The Message Prayerful Reading Bible Sampler - Flipbook - Page 22
G enesis 2
Cattle of all kinds, every sort of reptile
and bug.
God saw that it was good.
26-28 God
spoke: “Let us make human
beings in our image, make them
reflecting our nature
So they can be responsible for the fish in
the sea,
the birds in the air, the cattle,
And, yes, Earth itself,
and every animal that moves on the
face of Earth.”
God created human beings;
he created them godlike,
Reflecting God’s nature.
He created them male and female.
God blessed them:
“Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take
charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and
birds in the air,
for every living thing that moves on the
face of Earth.”
29-30 Then
God said, “I’ve given you
every sort of seed-bearing plant on
Earth
And every kind of f ruit-bearing tree,
given them to you for food.
To all animals and all birds,
everything that moves and
breathes,
I give whatever grows out of the ground
for food.”
And there it was.
31 God
looked over everything he had
made;
it was so good, so very good!
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Six.
2
1 Heaven and Earth were finished,
down to the last detail.
2-4 By
the seventh day
God had finished his work.
On the seventh day
he rested from all his work.
God blessed the seventh day.
He made it a Holy Day
Because on that day he rested from his
work,
all the creating God had done.
4
This is the story of how it all started,
of Heaven and Earth when they were
created.
Adam and Eve
5-7 At the time God made Earth and Heaven,
before any grasses or shrubs had sprouted
from the g
round—God hadn’t yet sent rain on
Earth, nor was there anyone around to work
the ground (the whole Earth was watered by
underground springs)—God formed Man out
of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive—a
living soul!
8-9 Then God planted a garden in Eden, in
the east. He put the Man he had just made in
it. God made all kinds of trees grow from the
ground, trees beautiful to look at and good
to eat. The Tree-of-Life was in the middle of
the garden, also the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-
Good-and-Evil.
10-14 A river flows out of Eden to water
the garden and from there divides into four
rivers. The first is named P
ishon; it flows
through H
avilah where there is gold. The gold
of this land is good. The land is also known
for a s weet-scented resin and the onyx stone.
The second river is named Gihon; it flows
through the land of Cush. The third river is
named Hiddekel and flows east of A
ssyria.
The fourth river is the Euphrates.
15 God took the Man and set him down in
the Garden of Eden to work the ground and
keep it in order.
16-17 God commanded the Man, “You can
eat from any tree in the garden, except from
the Tree- of-Knowledge- of- Good-and-Evil.
Don’t eat from it. The moment you eat from
that tree, y
ou’re dead.”
18-20 God said, “It’s not good for the Man
to be alone; I’ll make him a helper, a companion.” So God formed from the dirt of
the ground all the animals of the field and
all the birds of the air. He brought them to
the Man to see what he would name them.
Whatever the Man called each living creature, that was its name. The Man named the
cattle, named the birds of the air, named the
wild animals; but he didn’t find a suitable
companion.
21-22 God put the Man into a deep sleep.
As he slept he removed one of his ribs and
replaced it with flesh. God then used the
rib that he had taken from the Man to make
Woman and presented her to the Man.