1:1 א (Alef) ¹ 

² 

Alas! ³  The city once full of people ⁴ 

now sits all alone! ⁵ 

The prominent ⁶  lady among the nations

has become a widow! ⁷ 

The princess ⁸  who once ruled the provinces ⁹ 

has become ¹⁰  a forced laborer! ¹¹ 

1:2 ב (Bet)

She weeps bitterly at night;

tears stream down her cheeks. ¹² 

She has no one to comfort her

among all her lovers. ¹³ 

All her friends have betrayed her;

they have become her enemies.

1:3 ג (Gimel)

Judah ¹⁴  has departed into exile

under ¹⁵  affliction and harsh oppression. ¹⁶ 

She ¹⁷  lives among the nations;

she has found no resting place.

All who pursued her overtook her

in ¹⁸  narrow straits. ¹⁹ 

1:4 ד (Dalet)

The roads to Zion ²⁰  mourn ²¹ 

because no one ²²  travels to the festivals. ²³ 

All her city gates ²⁴  are deserted; ²⁵ 

her priests groan. ²⁶ 

Her virgins grieve; ²⁷ 

she is in bitter anguish! ²⁸ 

1:5 ה (He)

Her foes subjugated her; ²⁹ 

her enemies are at ease. ³⁰ 

For the Lord afflicted her

because of her many acts of rebellion. ³¹ 

Her children went away

captive ³²  before the enemy.

1:6 ו (Vav)

All of Daughter Zion’s ³³  splendor ³⁴ 

has departed. ³⁵ 

Her leaders became like deer;

they found no pasture,

so they were too exhausted to escape ³⁶ 

from the hunter. ³⁷ 

1:7 ז (Zayin)

Jerusalem ³⁸  remembers, ³⁹ 

when ⁴⁰  she became a poor homeless person, ⁴¹ 

all her treasures

that she owned in days of old. ⁴² 

When her people fell into an enemy’s grip, ⁴³ 

none of her allies came to her rescue. ⁴⁴ 

Her enemies ⁴⁵  gloated over ⁴⁶  her;

they sneered ⁴⁷  at her downfall. ⁴⁸ 

1:8 ח (Khet)

Jerusalem committed terrible sin; ⁴⁹ 

therefore she became an object of scorn. ⁵⁰ 

All who admired ⁵¹  her have despised her ⁵² 

because they have seen her nakedness. ⁵³ 

She groans aloud ⁵⁴ 

and turns away in shame. ⁵⁵ 

1:9 ט (Tet)

Her menstrual flow ⁵⁶  has soiled ⁵⁷  her clothing; ⁵⁸ 

she did not consider ⁵⁹  the consequences of her sin. ⁶⁰ 

Her demise ⁶¹  was astonishing, ⁶² 

and there was no one to comfort her.

She cried, “Look, ⁶³  O Lord, on my ⁶⁴  affliction

because my ⁶⁵  enemy boasts!”

1:10 י (Yod)

An enemy grabbed ⁶⁶ 

all her valuables. ⁶⁷ 

Indeed she watched in horror ⁶⁸  as Gentiles ⁶⁹ 

invaded her holy temple ⁷⁰  –

those whom you ⁷¹  had commanded:

“They must not enter ⁷²  your assembly place.” ⁷³ 

1:11 כ (Kaf)

All her people groaned

as they searched for a morsel of bread. ⁷⁴ 

They exchanged ⁷⁵  their valuables ⁷⁶ 

for ⁷⁷  just enough food

to stay alive. ⁷⁸ 

“Look, O Lord! Consider ⁷⁹ 

that I have become worthless!”

1:12 ל (Lamed)

Is it nothing to you, ⁸⁰  all you who pass by on the road? ⁸¹ 

Look and see!

Is there any pain like mine?

The Lord ⁸²  has afflicted me, ⁸³ 

he ⁸⁴  has inflicted it on me

when ⁸⁵  he burned with anger. ⁸⁶ 

1:13 מ (Mem)

He sent down fire ⁸⁷ 

into my bones, and it overcame ⁸⁸  them.

He spread out a trapper’s net ⁸⁹  for my feet;

he made me turn back.

He has made me desolate;

I am faint all day long.

1:14 נ (Nun)

My sins are bound around my neck like a yoke; ⁹⁰ 

they are fastened together by his hand.

