One Year Bible.

The Serpent’s Deception

¹Now 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?’”

²The woman answered the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden, ³but 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.’”

⁴“You will not surely die,” the serpent told the woman. ⁵“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.”

⁶When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.

⁷And 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.

God Arraigns Adam and Eve

⁸Then the man and his wife heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the breeze of the day, and they hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

⁹But the LORD God called out to the man, “Where are you?”

¹⁰“I heard Your voice in the garden,” he replied, “and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”

¹¹“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?”

¹²And the man answered, “The woman whom You gave me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

¹³Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

“The serpent deceived me,” she replied, “and I ate.”

The Fate of the Serpent

¹⁴So the LORD God said to the serpent:

“Because you have done this,

cursed are you above all livestock

and every beast of the field!

On your belly will you go,

and dust you will eat,

all the days of your life.

¹⁵And I will put enmity between you and the woman,

and between your seed and her seed.

He will crush your head,

and you will strike his heel.”

The Punishment of Mankind

¹⁶To the woman He said:

“I will sharply increase your pain in childbirth;

in pain you will bring forth children.

Your desire will be for your husband,

and he will rule over you.”

¹⁷And to Adam He said:

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife

and have eaten from the tree

of which I commanded you not to eat,

cursed is the ground because of you;

through toil you will eat of it

all the days of your life.

¹⁸Both thorns and thistles it will yield for you,

and you will eat the plants of the field.

¹⁹By 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.”

²⁰And Adam named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all the living.

The Expulsion from Paradise

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

²²Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. And now, lest he reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever...”

²³Therefore the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. ²⁴So He drove out the man and stationed cherubim on the east side of the Garden of Eden, along with a whirling sword of flame to guard the way to the tree of life.

Cain and Abel

¹And 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.

²Later she gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel.

Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, while Cain was a tiller of the soil. ³So in the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruit of the soil as an offering to the LORD, ⁴while Abel brought the best portions of the firstborn of his flock.

And the LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, ⁵but He had no regard for Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell.

⁶“Why are you angry,” said the LORD to Cain, “and why has your countenance fallen? ⁷If 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.”

⁸Then 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.

⁹And the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

“I do not know!” he answered. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

¹⁰“What have you done?” replied the LORD. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. ¹¹Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. ¹²When you till the ground, it will no longer yield its produce to you. You will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”

¹³But Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. ¹⁴Behold, 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.”

¹⁵“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.

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

The Descendants of Cain

¹⁷And 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.

¹⁸Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methusael, and Methusael was the father of Lamech. ¹⁹And Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah.

²⁰Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and raise livestock. ²¹And his brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute.

²²And Zillah gave birth to Tubal-cain, a forger of every implement of bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

²³Then 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.

²⁴If Cain is avenged sevenfold,

then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”

Seth and Enosh

²⁵And 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.”

²⁶And to Seth also a son was born, and he called him Enosh.

At that time men began to call upon the name of the LORD.

God’s Case against His People

¹Hear the word of the LORD,

O children of Israel,

for the LORD has a case

against the people of the land:

“There is no truth, no loving devotion,

and no knowledge of God in the land!

²Cursing and lying,

murder and stealing,

and adultery are rampant;

one act of bloodshed follows another.

³Therefore the land mourns,

and all who dwell in it will waste away

with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air;

even the fish of the sea disappear.

⁴But let no man contend;

let no man offer reproof;

for your people are like those

who contend with a priest.

⁵You will stumble by day,

and the prophet will stumble with you by night;

so I will destroy your mother —

⁶My people are destroyed

for lack of knowledge.

Because you have rejected knowledge,

I will also reject you as My priests.

Since you have forgotten the law of your God,

I will also forget your children.

⁷The more they multiplied,

the more they sinned against Me;

they exchanged their Glory

for a thing of disgrace.

⁸They feed on the sins of My people

and set their hearts on iniquity.

⁹And it shall be

like people, like priest.

I will punish both of them for their ways

and repay them for their deeds.

¹⁰They will eat but not be satisfied;

they will be promiscuous but not multiply.

