Genesis 2:7-9, 15-25
A Women’s Lectionary 15
7 then the LordA GodB formedC manD
from the dustE of the ground,F and breathedG into his nostrilsH
the breathI of life;J and the man becameK a livingL being.M
8 And the Lord God plantedN a gardenO in Eden,P in the east;Q and there he putR the man whom he had formed.
9 Out of the ground the Lord God made to growS everyT treeU that is pleasantV to the sightW
and goodX for food,Y the tree of life also in the midstZ of the garden, and the tree of the knowledgeAA of good and evil.BB
15 The Lord God tookCC the man and putDD him in the garden of Eden to tillEE it and keepFF it.
16 And the Lord God commandedGG the man, “You may freely eatHH of every tree of the garden; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the dayII that you eat of it you shall die.”JJ
18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone;KK I will makeLL him a helperMM as his partner.”NN 19 So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animalOO of the fieldPP and every birdQQ of the air,RR
and broughtSS them to the man to seeTT what he would callUU them; and whatever the man called every living creature,VV that was its name.WW
20 The man gaveXX names to allYY cattle,ZZ and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man there was not foundAAA a helper as his partner. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleepBBB to fallCCC upon the man, and he slept;DDD
then he took oneEEE of his ribsFFF and closed upGGG its place with flesh.HHH 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he madeIII into a womanJJJ and brought her to the man.
23 Then the man said,
“This at lastKKK is boneLLL of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
this one shall be called Woman,
for out of ManMMM this one was taken.”
24 ThereforeNNN a manOOO leavesPPP his fatherQQQ and his motherRRR
and clingsSSS to his wife,TTT and they become one flesh. 25 And the manUUU and his wife were bothVVV naked,WWW and were not ashamed.XXX
Image credit: “The Garden of Eden” by Thomas Cole, 1828.