The Bible (Old and New Testaments)

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

Plain English · paraphraseAt the start, God made the sky and the land.

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

Plain English · paraphraseAnd God saw the light, and it was good. God separated the light from the darkness.

And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Plain English · paraphraseGod named the light Day, and he named the darkness Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

Plain English · paraphraseAnd God said, "Let there be a sky between the waters, to separate the waters from the waters."

And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

Plain English · paraphraseAnd God made the sky, separating the waters below the sky from the waters above the sky. And it happened.

And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

Plain English · paraphraseGod named the sky Heaven. The second day ended with evening and morning.

And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

Plain English · paraphraseAnd God said, "Let the earth produce grass, plants that make seed, and fruit trees that make fruit according to their kind, each with seed inside itself on the earth." And it happened.

And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Plain English · paraphraseAnd the earth produced grass and plants that make seed according to their kind, and trees that bear fruit with seed inside them, according to their kind. And God saw that it was good.

And the evening and the morning were the third day.

And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

Plain English · paraphraseAnd God said, "Let there be lights in the sky above to separate day from night. Let them serve as signs, and for marking seasons, days, and years."

And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

Plain English · paraphraseAnd let them be lights in the sky above to shine light on the earth. And it was so.

And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

Plain English · paraphraseGod made two big lights. The bigger light ruled the day, and the smaller light ruled the night. He made the stars too.

And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

Plain English · paraphraseAnd God said, "Let the waters produce many living creatures that move, and birds that can fly above the earth in the open sky of heaven."

And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Plain English · paraphraseAnd God created large sea creatures and every living thing that moves, which the waters produced in abundance, each according to its kind. He also created every flying bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

Plain English · paraphraseAnd God blessed them. He said, "Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the waters in the seas. Let the birds multiply on the earth."

And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Plain English · paraphraseAnd God made the animals of the earth according to their kind, and the livestock according to their kind, and everything that crawls on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Plain English · paraphraseAnd God said, "Let us create human beings in our image, like ourselves. Let them rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and every creature that moves along the ground."

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Plain English · paraphraseSo God created human beings in his image. He created them in the image of God. He created them male and female.

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Plain English · paraphraseAnd God blessed them. God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and rule over it. Rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, and every living creature that moves on the earth."

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

Plain English · paraphraseAnd God said, "Look, I have given you every plant that bears seed on the surface of the whole earth, and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. This will be your food."

And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

Plain English · paraphraseAnd on the seventh day, God finished the work he had made. He rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

Plain English · paraphraseGod blessed the seventh day and made it holy. This was because on that day he had rested from all his work, which he had created and made.

These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,

And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.

But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

Plain English · paraphraseAnd the Lord God planted a garden in the east of Eden. There he placed the man he had formed.

And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Plain English · paraphraseAnd from the ground, the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to look at and good to eat. The tree of life was also in the middle of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

Plain English · paraphraseA river came out of Eden to water the garden. From there it split into four branches.

The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;

Plain English · paraphraseThe name of the first is Pison. It is the one that surrounds the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.

And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.

And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.

Plain English · paraphraseThe name of the second river is Gihon. It is the one that surrounds the whole land of Ethiopia.

And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

Plain English · paraphraseAnd the Lord God gave a command to the man, saying, You may freely eat from every tree in the garden:

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Plain English · paraphraseBut from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you must not eat. For on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.

And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

Plain English · paraphraseAnd from the ground the Lord God formed every wild animal and every bird of the air. He brought them to Adam to see what he would name them. And whatever name Adam gave to each living creature, that became its name.

And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

Plain English · paraphraseAnd Adam gave names to all the animals, to the birds in the sky, and to every wild animal in the field. But for Adam, no suitable helper was found.

And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;

Plain English · paraphraseAnd the Lord God made Adam fall into a deep sleep, and he slept. Then he took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh in its place.

And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

Plain English · paraphraseGod took a rib from the man and made a woman from it. He brought her to the man.

And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Plain English · paraphraseSo a man will leave his father and mother and join with his wife, and the two will become one body.

And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

Plain English · paraphraseThe serpent was more clever than any other animal in the field that the LORD God had made. He asked the woman, “Has God really said you must not eat from any tree in the garden?”