He has placed his yoke ⁹¹  on my neck; ⁹² 

he has sapped my strength. ⁹³ 

The Lord ⁹⁴  has handed me over ⁹⁵ 

to those whom I cannot resist.

1:15 ס (Samek)

He rounded up ⁹⁶  all my mighty ones; ⁹⁷ 

The Lord ⁹⁸  did this ⁹⁹  in ¹⁰⁰  my midst.

He summoned an assembly ¹⁰¹  against me

to shatter my young men.

The Lord has stomped like grapes ¹⁰² 

the virgin daughter, Judah. ¹⁰³ 

1:16 ע (Ayin)

I weep because of these things;

my eyes ¹⁰⁴  flow with tears. ¹⁰⁵ 

For there is no one in sight who can comfort me ¹⁰⁶ 

or encourage me. ¹⁰⁷ 

My children ¹⁰⁸  are desolated ¹⁰⁹ 

because an enemy has prevailed.

1:17 פ (Pe)

Zion spread out her hands,

but there is no one to comfort her.

The Lord has issued a decree against Jacob;

his neighbors ¹¹⁰  have become his enemies.

Jerusalem has become

like filthy garbage ¹¹¹  in their midst. ¹¹² 

1:18 צ (Tsade)

The Lord is right to judge me! ¹¹³ 

Yes, I rebelled against his commands. ¹¹⁴ 

Please listen, all you nations, ¹¹⁵ 

and look at my suffering!

My young women and men

have gone into exile.

1:19 ק (Qof)

I called for my lovers, ¹¹⁶ 

but they had deceived me.

My priests and my elders

perished in the city.

Truly they had ¹¹⁷  searched for food

to ¹¹⁸  keep themselves ¹¹⁹  alive. ¹²⁰ 

1:20 ר (Resh)

Look, O Lord! I am distressed; ¹²¹ 

my stomach is in knots! ¹²² 

My heart is pounding ¹²³  inside me.

Yes, I was terribly rebellious! ¹²⁴ 

Out in the street the sword bereaves a mother of her children; ¹²⁵ 

Inside the house death is present. ¹²⁶ 

1:21 ש (Sin/Shin)

They have heard ¹²⁷  that I groan,

yet there is no one to comfort me.

All my enemies have heard of my trouble;

they are glad that you ¹²⁸  have brought it about. ¹²⁹ 

Bring about ¹³⁰  the day of judgment ¹³¹  that you promised ¹³² 

so that ¹³³  they may end up ¹³⁴  like me!

1:22 ת (Tav)

Let all their wickedness come before you;

afflict ¹³⁵  them

just as you have afflicted ¹³⁶  me ¹³⁷ 

because of all my acts of rebellion. ¹³⁸ 

For my groans are many,

and my heart is sick with sorrow. ¹³⁹ 

2:1 The heavens and the earth ¹  were completed with everything that was in them. ²  2:2 By ³  the seventh day God finished the work that he had been doing, ⁴  and he ceased ⁵  on the seventh day all the work that he had been doing. 2:3 God blessed the seventh day and made it holy ⁶  because on it he ceased all the work that he ⁷  had been doing in creation. ⁸ 

2:4 This is the account ⁹  of the heavens and the earth ¹⁰  when they were created – when the Lord God ¹¹  made the earth and heavens. ¹² 

2:5 Now ¹³  no shrub of the field had yet grown on the earth, and no plant of the field ¹⁴  had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. ¹⁵  2:6 Springs ¹⁶  would well up ¹⁷  from the earth and water ¹⁸  the whole surface of the ground. ¹⁹  2:7 The Lord God formed ²⁰  the man from the soil of the ground ²¹  and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, ²²  and the man became a living being. ²³ 

2:8 The Lord God planted an orchard ²⁴  in the east, ²⁵  in Eden; ²⁶  and there he placed the man he had formed. ²⁷  2:9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow from the soil, ²⁸  every tree that was pleasing to look at ²⁹  and good for food. (Now ³⁰  the tree of life ³¹  and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil ³²  were in the middle of the orchard.)

2:10 Now ³³  a river flows ³⁴  from Eden ³⁵  to water the orchard, and from there it divides ³⁶  into four headstreams. ³⁷  2:11 The name of the first is Pishon; it runs through ³⁸  the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 2:12 (The gold of that land is pure; ³⁹  pearls ⁴⁰  and lapis lazuli ⁴¹  are also there). 2:13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it runs through ⁴²  the entire land of Cush. ⁴³  2:14 The name of the third river is Tigris; it runs along the east side of Assyria. ⁴⁴  The fourth river is the Euphrates.

