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genesis 1The Creation of the WorldIn the beginning, God created theheavens and the earth. 2 The earthwas without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. Andthe Spirit of God was hovering over theface of the waters.3 And God said, “Let there be light”,and there was light. 4 And God saw thatthe light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 Godcalled the light Day, and the darknesshe called Night. And there was eveningand there was morning, the first day.6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse a in the midst of the waters, andlet it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made b the expanse andseparated the waters that were underthe expanse from the waters that wereabove the expanse. And it was so. 8 AndGod called the expanse Heaven. c Andthere was evening and there was morning, the second day.9 And God said, “Let the waters underthe heavens be gathered together intoone place, and let the dry land appear.”And it was so. 10 God called the dry landEarth, d and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And Godsaw that it was good.11 And God said, “Let the earth sproutvegetation, plants e yielding seed, andfruit trees bearing fruit in which is theirseed, each according to its kind, on theearth.” And it was so. 12 The earth broughtforth vegetation, plants yielding seedaccording to their own kinds, and treesbearing fruit in which is their seed, eachaccording to its kind. And God saw that itwas good. 13 And there was evening andthere was morning, the third day.14 And God said, “Let there be lights inthe expanse of the heavens to separatethe day from the night. And let them befor signs and for seasons, f and for daysand years, 15 and let them be lights inthe expanse of the heavens to give lightupon the earth.” And it was so. 16 AndGod made the two great lights—thegreater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars.1217 And God set them in the expanse of theheavens to give light on the earth, 18 torule over the day and over the night, andto separate the light from the darkness.And God saw that it was good. 19 Andthere was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.20 And God said, “Let the waters swarmwith swarms of living creatures, and letbirds g fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” 21 So God createdthe great sea creatures and every livingcreature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, andevery winged bird according to its kind.And God saw that it was good. 22 AndGod blessed them, saying, “Be fruitfuland multiply and fill the waters in theseas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”23 And there was evening and there wasmorning, the fifth day.24 And God said, “Let the earth bringforth living creatures according to theirkinds—livestock and creeping thingsand beasts of the earth according totheir kinds.” And it was so. 25 And Godmade the beasts of the earth accordingto their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything thatcreeps on the ground according to itskind. And God saw that it was good.26 Then God said, “Let us make man hin our image, after our likeness. And letthem have dominion over the fish of thesea and over the birds of the heavensand over the livestock and over all theearth and over every creeping thing thatcreeps on the earth.”27 So God created man inhis own image,in the image of God he created him;male and female he created them.a 1:6 Or acanopy; also verses 7, 8, 14, 15, 17, 20c 1:8 Or Sky; also verses9, 14, 15, 17, 20, 26, 28, 30; 2:1 d 1:10 Or Land; also verses11, 12, 22, 24, 25, 26, 28, 30; 2:1 e 1:11 Or small plants;also verses 12, 29 f 1:14 Or appointed timesg 1:20 Or flying things; see Leviticus 11:19–20h 1:26 The Hebrew word for man (adam) is the genericterm for mankind and becomes the proper name Adamb 1:7 Or fashioned; also verse 16

28 And God blessed them. And God saidto them, “Be fruitful and multiply andfill the earth and subdue it, and havedominion over the fish of the sea andover the birds of the heavens and overevery living thing that moves on theearth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I havegiven you every plant yielding seed thatis on the face of all the earth, and everytree with seed in its fruit. You shall havethem for food. 30 And to every beast ofthe earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on theearth, everything that has the breath oflife, I have given every green plant forfood.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold,it was very good. And there was eveningand there was morning, the sixth day.The Seventh Day, God RestsThus the heavens and the earth werefinished, and all the host of them.2 And on the seventh day God finishedhis work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his workthat he had done. 3 So God blessed theseventh day and made it holy, becauseon it God rested from all his work thathe had done in creation.2The Creation of Man and Woman4 These are the generationsof the heavens and the earthwhen they were created,in the day that the LORD God madethe earth and the heavens.5 When no bush of the field a was yet inthe land b and no small plant of the fieldhad yet sprung up—for the LORD Godhad not caused it to rain on the land, andthere was no man to work the ground,6 and a mist c was going up from the landand was watering the whole face of theground— 7 then the LORD God formedthe man of dust from the ground andbreathed into his nostrils the breathof life, and the man became a livingcreature. 8 And the LORD God planted agarden in Eden, in the east, and there heput the man whom he had formed. 9 AndCan I rest?Have you ever wondered if it isokay for a woman to rest? Life canbe full of tasks - moving from onething to the next. For example, asa woman one must make sure thatthe children are clean, fed, taughtgood manners and ready for schoolon time if it is a school day. Ifmarried, all this without neglectingthe spouse. For the family to be fedthere should be food in the houseand the food needs to be cooked.This needs to happen in a cleanhouse.A working mother not only needsto fulfil these tasks and deadlinesat home but others at work as well.In all this when does one rest? Is itacceptable to rest?In Genesis 2:3 it says that God rested from all the work He had donein creation.Lord, I thank You for giving me wisdom to rest when I am tired. Lord,please help me not to be lazy but tobe like You to do my work well andrest well also. Amen.out of the ground the LORD God madeto spring up every tree that is pleasantto the sight and good for food. The treeof life was in the midst of the garden,and the tree of the knowledge of goodand evil.10 A river flowed out of Eden to waterthe garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. 11 The name of the firstis the Pishon. It is the one that flowedaround the whole land of Havilah, wherethere is gold. 12 And the gold of that landis good; bdellium and onyx stone arethere. 13 The name of the second rivera 2:5 Or opencountryc 2:6 Or springb 2:5 Or earth; also verse 6

