branches; they sing among the leaves.
¹³ From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.
¹⁴ You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth.
¹⁵ and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread that strengthens man’s heart.
¹⁶ The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
¹⁷ The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
¹⁸ The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the badgers.
¹⁹ He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting.
²⁰ You make darkness, and it is night, when all the beasts of the forest creep about.
²¹ The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God.
²² When the sun rises, they steal away and lie down in their dens.
²³ Man goes out to his work and to his labor until the evening.
²⁴ O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
²⁵ There is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great.
²⁶ There go the ships, and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.
²⁷ These all look to you, to give them their food in due season.
²⁸ When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
²⁹ When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
³⁰ When you send forth your Spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the ground.
³¹ May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works.
³² When he looks on the earth, it trembles; when he touches the mountains, they smoke.
³³ I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
³⁴ May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.
³⁵ Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more! Bless the Lord, O my soul! Praise the Lord!

Isaiah 45:18-25: ¹⁸ For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!): “I am the Lord, and there is no other.
¹⁹ I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I the Lord speak the truth; I declare what is right.
²⁰ “Assemble yourselves and come;
draw near together,
you survivors of the nations!
They have no knowledge
who carry about their wooden idols,
and keep on praying to a god
that cannot save.
²¹ Declare and present your case;
let them take counsel together!
Who told this long ago?
Who declared it of old?
Was it not I, the Lord?
And there is no other god besides me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
there is none besides me.
²² “Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
²³ By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’
²⁴ “Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me,
are righteousness and strength;
to him shall come and be ashamed,
all who were incensed against him.
²⁵ In the Lord all the offspring of Israel shall be justified and shall glory.”

John 1:1-5: ¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
² He was in the beginning with God.
³ All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
⁴ In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Romans 5:12-21: ¹² Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
¹³ for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law.
¹⁴ Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.
¹⁵ But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.
¹⁶ And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification.
¹⁷ For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
¹⁸ Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.
¹⁹ For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.
²⁰ Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,
²¹ so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Hebrews 11:1-3: ¹ Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
² For by it the people of old received their commendation.
³ By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

2 Peter 3:3-7: ³ knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires.
⁴ They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”
⁵ For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God,
⁶ and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished.
⁷ But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.