The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV

by John MacArthur

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

  23therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden dto till the ground from which he was taken.

  24So eHe drove out the man; and He placed fcherubim gat the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of hlife.

  Genesis 4

  Cain Murders Abel

  (Luke 11:51; Heb. 11:4; 12:24)

  1Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore 1Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the LORD.”

  2Then she bore again, this time his brother 2Abel. Now aAbel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

  3And 3in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit bof the ground to the LORD.

  4Abel also brought of cthe firstborn of his flock and of dtheir fat. And the LORD erespected Abel and his offering,

  5but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.

  6So the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?

  7“If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is 4for you, but you should rule over it.”

  8Now Cain 5talked with Abel his 6brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and fkilled him.

  9Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, g“I do not know. Am I hmy brother’s keeper?”

  10And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood icries out to Me from the ground.

  11“So now jyou are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.

  12“When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.”

  13And Cain said to the LORD, “My 7punishment is greater than I can bear!

  14“Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; kI shall be lhidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen that manyone who finds me will kill me.”

  15And the LORD said to him, 8“Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him nsevenfold.” And the LORD set a omark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.

  The Family of Cain

  16Then Cain pwent out from the qpresence of the LORD and dwelt in the land of 9Nod on the east of Eden.

  17And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, rand called the name of the city after the name of his son—Enoch.

  18To Enoch was born Irad; and Irad begot Mehujael, and Mehujael begot Methushael, and Methushael begot Lamech.

  19Then Lamech took for himself stwo wives: the name of one was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah.

  20And Adah bore Jabal. He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock.

  21His brother’s name was Jubal. He was the father of all those who play the harp and 10flute.

  22And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every craftsman in 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 11killed a man for wounding me,

  Even a young man 12for hurting me.

  24tIf Cain shall be avenged sevenfold,

  Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”

  A New Son

  25And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and unamed him 13Seth, “For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.”

  26And as for Seth, vto him also a son was born; and he named him 14Enosh. Then men began wto call on the name of the LORD.

  Genesis 5

  The Family of Adam

  (1 Chr. 1:1–4; Luke 3:36–38)

  1This is the book of the agenealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in bthe likeness of God.

  2He created them cmale and female, and dblessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created.

  3And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son ein his own likeness, after his image, and fnamed him Seth.

  4After he begot Seth, gthe days of Adam were eight hundred years; hand he had sons and daughters.

  5So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; iand he died.

  6Seth lived one hundred and five years, and begot jEnosh.

  7After he begot Enosh, Seth lived eight hundred and seven years, and had sons and daughters.

  8So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years; and he died.

  9Enosh lived ninety years, and begot 1Cainan.

  10After he begot Cainan, Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years, and had sons and daughters.

  11So all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years; and he died.

  12Cainan lived seventy years, and begot Mahalalel.

  13After he begot Mahalalel, Cainan lived eight hundred and forty years, and had sons and daughters.

  14So all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years; and he died.

  15Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and begot Jared.

  16After he begot Jared, Mahalalel lived eight hundred and thirty years, and had sons and daughters.

  17So all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years; and he died.

  18Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begot kEnoch.

  19After he begot Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years, and had sons and daughters.

  20So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years; and he died.

  21Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah.

  22After he begot Methuselah, Enoch lwalked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters.

  23So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.

  24And mEnoch walked with God; and he was not, for God ntook him.

  25Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and begot Lamech.

  26After he begot Lamech, Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years, and had sons and daughters.

  27So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years; and he died.

  28Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and had a son.

  29And he called his name oNoah,2 saying, “This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground pwhich the LORD has cursed.”

  30After he begot Noah, Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years, and had sons and daughters.

  31So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years; and he died.

  32And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begot qShem, Ham, rand Japheth.

  Genesis 6

  The Wickedness and Judgment of Man

  1Now it came to pass, awhen men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them,

  2that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they btook wives for themselves of all whom they chose.

  3And the LORD said, c“My Spirit shall not dstrive1 with man forever, efor he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”

  4There were 2giants on the earth in those fdays, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

  5Then 3the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every gintent4 of the thoughts of his heart was only evil 5continually.

  6And hthe LORD was sorry that He had made man
on the earth, and iHe was grieved in His jheart.

  7So the LORD said, “I will kdestroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.”

  8But Noah lfound grace in the eyes of the LORD.

  Noah Pleases God

  9This is the genealogy of Noah. mNoah was a just man, 6perfect in his generations. Noah nwalked with God.

  10And Noah begot three sons: oShem, Ham, and Japheth.

