Genesis 4; Genesis 5; Genesis 6; Matthew 2

Genesis 4

1 Adam made love to his wife Eve. She became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, "I have gotten the man that the LORD promised."

2 Then she gave birth to another child, Abel, Cain's brother. Abel was a shepherd, and Cain was a farmer.

3 Later Cain brought some crops from the land as an offering to the LORD.

4 Abel also brought some choice parts of the firstborn animals from his flock. The LORD approved of Abel and his offering,

5 but he didn't approve of Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry and was disappointed.

6 Then the LORD asked Cain, "Why are you angry, and why do you look disappointed?

7 If you do well, won't you be accepted? But if you don't do well, sin is lying outside your door ready to attack. It wants to control you, but you must master it."

8 Cain talked to his brother Abel. Later, when they were in the fields, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

9 The LORD asked Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" "I don't know," he answered. "Am I supposed to take care of my brother?"

10 The LORD asked, "What have you done? Your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground.

11 So now you are cursed from the ground, which has received the blood of your brother whom you killed.

12 When you farm the ground, it will no longer yield its best for you. You will be a fugitive, a wanderer on the earth."

13 But Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is more than I can stand!

14 You have forced me off this land today. I have to hide from you and become a fugitive, a wanderer on the earth. Now anyone who finds me will kill me!"

15 So the LORD said to him, "Not so! Anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over." The LORD gave Cain a sign so that anyone meeting him would not kill him.

16 Then Cain left the LORD's presence and lived in Nod [The Land of Wandering], east of Eden.

17 Cain made love to his wife. She became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was building a city, and he named it Enoch after his son.

18 To Enoch was born Irad. Irad was the father of Mehujael. Mehujael was the father of Methushael. And Methushael was the father of Lamech.

19 Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah.

20 Adah gave birth to Jabal. He was the first person to live in tents and have livestock.

21 His brother's name was Jubal. He was the first person to play the harp and the flute.

22 Zillah also had a son, Tubalcain, who made bronze and iron tools. Tubalcain's sister was Naamah.

23 Lamech said to his wives, "Adah and Zillah, listen to me! Wives of Lamech, hear what I say! I killed a man for bruising me, a young man for wounding me.

24 If Cain is avenged 7 times, then Lamech, 77 times."

25 Adam made love to his wife again. She gave birth to a son and named him Seth, because [she said,] "God has given me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him."

26 A son was also born to Seth, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to worship the LORD.

Genesis 5

1 This is the written account of Adam and his descendants. When God created humans, he made them in the likeness of God.

2 He created them male and female. He blessed them and called them humans when he created them.

3 When Adam was 130 years old, he became the father [of a son] in his own likeness, in his own image. He named him Seth.

4 After Adam became the father of Seth, he lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.

5 Adam lived a total of 930 years; then he died.

6 When Seth was 105 years old, he became the father of Enosh.

7 After he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters.

8 Seth lived a total of 912 years; then he died.

9 When Enosh was 90 years old, he became the father of Kenan.

10 After he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters.

11 Enosh lived a total of 905 years; then he died.

12 When Kenan was 70 years old, he became the father of Mahalalel.

13 After he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters.

14 Kenan lived a total of 910 years; then he died.

15 When Mahalalel was 65 years old, he became the father of Jared.

16 After he became the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters.

17 Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years; then he died.

18 When Jared was 162 years old, he became the father of Enoch.

19 After he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.

20 Jared lived a total of 962 years; then he died.

21 When Enoch was 65 years old, he became the father of Methuselah.

22 After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God for 300 years and had other sons and daughters.

23 Enoch lived a total of 365 years.

24 Enoch walked with God; then he was gone because God took him.

25 When Methuselah was 187 years old, he became the father of Lamech.

26 After he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters.

27 Methuselah lived a total of 969 years; then he died.

28 When Lamech was 182 years old, he became the father of a son.

29 He named him Noah [Relief], and said, "This child will bring us relief from the work and painful labor of our hands since the LORD has cursed the ground."