genesis 2-34is the Gihon. It is the one that flowedaround the whole land of Cush. 14 Andthe name of the third river is the Tigris,which flows east of Assyria. And thefourth river is the Euphrates.15 The LORD God took the man and puthim in the garden of Eden to work it andkeep it. 16 And the LORD God commandedthe man, saying, “You may surely eat ofevery tree of the garden, 17 but of the treeof the knowledge of good and evil youshall not eat, for in the day that you eat aof it you shall surely die.”18 Then the LORD God said, “It is notgood that the man should be alone; I willmake him a helper fit for b him.” 19 Nowout of the ground the LORD God formed cevery beast of the field and every birdof the heavens and brought them to theman to see what he would call them. Andwhatever the man called every livingcreature, that was its name. 20 The mangave names to all livestock and to thebirds of the heavens and to every beastof the field. But for Adam d there was notfound a helper fit for him. 21 So the LORDGod caused a deep sleep to fall upon theman, and while he slept took one of hisribs and closed up its place with flesh.22 And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made e into a womanand brought her to the man. 23 Then theman said,the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit ofthe trees in the garden, 3 but God said,‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the treethat is in the midst of the garden, neithershall you touch it, lest you die’.” 4 But theserpent said to the woman, “You will notsurely die. 5 For God knows that whenyou eat of it your eyes will be opened,and you will be like God, knowing goodand evil.” 6 So when the woman saw thatthe tree was good for food, and that itwas a delight to the eyes, and that thetree was to be desired to make one wise, hshe took of its fruit and ate, and she alsogave some to her husband who was withher, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of bothwere opened, and they knew that theywere naked. And they sewed fig leavestogether and made themselves loincloths.8 And they heard the sound of the LORDGod walking in the garden in the cool iof the day, and the man and his wife hidthemselves from the presence of theLORD God among the trees of the garden.9 But the LORD God called to the man andsaid to him, “Where are you?” j 10 And hesaid, “I heard the sound of you in thegarden, and I was afraid, because I wasnaked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Whotold you that you were naked? Have youeaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “Thewoman whom you gave to be with me,she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”“This at last is bone of my bonesand flesh of my flesh;13 Then the LORD God said to the woman,she shall be called Woman,“What is this that you have done?” Thebecause she was taken out of Man.” f woman said, “The serpent deceived me,and I ate.”24 Therefore a man shall leave his father 14 The LORD God said to the serpent,and his mother and hold fast to his wife,and they shall become one flesh. 25 And “Because you have done this,the man and his wife were both naked cursed are you above all livestockand above all beasts of the field;and were not ashamed.The FallNow the serpent was more craftythan any other beast of the field thatthe LORD God had made.He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You g shall not eat of any tree inthe garden’?” 2 And the woman said to3a 2:17 Or when you eat b 2:18 Or corresponding to;also verse 20 c 2:19 Or And out of the ground the LORDGod formed d 2:20 Or the man e 2:22 Hebrew builtf 2:23 The Hebrew words for woman (ishshah) and man(ish) sound alike g 3:1 In Hebrew you is plural inverses 1–5 h 3:6 Or to give insight i 3:8 Hebrew windj 3:9 In Hebrew you is singular in verses 9 and 11