2:15 The Lord God took the man and placed ⁴⁵  him in the orchard in ⁴⁶  Eden to care for it and to maintain it. ⁴⁷  2:16 Then the Lord God commanded ⁴⁸  the man, “You may freely eat ⁴⁹  fruit ⁵⁰  from every tree of the orchard, 2:17 but ⁵¹  you must not eat ⁵²  from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when ⁵³  you eat from it you will surely die.” ⁵⁴ 

2:18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. ⁵⁵  I will make a companion ⁵⁶  for him who corresponds to him.” ⁵⁷  2:19 The Lord God formed ⁵⁸  out of the ground every living animal of the field and every bird of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would ⁵⁹  name them, and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 2:20 So the man named all the animals, the birds of the air, and the living creatures of the field, but for Adam ⁶⁰  no companion who corresponded to him was found. ⁶¹  2:21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, ⁶²  and while he was asleep, ⁶³  he took part of the man’s side ⁶⁴  and closed up the place with flesh. ⁶⁵  2:22 Then the Lord God made ⁶⁶  a woman from the part he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 2:23 Then the man said,

“This one at last ⁶⁷  is bone of my bones

and flesh of my flesh;

this one will be called ⁶⁸  ‘woman,’

for she was taken out of ⁶⁹  man.” ⁷⁰ 

2:24 That is why ⁷¹  a man leaves ⁷²  his father and mother and unites with ⁷³  his wife, and they become a new family. ⁷⁴  2:25 The man and his wife were both naked, ⁷⁵  but they were not ashamed. ⁷⁶ 

3:1 Now ¹  the serpent ²  was more shrewd ³ 

than any of the wild animals ⁴  that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Is it really true that ⁵  God ⁶  said, ‘You must not eat from any tree of the orchard’?” ⁷  3:2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat ⁸  of the fruit from the trees of the orchard; 3:3 but concerning the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard God said, ‘You must not eat from it, and you must not touch it, ⁹  or else you will die.’” ¹⁰  3:4 The serpent said to the woman, “Surely you will not die, ¹¹  3:5 for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open ¹²  and you will be like divine beings who know ¹³  good and evil.” ¹⁴ 

3:6 When ¹⁵  the woman saw that the tree produced fruit that was good for food, ¹⁶  was attractive ¹⁷  to the eye, and was desirable for making one wise, ¹⁸  she took some of its fruit and ate it. ¹⁹  She also gave some of it to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. ²⁰  3:7 Then the eyes of both of them opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

3:8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God moving about ²¹  in the orchard at the breezy time ²²  of the day, and they hid ²³  from the Lord God among the trees of the orchard. 3:9 But the Lord God called to ²⁴  the man and said to him, “Where are you?” ²⁵  3:10 The man replied, ²⁶  “I heard you moving about ²⁷  in the orchard, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” 3:11 And the Lord God ²⁸  said, “Who told you that you were naked? ²⁹  Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” ³⁰  3:12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave me, she gave ³¹  me some fruit ³²  from the tree and I ate it.” 3:13 So the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this ³³  you have done?” And the woman replied, “The serpent ³⁴  tricked ³⁵  me, and I ate.”

3:14 The Lord God said to the serpent, ³⁶ 

“Because you have done this,

cursed ³⁷  are you above all the wild beasts

and all the living creatures of the field!

On your belly you will crawl ³⁸ 

and dust you will eat ³⁹  all the days of your life.

3:15 And I will put hostility ⁴⁰  between you and the woman

and between your offspring and her offspring; ⁴¹ 

her offspring will attack ⁴²  your head,

and ⁴³  you ⁴⁴  will attack her offspring’s heel.” ⁴⁵ 

3:16 To the woman he said,

“I will greatly increase ⁴⁶  your labor pains; ⁴⁷ 

with pain you will give birth to children.

You will want to control your husband, ⁴⁸ 

but he will dominate ⁴⁹  you.”

3:17 But to Adam ⁵⁰  he said,

“Because you obeyed ⁵¹  your wife

and ate from the tree about which I commanded you,

‘You must not eat from it,’

cursed is the ground ⁵²  thanks to you; ⁵³ 

in painful toil you will eat ⁵⁴  of it all the days of your life.