For they have abandoned the LORD to give themselves

¹¹to promiscuity, wine, and new wine,

which take away understanding.

¹²My people consult their wooden idols,

and their divining rods inform them.

For a spirit of prostitution leads them astray

and they have played the harlot against their God.

¹³They sacrifice on the mountaintops

and burn offerings on the hills,

under oak, poplar, and terebinth,

because their shade is pleasant.

And so your daughters turn to prostitution

and your daughters-in-law to adultery.

¹⁴I will not punish your daughters

when they prostitute themselves,

nor your daughters-in-law

when they commit adultery.

For the men themselves go off with prostitutes

and offer sacrifices with shrine prostitutes.

So a people without understanding

will come to ruin.

¹⁵Though you prostitute yourself, O Israel,

may Judah avoid such guilt!

Do not journey to Gilgal,

do not go up to Beth-aven,

and do not swear on oath,

‘As surely as the LORD lives!’

¹⁶For Israel is as obstinate

as a stubborn heifer.

Can the LORD now shepherd them

like lambs in an open meadow?

¹⁷Ephraim is joined to idols;

leave him alone!

¹⁸When their liquor is gone,

they turn to prostitution;

their rulers dearly love disgrace.

¹⁹The whirlwind has wrapped them in its wings,

and their sacrifices will bring them shame.[’’]

Judgment on Israel and Judah

¹“Hear this, O priests!

Take heed, O house of Israel!

Give ear, O royal house!

For this judgment is against you

because you have been a snare at Mizpah,

a net spread out on Tabor.

²The rebels are deep in slaughter;

but I will chastise them all.

³I know all about Ephraim,

and Israel is not hidden from Me.

For now, O Ephraim,

you have turned to prostitution;

Israel is defiled.

⁴Their deeds do not permit them

to return to their God,

for a spirit of prostitution is within them,

and they do not know the LORD.

⁵Israel’s arrogance testifies against them;

Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity;

even Judah stumbles with them.

⁶They go with their flocks and herds

to seek the LORD,

but they do not find Him;

He has withdrawn Himself from them.

⁷They have been unfaithful to the LORD;

for they have borne illegitimate children.

Now the New Moon will devour them

along with their land.

⁸Blow the ram’s horn in Gibeah,

the trumpet in Ramah;

raise the battle cry in Beth-aven:

Lead on, O Benjamin!

⁹Ephraim will be laid waste

on the day of rebuke.

Among the tribes of Israel

I proclaim what is certain.

¹⁰The princes of Judah

are like those who move boundary stones;

I will pour out My fury

upon them like water.

¹¹Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment,

for he is determined to follow worthless idols.

¹²So I am like a moth to Ephraim,

and like decay to the house of Judah.

¹³When Ephraim saw his sickness

and Judah his wound,

then Ephraim turned to Assyria

and sent to the great king.

But he cannot cure you

or heal your wound.

¹⁴For I am like a lion to Ephraim

and like a young lion to the house of Judah.

I, even I, will tear them to pieces

and then go away.

I will carry them off

where no one can rescue them.

¹⁵Then I will return to My place

until they admit their guilt and seek My face;

in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”

Salvation Confirmed

¹We must pay closer attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. ²For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every transgression and disobedience received its just punishment, ³how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?

This salvation was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, ⁴and was affirmed by God through signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will.

Jesus like His Brothers

⁵For it is not to angels that He has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. ⁶But somewhere it is testified in these words:

“What is man that You are mindful of him,

or the son of man that You care for him?

⁷You made him a little lower than the angels;

You crowned him with glory and honor

⁸and placed everything under his feet.”

When God subjected all things to him, He left nothing outside of his control. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. ⁹But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.

¹⁰In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting for God, for whom and through whom all things exist, to make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. ¹¹For both the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. ¹²He says:

“I will proclaim Your name to My brothers;

I will sing Your praises in the assembly.”

¹³And again:

“I will put My trust in Him.”

And once again:

“Here am I, and the children God has given Me.”

¹⁴Now since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

¹⁶For surely it is not the angels He helps, but the descendants of Abraham. ¹⁷For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, in order to make atonement for the sins of the people. ¹⁸Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.