The Daily Audio Bible
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The Beginning of Sin
3 Now the snake was the most clever of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day the snake spoke to the woman. He said, “Did God really say that you must not eat fruit from any tree in the garden?”
2 The woman answered the snake, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden. 3 But God told us, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden. You must not even touch it, or you will die.’”
4 But the snake said to the woman, “You will not die. 5 God knows that if you eat the fruit from that tree, you will learn about good and evil. Then you will be like God!”
6 The woman saw that the tree was beautiful. She saw that its fruit was good to eat and that it would make her wise. So she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some of the fruit to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.
7 Then, it was as if the man’s and the woman’s eyes were opened. They realized they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made something to cover themselves.
8 Then they heard the Lord God walking in the garden. This was during the cool part of the day. And the man and his wife hid from the Lord God among the trees in the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man. The Lord said, “Where are you?”
10 The man answered, “I heard you walking in the garden. I was afraid because I was naked. So I hid.”
11 God said to the man, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat fruit from that tree? I commanded you not to eat from that tree.”
12 The man said, “You gave this woman to me. She gave me fruit from the tree. So I ate it.”
13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What have you done?”
She answered, “The snake tricked me. So I ate the fruit.”
14 The Lord God said to the snake,
“Because you did this,
a curse will be put on you.
You will be cursed more than any tame animal or wild animal.
You will crawl on your stomach,
and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
15 I will make you and the woman
enemies to each other.
Your descendants and her descendants
will be enemies.
Her child will crush your head.
And you will bite his heel.”
16 Then God said to the woman,
“I will cause you to have much trouble
when you are pregnant.
And when you give birth to children,
you will have great pain.
You will greatly desire your husband,
but he will rule over you.”
17 Then God said to the man, “You listened to what your wife said. And you ate fruit from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from.
“So I will put a curse on the ground.
You will have to work very hard for food.
In pain you will eat its food
all the days of your life.
18 The ground will produce thorns and weeds for you.
And you will eat the plants of the field.
19 You will sweat and work hard
for your food.
Later you will return to the ground.
This is because you were taken from the ground.
You are dust.
And when you die, you will return to the dust.”
20 The man named his wife Eve.[a] This is because she is the mother of everyone who ever lived.
21 The Lord God made clothes from animal skins for the man and his wife. And so the Lord dressed them. 22 Then the Lord God said, “Look, the man has become like one of us. He knows good and evil. And now we must keep him from eating some of the fruit from the tree of life. If he does, he will live forever.” 23 So the Lord God forced the man out of the garden of Eden. He had to work the ground he was taken from. 24 God forced the man out of the garden. Then God put angels on the east side of the garden. He also put a sword of fire there. It flashed around in every direction. This kept people from getting to the tree of life.
The First Family
4 Adam had intimate relations with his wife Eve. She became pregnant and gave birth to Cain.[b] Eve said, “With the Lord’s help, I have given birth to a man.” 2 After that, Eve gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel. Abel took care of sheep. Cain became a farmer.
3 Later, Cain brought a gift to God. He brought some food from the ground. 4 Abel brought the best parts of his best sheep. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift. 5 But God did not accept Cain and his gift. Cain became very angry and looked unhappy.
6 The Lord asked Cain, “Why are you angry? Why do you look so unhappy? 7 If you do good, I will accept you. But if you do not do good, sin is ready to attack you. Sin wants you. But you must rule over it.”
8 Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out into the field.” So Cain and Abel went into the field. Then Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
9 Later, the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
Cain answered, “I don’t know. Is it my job to take care of my brother?”
10 Then the Lord said, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood is on the ground. That blood is like a voice that tells me what happened. 11 And now you will be cursed in your work with the ground. It is the same ground where your brother’s blood fell. Your hands killed him. 12 You will work the ground. But it will not grow good crops for you anymore. You will wander around on the earth.”
13 Then Cain said to the Lord, “This punishment is more than I can stand! 14 Look! You have forced me to stop working the ground. And now I must hide from you. I will wander around on the earth. And anyone who meets me can kill me.”
15 Then the Lord said to Cain, “No! If anyone kills you, I will punish that person seven times more.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain. It was a warning to anyone who met him not to kill him.
Cain’s Family
16 Then Cain went away from the Lord. Cain lived in the land of Nod,[c] east of Eden. 17 Cain had intimate relations with his wife. She became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. At that time Cain was building a city. He named it after his son Enoch. 18 Enoch had a son named Irad. Irad had a son named Mehujael. Mehujael had a son named Methushael. And Methushael had a son named Lamech.