And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

Plain English · paraphraseThe woman said to the serpent, "We can eat the fruit of the trees in the garden:"

But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

Plain English · paraphraseBut about the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, God has said, "You must not eat from it, and you must not touch it, or you will die."

And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

Plain English · paraphraseAnd the serpent said to the woman, "You will not die for sure:"

For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Plain English · paraphraseGod knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will open, and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil.

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Plain English · paraphraseWhen the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it looked pleasant, and that it was a tree desired to make someone wise, she took its fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, and he ate it.

And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Plain English · paraphraseThen both of them opened their eyes and realized they were naked. So they picked fig leaves, sewed them together, and made themselves aprons.

And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

Plain English · paraphraseAnd the Lord God called to Adam and said, "Where are you?"

And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

Plain English · paraphraseAnd he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree I told you not to eat from?"

And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

Plain English · paraphraseAnd the Lord God said to the woman, "What have you done?" The woman said, "The serpent tricked me, and I ate."

And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

Plain English · paraphraseAnd the Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, you are cursed above all cattle and above every beast of the field. On your belly you will go, and dust you will eat all the days of your life:

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Plain English · paraphraseAnd I will create hatred between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.

Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

Plain English · paraphraseTo the woman he said, I will greatly increase your pain and your childbirth. You will bring forth children in pain. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.

And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

Plain English · paraphraseAnd to Adam he said, Because you listened to the voice of your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, You must not eat from it: the ground is cursed because of you. You will eat from it in sorrow all the days of your life;

Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

Plain English · paraphraseIt will also produce thorns and thistles for you. You will eat the plants of the field.

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Plain English · paraphraseYou will eat bread by the sweat of your face until you return to the ground. You were taken from it, for you are dust, and to dust you will return.

And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

Plain English · paraphraseGod also made clothes from animal skins for Adam and his wife and dressed them.

And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

Plain English · paraphraseAnd the Lord God said, "Look, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. And now, he might reach out, take from the tree of life, eat, and live forever."

Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

Plain English · paraphraseSo the Lord God sent him away from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had come.

So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Plain English · paraphraseSo he drove the man out. He placed cherubim at the east side of the garden of Eden, along with a flaming sword that turned in every direction, to guard the way to the tree of life.

And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.

And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

Plain English · paraphraseShe gave birth again to his brother Abel. Abel was a shepherd, but Cain worked the land.

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

Plain English · paraphraseAfter some time had passed, Cain brought an offering to the Lord from the produce of the ground.

And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

Plain English · paraphraseAnd Abel also brought some of the firstborn of his flock and the best parts of them. And the Lord paid attention to Abel and to his offering:

But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

Plain English · paraphraseBut God did not accept Cain or his offering. Cain was very angry, and his face showed it.

And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?

Plain English · paraphraseAnd the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why is your face downcast?"

If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

Plain English · paraphraseIf you do well, you will be accepted. If you do not do well, sin is waiting at the door. His desire will be toward you, and you will rule over him.

And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

Plain English · paraphraseCain spoke with Abel his brother. When they were in the field, Cain attacked Abel his brother and killed him.

And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?

Plain English · paraphraseAnd the Lord said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He replied, "I don't know. Am I my brother's keeper?"

And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.

Plain English · paraphraseAnd he said, "What have you done? Your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground."

And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;

When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

Plain English · paraphraseWhen you work the ground, it will no longer give its strength to you. You will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.

And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.

Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.

Plain English · paraphraseYou have driven me from the earth today. I will hide from your face. I will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth. Anyone who finds me will kill me.

And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.

And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.

And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.

Plain English · paraphraseCain had a relationship with his wife. She became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. He built a city and named the city after his son, Enoch.

And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.

Plain English · paraphraseEnoch had a son named Irad. Irad had a son named Mehujael. Mehujael had a son named Methusael. Methusael had a son named Lamech.

And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.

Plain English · paraphraseLamech married two women. One was named Adah, and the other was named Zillah.

And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle.

Plain English · paraphraseAnd Adah gave birth to Jabal. He was the father of those who live in tents and those who own livestock.