Were

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made them.

Out of the ground the LORD God gave growth to every tree that is pleasing to the eye and good for food. And in the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

And the man and his wife were both naked, and they were not ashamed.

And the man and his wife were both naked, and they were not ashamed.

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

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

“Who told you that you were naked?” asked the LORD God. “Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground—because out of it were you taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”

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.

Male and female He created them, and He blessed them. And in the day they were created, He called them “man.”

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.

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.

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.

Finally, the waters completely prevailed upon the earth, so that all the high mountains under all the heavens were covered.

And every living thing on the face of the earth was destroyed—man and livestock, crawling creatures and birds of the air; they were blotted out from the earth, and only Noah and those with him in the ark remained.

But God remembered Noah and all the animals and livestock that were with him in the ark. And God sent a wind over the earth, and the waters began to subside.

The springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens were closed, and the rain from the sky was restrained.

But the dove found no place to rest her foot, and she returned to him in the ark, because the waters were still covering the surface of all the earth. So he reached out his hand and brought her back inside the ark.

The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan.

These three were the sons of Noah, and from them the whole earth was populated.

Then Shem and Japheth took a garment and placed it across their shoulders, and walking backward, they covered their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned away so that they did not see their father’s nakedness.

…the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Later the Canaanite clans were scattered,

And sons were also born to Shem, the older brother of Japheth; Shem was the forefather of all the sons of Eber.

Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg, because in his days the earth was divided, and his brother was named Joktan.

Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan.

Then the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men were building.

Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the Oak of Moreh at Shechem. And at that time the Canaanites were in the land.

But the land was unable to support both of them while they stayed together, for they had so many possessions that they were unable to coexist.

And there was discord between the herdsmen of Abram and the herdsmen of Lot. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were also living in the land.

But the men of Sodom were wicked, sinning greatly against the LORD.

Then an escapee came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the Oaks of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and Aner, all of whom were bound by treaty to Abram.

Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on the same day.

And all the men of Abraham’s household—both servants born in his household and those purchased from foreigners—were circumcised with him.

And Abraham and Sarah were already old and well along in years; Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.

So Lot went out and spoke to the sons-in-law who were pledged in marriage to his daughters. “Get up,” he said. “Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.

Early the next morning Abimelech got up and summoned all his servants; and when he described to them all that had happened, the men were terrified.

So Ephron’s field at Machpelah near Mamre, the cave that was in it, and all the trees within the boundaries of the field were deeded over

So the field and its cave were deeded by the Hittites to Abraham as a burial site.

So the man came to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw and feed were brought to the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of his companions.

So the man came to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw and feed were brought to the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of his companions.

Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were the Asshurites, the Letushites, and the Leummites.

The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.

The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.

These were the sons of Ishmael, and these were their names by their villages and encampments—twelve princes of their tribes.

These were the sons of Ishmael, and these were their names by their villages and encampments—twelve princes of their tribes.

When her time came to give birth, there were indeed twins in her womb.

After this, his brother came out grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. And Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.

When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” “Here I am,” Esau replied.

Isaac did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him.

When the words of her older son Esau were relayed to Rebekah, she sent for her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is consoling himself by plotting to kill you.

And Jacob had a dream about a ladder that rested on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven, and God’s angels were going up and down the ladder.

He looked and saw a well in the field, and near it lay three flocks of sheep, because the sheep were watered from this well. And a large stone covered the mouth of the well.

Then he set the peeled branches in the watering troughs in front of the flocks coming in to drink. So when the flocks were in heat and came to drink,

…they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted.

Whenever the stronger females of the flock were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs, in full view of the animals, so that they would breed in front of the branches.

But if the animals were weak, he did not set out the branches. So the weaker animals went to Laban and the stronger ones to Jacob.

Now Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying, “Jacob has taken away all that belonged to our father and built all this wealth at our father’s expense.”

So Jacob sent word and called Rachel and Leah to the field where his flocks were,

When the flocks were breeding, I saw in a dream that the streaked, spotted, and speckled males were mating with the females.

When the flocks were breeding, I saw in a dream that the streaked, spotted, and speckled males were mating with the females.

Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled his daughter Dinah, but since his sons were with his livestock in the field, he remained silent about it until they returned.

When Jacob’s sons heard what had happened, they returned from the field. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem had committed an outrage in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done.

Three days later, while they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons (Dinah’s brothers Simeon and Levi) took their swords, went into the unsuspecting city, and slaughtered every male.

So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves and change your garments.

Later, they set out from Bethel, and while they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth, and her labor was difficult.

The sons of Leah were Reuben the firstborn of Jacob, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.

The sons of Rachel’s maidservant Bilhah were Dan and Naphtali.

And the sons of Leah’s maidservant Zilpah were Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

And the sons of Leah’s maidservant Zilpah were Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

…and Oholibamah gave birth to Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were the sons of Esau, who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

…and Oholibamah gave birth to Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were the sons of Esau, who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together; the land where they stayed could not support them because of their livestock.

The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.

All these are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and they were their chiefs.

These are the sons of Seir the Horite, who were living in the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,

The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam. Timna was Lotan’s sister.

Magdiel, and Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom, according to their settlements in the land they possessed. Esau was the father of the Edomites.

We were binding sheaves of grain in the field, and suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to mine.”

Then Joseph had another dream and told it to his brothers. “Look,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what he had said.

And as they sat down to eat a meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh on their way down to Egypt.

When the time came for Tamar to give birth, there were twins in her womb.

So Joseph’s master took him and had him thrown into the prison where the king’s prisoners were confined. While Joseph was there in the prison,

…both of these men—the Egyptian king’s cupbearer and baker, who were being held in the prison—had a dream on the same night, and each dream had its own meaning.

When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were distraught.

So he asked the officials of Pharaoh who were in custody with him in his master’s house, “Why are your faces so downcast today?”

…and on the vine were three branches. As it budded, its blossoms opened and its clusters ripened into grapes.

Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore your position. You will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you did when you were his cupbearer.

When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, “I too had a dream: There were three baskets of white bread on my head.

In the top basket were all sorts of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”

In the top basket were all sorts of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”

And the cows that were sickly and thin devoured the seven sleek, well-fed cows. Then Pharaoh woke up,

Then the thin, ugly cows devoured the seven well-fed cows that were there first.

Before the years of famine arrived, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.

So the sons of Israel were among those who came to buy grain, since the famine had also spread to the land of Canaan.

As they began emptying their sacks, there in each man’s sack was his bag of silver! And when they and their father saw the bags of silver, they were dismayed.

But the brothers were frightened that they had been taken to Joseph’s house. “We have been brought here because of the silver that was returned in our bags the first time,” they said. “They intend to overpower us and take us as slaves, along with our donkeys.”