19 Lamech married two women. One wife was named Adah, and the other was Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal. He was the first person to live in tents and raise cattle. 21 Jabal’s brother was Jubal. Jubal was the first person to play the harp and flute. 22 Zillah gave birth to Tubal-Cain. He made tools out of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.
23 Lamech said to his wives:
“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice!
You wives of Lamech, listen to what I say.
I killed a man for wounding me.
I killed a young man for hitting me.
24 Cain’s killer may be punished 7 times.
Then Lamech’s killer will be punished 77 times.”
Adam and Eve Have a New Son
25 Adam had intimate relations with his wife Eve again. And she gave birth to a son. She named him Seth.[d] Eve said, “God has given me another child. He will take the place of Abel, who was killed by Cain.” 26 Seth also had a son. They named him Enosh. At that time people began to pray to the Lord.
Jesus’ Parents Take Him to Egypt
13 After they left, an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream. The angel said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Herod will start looking for the child to kill him. Stay in Egypt until I tell you to return.”
14 So Joseph got up and left for Egypt during the night with the child and his mother. 15 Joseph stayed in Egypt until Herod died. This was to make clear the full meaning of what the Lord had said through the prophet. The Lord said, “I called my son out of Egypt.”[a]
Herod Kills the Baby Boys
16 When Herod saw that the wise men had tricked him, he was very angry. So he gave an order to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem and in all the area around Bethlehem who were two years old or younger. This was in keeping with the time he learned from the wise men. 17 So what God had said through the prophet Jeremiah came true:
18 “A sound was heard in Ramah.
It was painful crying and much sadness.
Rachel cries for her children,
and she cannot be comforted,
because her children are dead.” Jeremiah 31:15
Joseph and Mary Return
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream. This happened while Joseph was in Egypt. 20 The angel said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother and go to Israel. The people who were trying to kill the child are now dead.”
21 So Joseph took the child and his mother and went to Israel. 22 But he heard that Archelaus was now king in Judea. Archelaus became king when his father Herod died. So Joseph was afraid to go there. After being warned in a dream, he went to the area of Galilee. 23 He went to a town called Nazareth and lived there. And so what God had said through the prophets came true: “He will be called a Nazarene.”[b]
The Work of John the Baptist
3 About that time John the Baptist came and began preaching in the desert area of Judea. 2 John said, “Change your hearts and lives because the kingdom of heaven is coming soon.” 3 John the Baptist is the one Isaiah the prophet was talking about. Isaiah said:
“This is a voice of a man
who calls out in the desert:
‘Prepare the way for the Lord.
Make the road straight for him.’” Isaiah 40:3
4 John’s clothes were made from camel’s hair. He wore a leather belt around his waist. For food, he ate locusts and wild honey. 5 Many people went to hear John preach. They came from Jerusalem and all Judea and all the area around the Jordan River. 6 They told of the sins they had done, and John baptized them in the Jordan River.
God’s Chosen King
2 Why are the nations so angry?
Why are the people making useless plans?
2 The kings of the earth prepare to fight.
Their leaders make plans together
against the Lord
and his appointed king.
3 “Let’s break the chains that hold us prisoners.
Let’s throw off the ropes that tie us,” the nations say.
4 But the Lord in heaven laughs.
He makes fun of them.
5 Then the Lord warns them.
He frightens them with his anger.
6 He says, “I have appointed my own king!
He will rule in Jerusalem on my holy mountain.”
7 Now I will tell you what the Lord has declared:
He said to me, “You are my son.
Today I have become your father.
8 If you ask me, I will give you the nations.
All the people on earth will be yours.
9 You will make them obey you by punishing them with an iron rod.
You will break them into pieces like pottery.”
10 So, kings, be wise.
Rulers, learn this lesson.
11 Obey the Lord with great fear.
Be happy, but tremble.
12 Show that you are loyal to his son.
Otherwise you will be destroyed.
He can quickly become angry.
But happy are those who trust him for protection.
7 Knowledge begins with respect for the Lord.
But foolish people hate wisdom and discipline.
Warnings Against Evil
8 My child, listen to your father’s teaching.
And do not forget your mother’s advice.
9 Their teaching will beautify your life.
It will be like flowers in your hair or a chain around your neck.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.