Through the Bible – Day 2

₁Adam and Eve had a son. Then Eve said, “I'll name him Cain because I got him with the help of the LORD.” ₂Later she had another son and named him Abel.

Abel became a sheep farmer, but Cain farmed the land. ₃One day, Cain gave part of his harvest to the LORD, ₄and Abel also gave an offering to the LORD. He killed the firstborn lamb from one of his sheep and gave the LORD the best parts of it. The LORD was pleased with Abel and his offering, ₅but not with Cain and his offering. This made Cain so angry that he could not hide his feelings.

₆The LORD said to Cain:

₈Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let's go for a walk.” And when they were out in a field, Cain killed him.

₉Afterwards the LORD asked Cain, “Where is Abel?”

“How should I know?” he answered. “Am I supposed to look after my brother?”

₁₀Then the LORD said:

₁₃“This punishment is too hard!” Cain said. ₁₄“You're making me leave my home and live far from you. I will have to wander about without a home, and anyone could kill me.”

₁₅“No!” the LORD answered. “Anyone who kills you will be punished seven times worse than I am punishing you.” So the LORD put a mark on Cain to warn everyone not to kill him. ₁₆But Cain had to go far from the LORD and live in the Land of Wandering, which is east of Eden.

₁₇Later, Cain and his wife had a son named Enoch. At the time Cain was building a town, and so he named it Enoch after his son. ₁₈Then Enoch had a son named Irad, who had a son named Mehujael, who had a son named Methushael, who had a son named Lamech.

₁₉Lamech married Adah, then Zillah. _20-21Lamech and Adah had two sons, Jabal and Jubal. Their son Jabal was the first to live in tents and raise sheep and goats. Jubal was the first to play harps and flutes.

₂₂Lamech and Zillah had a son named Tubal Cain who made tools out of bronze and iron. They also had a daughter, whose name was Naamah.

₂₃One day, Lamech said to his two wives, “A young man wounded me, and I killed him. ₂₄Anyone who tries to get even with me will be punished ten times more than anyone who tries to get even with Cain.”

₂₅Adam and his wife had another son. They named him Seth, because they said, “God has given us a son to take the place of Abel, who was killed by his brother Cain.” ₂₆Later, Seth had a son and named him Enosh.

About this time people started worshipping the LORD.

_1-2God created men and women to be like himself. He gave them his blessing and called them human beings. This is a list of the descendants of Adam, the first man:

_3-4When Adam was one hundred and thirty, he had a son who was just like him, and he named him Seth. Adam had more children ₅and died at the age of nine hundred and thirty.

₆When Seth was one hundred and five, he had a son named Enosh. ₇Seth had more children ₈and died at the age of nine hundred and twelve.

₉When Enosh was ninety, he had a son named Kenan. ₁₀Enosh had more children ₁₁and died at the age of nine hundred and five.

₁₂When Kenan was seventy, he had a son named Mahalalel. ₁₃Kenan had more children ₁₄and died at the age of nine hundred and ten.

₁₅When Mahalalel was sixty-five, he had a son named Jared. ₁₆Mahalalel had more children ₁₇and died at the age of eight hundred and ninety-five.

₁₈When Jared was one hundred and sixty-two, he had a son named Enoch. ₁₉Jared had more children ₂₀and died at the age of nine hundred and sixty-two.

₂₁When Enoch was sixty-five, he had a son named Methuselah, ₂₂and during the next three hundred years he had more children. Enoch truly loved God, _23-24and God took him away at the age of three hundred and sixty-five.

₂₅When Methuselah was one hundred and eighty-seven, he had a son named Lamech. ₂₆Methuselah had more children ₂₇and died at the age of nine hundred and sixty-nine.

₂₈When Lamech was one hundred and eighty-two, he had a son. ₂₉Lamech said, “I'll name him Noah because he will give us comfort, as we struggle hard to make a living on this land that the LORD has put under a curse.” ₃₀Lamech had more children ₃₁and died at the age of seven hundred and seventy-seven.

₃₂After Noah was five hundred years old, he had three sons and named them Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

₁When Jesus was born in the village of Bethlehem in Judea, Herod was king. During this time some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem ₂and said, “Where is the child born to be king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”

₃When King Herod heard about this, he was worried, and so was everyone else in Jerusalem. ₄Herod brought together the chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses and asked them, “Where will the Messiah be born?”

₅They told him, “He will be born in Bethlehem, just as the prophet wrote,

₇Herod secretly called in the wise men and asked them when they had first seen the star. ₈He told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, let me know. I want to go and worship him too.”

₉The wise men listened to what the king said and then left. And the star they had seen in the east went on ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ₁₀They were thrilled and excited to see the star.

₁₁When the men went into the house and saw the child with Mary, his mother, they knelt down and worshipped him. They took out their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh and gave them to him. ₁₂Later they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and they went back home by another road.

₁₃After the wise men had gone, an angel from the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Hurry and take the child and his mother to Egypt! Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is looking for the child and wants to kill him.”

₁₄That night, Joseph got up and took his wife and the child to Egypt, ₁₅where they stayed until Herod died. So the Lord's promise came true, just as the prophet had said, “I called my son out of Egypt.”

₁₆When Herod found out that the wise men from the east had tricked him, he was very angry. He gave orders for his men to kill all the boys who lived in or near Bethlehem and were two years old and younger. This was based on what he had learnt from the wise men.

₁₇So the Lord's promise came true, just as the prophet Jeremiah had said,

₁₉After King Herod died, an angel from the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph while he was still in Egypt. ₂₀The angel said, “Get up and take the child and his mother back to Israel. The people who wanted to kill him are now dead.”

₂₁Joseph got up and left with them for Israel. ₂₂But when he heard that Herod's son Archelaus was now ruler of Judea, he was afraid to go there. Then in a dream he was told to go to Galilee, ₂₃and they went to live there in the town of Nazareth. So the Lord's promise came true, just as the prophet had said, “He will be called a Nazarene.”