30 After Lamech became the father of Noah, he lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters.

31 Lamech lived a total of 777 years; then he died.

32 When Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Genesis 6

1 The number of people increased all over the earth, and daughters were born to them.

2 The sons of God saw that the daughters of other humans were beautiful. So they married any woman they chose.

3 Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not struggle with humans forever, because they are flesh and blood. They will live 120 years."

4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, as well as later, when the sons of God slept with the daughters of other humans and had children by them. These children were famous long ago.

5 The LORD saw how evil humans had become on the earth. All day long their deepest thoughts were nothing but evil.

6 The LORD was sorry that he had made humans on the earth, and he was heartbroken.

7 So he said, "I will wipe off the face of the earth these humans that I created. I will wipe out not only humans, but also domestic animals, crawling animals, and birds. I'm sorry that I made them."

8 But the LORD was pleased with Noah.

9 This is the account of Noah and his descendants. Noah had God's approval and was a man of integrity among the people of his time. He walked with God.

10 He had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11 The world was corrupt in God's sight and full of violence.

12 God saw the world and how corrupt it was because all people on earth lived evil lives.

13 God said to Noah, "I have decided to put an end to all people because the earth is full of their violence. Now I'm going to destroy them along with the earth.

14 Make yourself a ship of cypress wood. Make rooms in the ship and coat it inside and out with tar.

15 This is how you should build it: the ship is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.

16 Make a roof for the ship, and leave an 18-inch-high opening at the top. Put a door in the side of the ship. Build the ship with lower, middle, and upper decks.

17 I'm about to send a flood on the earth to destroy all people under the sky--every living, breathing human. Everything on earth will die.

18 "But I will make my promise to you. You, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives will go into the ship.

19 Bring two of every living creature into the ship in order to keep them alive with you. They must be male and female.

20 Two of every type of bird, every type of domestic animal, and every type of creature that crawls on the ground will come to you to be kept alive.

21 Take every kind of food that can be eaten and store it. It will be food for you and the animals."

22 Noah did this. He did everything that God had commanded him.

Matthew 2

1 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea when Herod was king. After Jesus' birth wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem.

2 They asked, "Where is the one who was born to be the king of the Jews? We saw his star rising and have come to worship him."

3 When King Herod and all Jerusalem heard about this, they became disturbed.

4 He called together all the chief priests and scribes and tried to find out from them where the Messiah was supposed to be born.

5 They told him, "In Bethlehem in Judea. The prophet wrote about this:

6 Bethlehem in the land of Judah, you are by no means least among the leaders of Judah. A leader will come from you. He will shepherd my people Israel."

7 Then Herod secretly called the wise men and found out from them exactly when the star had appeared.

8 As he sent them to Bethlehem, he said, "Go and search carefully for the child. When you have found him, report to me so that I may go and worship him too."

9 After they had heard the king, they started out. The star they had seen rising led them until it stopped over the place where the child was.

10 They were overwhelmed with joy to see the star.

11 When they entered the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary. So they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12 God warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod. So they left for their country by another road.

13 After they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. The angel said to him, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, because Herod intends to search for the child and kill him."

14 Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and left for Egypt that night.

15 He stayed there until Herod died. What the Lord had spoken through the prophet came true: "I have called my son out of Egypt."

16 When Herod saw that the wise men had tricked him, he became furious. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys two years old and younger in or near Bethlehem. This matched the exact time he had learned from the wise men.

17 Then the words spoken through the prophet Jeremiah came true:

18 "A sound was heard in Ramah, the sound of crying in bitter grief. Rachel was crying for her children. She refused to be comforted because they were dead."

19 After Herod was dead, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt.

20 The angel said to him, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to Israel. Those who tried to kill the child are dead."

21 Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to Israel.

22 But when he heard that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod as king of Judea, Joseph was afraid to go there. Warned in a dream, he left for Galilee

23 and made his home in a city called Nazareth. So what the prophets had said came true: "He will be called a Nazarene."