5on your belly you shall go,and dust you shall eatall the days of your life.15 I will put enmity betweenyou and the woman,and between your offspring aand her offspring;he shall bruise your head,and you shall bruise his heel.”genesis 3-4and eat, and live for ever—” 23 thereforethe LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground fromwhich he was taken. 24 He drove out theman, and at the east of the garden ofEden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way toguard the way to the tree of life.Cain and AbelNow Adam knew Eve his wife, andshe conceived and bore Cain, saying,“I will surely multiply your“I have produced d a man with the helppain in childbearing;in pain you shall bringof the LORD.” 2 And again, she bore hisforth children.brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper ofYour desire shall be contrarysheep, and Cain a worker of the ground.to b your husband,3 In the course of time Cain brought tobut he shall rule over you.”the LORD an offering of the fruit of theground, 4 and Abel also brought of thefirstborn of his flock and of their fat17 And to Adam he said,portions. And the LORD had regard forAbel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and“Because you have listened tohis offering he had no regard. So Cainthe voice of your wifeand have eaten of the treewas very angry, and his face fell. 6 Theof which I commanded you,LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry,‘You shall not eat of it’,and why has your face fallen? 7 If you docursed is the ground because of you; well, will you not be accepted? e And ifin pain you shall eat of it allyou do not do well, sin is crouching atthe days of your life;the door. Its desire is contrary to f you,thornsandthistlesitshallbut you must rule over it.”18bring forth for you;8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother. g Andand you shall eat thewhen they were in the field, Cain rose upplants of the field.against his brother Abel and killed him.19 By the sweat of your face9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Whereyou shall eat bread,is Abel your brother?” He said, “I dotill you return to the ground,not know; am I my brother’s keeper?”for out of it you were taken;10 And the LORD said, “What have youfor you are dust,done? The voice of your brother’s bloodand to dust you shall return.”is crying to me from the ground. 11 Andnow you are cursed from the ground,20 The man called his wife’s name Eve, which has opened its mouth to receivebecause she was the mother of all liv- your brother’s blood from your hand.ing. c 21 And the LORD God made for Adamand for his wife garments of skins and a 3:15 Hebrew seed; so throughout Genesisb 3:16 Or shall be towards (see 4:7) c 3:20 Eve soundsclothed them.16 To the woman he said,*First woman, wife of Adam.22 Then the LORD God said, “Behold, theman has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach outhis hand and take also of the tree of life4like the Hebrew for life-giver and resembles the wordfor living d 4:1 Cain sounds like the Hebrew forproduced e 4:7 Hebrew will there not be a liftingup [of your face]? f 4:7 Or is towards g 4:8 Hebrew;Samaritan, Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate add Let us goout to the field

genesis 4-5612 When you work the ground, it shall born, and he called his name Enosh. Atno longer yield to you its strength. Youshall be a fugitive and a wanderer onthe earth.” 13 Cain said to the LORD, “Mypunishment is greater than I can bear. a14 Behold, you have driven me todayaway from the ground, and from yourface I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, andwhoever finds me will kill me.” 15 Thenthe LORD said to him, “Not so! If anyonekills Cain, vengeance shall be taken onhim sevenfold.” And the LORD put a markon Cain, lest any who found him shouldattack him. 16 Then Cain went away fromthe presence of the LORD and settled inthe land of Nod, b east of Eden.17 Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built acity, he called the name of the city afterthe name of his son, Enoch. 18 To Enochwas born Irad, and Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael,and Methushael fathered Lamech. 19 AndLamech took two wives. The name of theone was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. 20 Adah bore Jabal; he was thefather of those who dwell in tents andhave livestock. 21 His brother’s name wasJubal; he was the father of all those whoplay the lyre and pipe. 22 Zillah also boreTubal-cain; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron. The sisterof Tubal-cain was Naamah.that time people began to call upon thename of the LORD.Adam’s Descendants to NoahThis is the book of the generationsof Adam. When God created man,he made him in the likeness of God.2 Male and female he created them, andhe blessed them and named them Man dwhen they were created. 3 When Adamhad lived for 130 years, he fathered a sonin his own likeness, after his image, andnamed him Seth. 4 The days of Adamafter he fathered Seth were 800 years;and he had other sons and daughters.5 Thus all the days that Adam lived were930 years, and he died.6 When Seth had lived for 105 years,he fathered Enosh. 7 Seth lived after hefathered Enosh for 807 years and hadother sons and daughters. 8 Thus all thedays of Seth were 912 years, and he died.9 When Enosh had lived for 90 years, hefathered Kenan. 10 Enosh lived after he fathered Kenan for 815 years and had othersons and daughters. 11 Thus all the days ofEnosh were 905 years, and he died.12 When Kenan had lived for 70 years,he fathered Mahalalel. 13 Kenan lived after he fathered Mahalalel for 840 yearsand had other sons and daughters.14 Thus all the days of Kenan were 910years, and he died.15 When Mahalalel had lived for 65*A wife of Lamech and the mother of Tubal-cain and Naamah.*Sister of Tubal-cain. years, he fathered Jared. 16 Mahalalellived after he fathered Jared for 830years and had other sons and daughters.23 Lamech said to his wives:17 Thus all the days of Mahalalel were 895years, and he died.“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;you wives of Lamech,18 When Jared had lived for 162 years,listen to what I say:he fathered Enoch. 19 Jared lived afterI have killed a man for wounding me, he fathered Enoch for 800 years anda young man for striking me.had other sons and daughters. 20 Thusall the days of Jared were 962 years, and24 If Cain’s revenge is sevenfold,then Lamech’s is seventy-sevenfold.” he died.21 When Enoch had lived for 65 years,25 And Adam knew his wife again, and he fathered Methuselah. 22 Enochshe bore a son and called his name Seth,for she said, “God has appointed c for me a 4:13 Or My guilt is too great to bear b 4:16 Nodanother offspring instead of Abel, for means wandering c 4:25 Seth sounds like the HebrewCain killed him.” 26 To Seth also a son was for he appointed d 5:2 Hebrew adam5