3:18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,

but you will eat the grain ⁵⁵  of the field.

3:19 By the sweat of your brow ⁵⁶  you will eat food

until you return to the ground, ⁵⁷ 

for out of it you were taken;

for you are dust, and to dust you will return.” ⁵⁸ 

3:20 The man ⁵⁹  named his wife Eve, ⁶⁰  because ⁶¹  she was the mother of all the living. ⁶²  3:21 The Lord God made garments from skin ⁶³  for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. 3:22 And the Lord God said, “Now ⁶⁴  that the man has become like one of us, ⁶⁵  knowing ⁶⁶  good and evil, he must not be allowed ⁶⁷  to stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 3:23 So the Lord God expelled him ⁶⁸  from the orchard in Eden to cultivate the ground from which he had been taken. 3:24 When he drove ⁶⁹  the man out, he placed on the eastern side ⁷⁰  of the orchard in Eden angelic sentries ⁷¹  who used the flame of a whirling sword ⁷²  to guard the way to the tree of life.

4:1 Now ¹  the man had marital relations with ²  his wife Eve, and she became pregnant ³  and gave birth to Cain. Then she said, “I have created ⁴  a man just as the Lord did!” ⁵  4:2 Then she gave birth ⁶  to his brother Abel. ⁷  Abel took care of the flocks, while Cain cultivated the ground. ⁸ 

4:3 At the designated time ⁹  Cain brought some of the fruit of the ground for an offering ¹⁰  to the Lord. 4:4 But Abel brought ¹¹  some of the firstborn of his flock – even the fattest ¹²  of them. And the Lord was pleased with ¹³  Abel and his offering, 4:5 but with Cain and his offering he was not pleased. ¹⁴  So Cain became very angry, ¹⁵  and his expression was downcast. ¹⁶ 

4:6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why is your expression downcast? 4:7 Is it not true ¹⁷  that if you do what is right, you will be fine? ¹⁸  But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching ¹⁹  at the door. It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it.” ²⁰ 

4:8 Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” ²¹  While they were in the field, Cain attacked ²²  his brother ²³  Abel and killed him.

4:9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” ²⁴  And he replied, “I don’t know! Am I my brother’s guardian?” ²⁵  4:10 But the Lord said, “What have you done? ²⁶  The voice ²⁷  of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground! 4:11 So now, you are banished ²⁸  from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 4:12 When you try to cultivate ²⁹  the

ground it will no longer yield ³⁰  its best ³¹  for you. You will be a homeless wanderer ³²  on the earth.” 4:13 Then Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment ³³  is too great to endure! ³⁴  4:14 Look! You are driving me off the land ³⁵  today, and I must hide from your presence. ³⁶  I will be a homeless wanderer on the earth; whoever finds me will kill me.” 4:15 But the Lord said to him, “All right then, ³⁷  if anyone kills Cain, Cain will be avenged seven times as much.” ³⁸  Then the Lord put a special mark ³⁹  on Cain so that no one who found him would strike him down. ⁴⁰  4:16 So Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and lived in the land of Nod, ⁴¹  east of Eden.

4:17 Cain had marital relations ⁴²  with his wife, and she became pregnant ⁴³  and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was building a city, and he named the city after ⁴⁴  his son Enoch. 4:18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father ⁴⁵  of Mehujael. Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.

4:19 Lamech took two wives for himself; the name of the first was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah. 4:20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the first ⁴⁶  of those who live in tents and keep ⁴⁷  livestock. 4:21 The name of his brother was Jubal; he was the first of all who play the harp and the flute. 4:22 Now Zillah also gave birth to Tubal-Cain, who heated metal and shaped ⁴⁸  all kinds of tools made of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.

4:23 Lamech said to his wives,

“Adah and Zillah! Listen to me!

You wives of Lamech, hear my words!

I have killed a man for wounding me,

a young man ⁴⁹  for hurting me.

4:24 If Cain is to be avenged seven times as much,

then Lamech seventy-seven times!” ⁵⁰ 

4:25 And Adam had marital relations ⁵¹  with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son. She named him Seth, saying, “God has given ⁵²  me another child ⁵³  in place of Abel because Cain killed him.” 4:26 And a son was also born to Seth, whom he named Enosh. At that time people ⁵⁴  began to worship ⁵⁵  the Lord.