  11The earth also was corrupt pbefore God, and the earth was qfilled with violence.

  12So God rlooked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for sall flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.

  The Ark Prepared

  (Heb. 11:7; 1 Pet. 3:20)

  13And God said to Noah, t“The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; uand behold, vI will destroy them with the earth.

  14“Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make 7rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch.

  15“And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred 8cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.

  16“You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.

  17w“And behold, I Myself am bringing xfloodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall ydie.

  18“But I will establish My zcovenant with you; and ayou shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.

  19“And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring btwo of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female.

  20“Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind cwill come to you to keep them alive.

  21“And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them.”

  22dThus Noah did; eaccording to all that fGod commanded him, so he did.

  Genesis 7

  The Great Flood

  (Luke 17:26, 27)

  1Then the aLORD said to Noah, b“Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that cyou are righteous before Me in this generation.

  2“You shall take with you seven each of every dclean animal, a male and his female; etwo each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female;

  3“also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep 1the species alive on the face of all the earth.

  4“For after fseven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth gforty days and forty nights, and I will 2destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made.” The Flood Chronology

  5hAnd Noah did according to all that the LORD commanded him.

  6Noah was isix hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth.

  7jSo Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood.

  8Of clean animals, of animals that are unclean, of birds, and of everything that creeps on the earth,

  9two by two they went into the ark to Noah, male and female, as God had commanded Noah.

  10And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were on the earth.

  11In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on kthat day all lthe fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the mwindows of heaven were opened.

  12nAnd the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights.

  13On the very same day Noah and Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark—

  14othey and every beast after its kind, all cattle after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every psort.

  15And they qwent into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life.

  16So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in ras God had commanded him; and the LORD shut him in.

  17sNow the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth.

  18The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, tand the ark moved about on the surface of the waters.

  19And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered.

  20The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered.

  21uAnd all flesh died that moved on 3the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man.

  22All in vwhose nostrils was the breath 4of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died.

  23So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only wNoah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive.

  24xAnd the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.

  Genesis 8

  Noah’s Deliverance

  1Then God aremembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. bAnd God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided.

  2cThe fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also dstopped, and ethe rain from heaven was restrained.

  3And the waters receded continually from the earth. At the end fof the hundred and fifty days the waters decreased.

  4Then the ark rested in the seventh month, the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat. Major Mountains of the Bible

  5And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.

  6So it came to pass, at the end of forty days, that Noah opened gthe window of the ark which he had made.

  7Then he sent out a raven, which kept going to and fro until the waters had dried up from the earth.

  8He also sent out from himself a dove, to see if the waters had receded from the face of the ground.

  9But the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, and she returned into the ark to him, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her, and drew her into the ark to himself.

  10And he waited yet another seven days, and again he sent the dove out from the ark.

  11Then the dove came to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly plucked olive leaf was in her mouth; and Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth.

  12So he waited yet another seven days and sent out the dove, which did not return again to him anymore.

  13And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, that the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and indeed the surface of the ground was dry.

  14And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dried.

  15Then God spoke to Noah, saying,

  16“Go out of the ark, hyou and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you.

  17“Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you: birds and cattle and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that they may abound on the earth, and ibe fruitful and multiply on the earth.”

  18So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him.

  19Every animal, every creeping thing, every bird, and whatever creeps on the earth, according to their families, went out of the ark.

  God’s Covenant with Creation<
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  20Then Noah built an jaltar to the LORD, and took of kevery clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered lburnt offerings on the altar.

  21And the LORD smelled ma soothing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, “I will never again ncurse the ground for man’s sake, although the oimagination1 of man’s heart is evil from his youth; pnor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.

  22While the earth qremains,

  Seedtime and harvest,

  Cold and heat,

  Winter and summer,

  And rday and night

  Shall not cease.”

  Genesis 9

  God’s Promise to Noah

  1So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: a“Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.

  2b“And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand.

  3c“Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you dall things, even as the egreen herbs.

  4f“But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.

  5“Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; gfrom the hand of every beast I will require it, and hfrom the hand of man. From the hand of every iman’s brother I will require the life of man.

  6Whoever jsheds man’s blood,

  By man his blood shall be shed;

  kFor in the image of God

  He made man.

  7And as for you, lbe fruitful and multiply;

  Bring forth abundantly in the earth

  And multiply in it.”

  8Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying:

  9“And as for Me, mbehold, I establish nMy covenant with you and with your 1descendants after you,

  10o“and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth.

  11“Thus pI establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”