walked with God a after he fatheredMethuselah for 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Thus all thedays of Enoch were 365 years. 24 Enochwalked with God, and he was not, b forGod took him.25 When Methuselah had lived for 187years, he fathered Lamech. 26 Methuselah lived after he fathered Lamech for782 years and had other sons and daughters. 27 Thus all the days of Methuselahwere 969 years, and he died.28 When Lamech had lived for 182years, he fathered a son 29 and called hisname Noah, saying, “Out of the groundthat the LORD has cursed, this one shallbring us relief c from our work and fromthe painful toil of our hands.” 30 Lamechlived after he fathered Noah for 595years and had other sons and daughters.31 Thus all the days of Lamech were 777years, and he died.32 After Noah was 500 years old, Noahfathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.Increasing Corruption on EarthWhen man began to multiply on theface of the land and daughters wereborn to them, 2 the sons of God saw thatthe daughters of man were attractive.And they took as their wives any theychose. 3 Then the LORD said, “My Spiritshall not abide in d man for ever, for heis flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” 4 TheNephilim e were on the earth in thosedays, and also afterwards, when the sonsof God came in to the daughters of manand they bore children to them. Thesewere the mighty men who were of old,the men of renown.5 The LORD saw that the wickedness ofman was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heartwas only evil continually. 6 And the LORDregretted that he had made man on theearth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 Sothe LORD said, “I will blot out man whomI have created from the face of the land,man and animals and creeping thingsand birds of the heavens, for I am sorrythat I have made them.” 8 But Noah foundfavour in the eyes of the LORD.6Walkingwith GodOh, the joys of friendship! Have youever had a friend you can just talkto without putting up a front? Bothof you can freely encourage, rebuke,and build each other up withoutlosing each other or fearing thatyour weaknesses will be told to thewhole world. How refreshing it isto spend time with each other!In Genesis 5:22 and 25 we are toldthat Enoch walked with God. Noahalso walked with God as stated inGenesis 6:9. Enoch and Noah had aspecial friendship with God. Theycould pour their hearts out to Him.He also trusted these two menand shared His secrets with them.They had an intimate relationshipwith God.Is it possible to walk with God inthis generation and have a deep intimate relationship with Him? Emphatically yes! We see that Noahhad a very close relationship withGod even when everyone aroundhim turned away from God.Dear Lord Jesus, please help me towant to walk with You. Help me tomake the right choices that drawme closer to You each day. In Jesus’name, I pray. Amen.Noah and the Flood9 These are the generations of Noah.Noah was a righteous man, blameless inhis generation. Noah walked with God.10 And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham,and Japheth.a 5:22 Septuagint pleasedGod; also verse 24not found c 5:29 Noah soundslike the Hebrew for rest d 6:3 Or My Spirit shall notcontend with e 6:4 Or giantsb 5:24 Septuagint was

genesis 6-711 Now the earth was corrupt in God’ssight, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God saw the earth, andbehold, it was corrupt, for all flesh hadcorrupted their way on the earth. 13 AndGod said to Noah, “I have determined tomake an end of all flesh, a for the earthis filled with violence through them.Behold, I will destroy them with theearth. 14 Make yourself an ark of gopherwood. b Make rooms in the ark, and coverit inside and out with pitch. 15 This is howyou are to make it: the length of the ark300 cubits, c its breadth 50 cubits, and itsheight 30 cubits. 16 Make a roof d for theark, and finish it to a cubit above, andset the door of the ark in its side. Makeit with lower, second, and third decks.17 For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all fleshin which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shalldie. 18

AFRICA WOMEN DEVOTIONAL BIBLE FEATURES There is a daily reading portion that is accompanied by a short devotional to help you reflect on the daily reading. › Daily Devotions: A full year of week-day and weekend devotions written by African women with reflections from the day’s readings.