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Bible / Genesis

Genesis 2

Douay-Rheims Bible, Challoner revision (1749–1752), the traditional Catholic English Bible, translated from the Latin Vulgate. If you read a modern Bible, this is the same Scripture in older English; some names are spelled differently (Cesarea for Caesarea, Apocalypse for Revelation). About this translation

1 So the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the furniture of them.

2 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 done.

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

4 These are the generations of the heaven and the earth, when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the heaven and the earth:

5 And every plant of the field before it sprung up in the earth, and every herb of the ground before it grew: for the Lord God had not rained upon the earth; and there was not a man to till the earth.

6 But a spring rose out of the earth, watering all the surface of the earth.

7 And the Lord God formed man of the slime of the earth: and breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul.

8 And the Lord God had planted a paradise of pleasure from the beginning: wherein he placed man whom he had formed.

9 And the Lord God brought forth of the ground all manner of trees, fair to behold, and pleasant to eat of: the tree of life also in the midst of paradise: and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

10 And a river went out of the place of pleasure to water paradise, which from thence is divided into four heads.

11 The name of the one is Phison: that is it which compasseth all the land of Hevilath, where gold groweth.

12 And the gold of that land is very good: there is found bdellium, and the onyx stone.

13 And the name of the second river is Gehon: the same is it that compasseth all the land of Ethiopia.

14 And the name of the third river is Tigris: the same passeth along by the Assyrians. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

15 And the Lord God took man, and put him into the paradise of pleasure, to dress it, and to keep it.

16 And he commanded him, saying: Of every tree of paradise thou shalt eat:

17 But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat. For in what day soever thou shalt eat of it, thou shalt die the death.

18 And the Lord God said: It is not good for man to be alone: let us make him a help like unto himself.

19 And the Lord God having formed out of the ground all the beasts of the earth, and all the fowls of the air, brought them to Adam to see what he would call them: for whatsoever Adam called any living creature the same is its name.

20 And Adam called all the beasts by their names, and all the fowls of the air, and all the cattle of the field: but for Adam there was not found a helper like himself.

21 Then the Lord God cast a deep sleep upon Adam: and when he was fast asleep, he took one of his ribs, and filled up flesh for it.

22 And the Lord God built the rib which he took from Adam into a woman: and brought her to Adam.

23 And Adam said: This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man.

24 Wherefore a man shall leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they shall be two in one flesh.

25 And they were both naked: to wit, Adam and his wife: and were not ashamed.

This chapter in the Catechism and the early Church

Where the Catechism of the Catholic Church cites these verses (from its footnotes on vatican.va), and where the earliest Church Fathers quote them (Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, public domain). Short quotes only; follow the links for the full text. The Catechism uses modern verse numbers, so these are listed by chapter.

  1. Genesis 2:1 in modern BiblesCCC 345
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 345 “The sabbath - the end of the work of the six days. the sacred text says that "on the seventh day God…”
  2. Genesis 2:2 in modern BiblesCCC 314 CCC 345 CCC 2184
    Read the Catechism and Fathers
    • CCC 314 “We firmly believe that God is master of the world and of its history. But the ways of his providence are often…”
    • CCC 345 “The sabbath - the end of the work of the six days. the sacred text says that "on the seventh day God…”
    • CCC 2184 “Just as God "rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done," human life has a rhythm of…”

    • “… I cause my mercy to rest upon them." The Sabbath is mentioned at the beginning of the creation [thus]: "And God made in six days the works of His hands, and made an end on the seventh day, and rested on it, and sanctified it.”

      Quoted in The Letter of Barnabas, Unknown author (early 2nd century), Chapter XV. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

  3. Genesis 2:3 in modern BiblesCCC 345
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 345 “The sabbath - the end of the work of the six days. the sacred text says that "on the seventh day God…”
  4. Genesis 2:5 in modern Bibles
    Read the Fathers

    • “And as the protoplast himself Adam, had his substance from untilled and as yet virgin soil ("for God had not yet sent rain, and man had not tilled the ground”

      Quoted in Against Heresies, Book III, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXI. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

  5. Genesis 2:7 in modern BiblesCCC 362 CCC 369 CCC 703
    Read the Catechism and Fathers
    • CCC 362 “The human person, created in the image of God, is a being at once corporeal and spiritual. the biblical account expresses this…”
    • CCC 369 “Man and woman have been created, which is to say, willed by God: on the one hand, in perfect equality as human…”
    • CCC 703 “The Word of God and his Breath are at the origin of the being and life of every creature: It belongs to…”

    • “And this is He of whom the Scripture says, "And God formed man, taking clay of the earth, and breathed into his face the breath of life.”

      Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XX. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

  6. Genesis 2:8 in modern BiblesCCC 378
    Read the Catechism and Fathers
    • CCC 378 “The sign of man's familiarity with God is that God places him in the garden. There he lives "to till it and…”

    • “In paradise certainly, as the Scripture declares "And God planted a garden [paradisum] eastward in Eden, and there He placed the man whom He had formed.”

      Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter V. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

  7. Genesis 2:15 in modern BiblesCCC 378
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 378 “The sign of man's familiarity with God is that God places him in the garden. There he lives "to till it and…”
  8. Genesis 2:16 in modern Bibles
    Read the Fathers

    • “For the Church has been planted as a garden (paradisus) in this world; therefore says the Spirit of God, "Thou mayest freely eat from every tree of the garden,”

      Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XX. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

    • “… to Adam: "From every tree which is in the garden thou shalt eat food; but from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, from this ye shall not eat: for in the day that ye shall eat of it, ye shall die by death;”

      Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXIII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

  9. Genesis 2:17 in modern BiblesCCC 376 CCC 396 CCC 1006 CCC 1008
    Read the Catechism and Fathers
    • CCC 376 “By the radiance of this grace all dimensions of man's life were confirmed. As long as he remained in the divine intimacy,…”
    • CCC 396 “God created man in his image and established him in his friendship. A spiritual creature, man can live this friendship only in…”
    • CCC 1006 “It is in regard to death that man's condition is most shrouded in doubt." In a sense bodily death is natural, but…”
    • CCC 1008 “Death is a consequence of sin. the Church's Magisterium, as authentic interpreter of the affirmations of Scripture and Tradition, teaches that death…”

    • “… to Adam: "From every tree which is in the garden thou shalt eat food; but from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, from this ye shall not eat: for in the day that ye shall eat of it, ye shall die by death;”

      Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXIII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

  10. Genesis 2:18 in modern BiblesCCC 371 CCC 1605 CCC 1652
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 371 “God created man and woman together and willed each for the other. the Word of God gives us to understand this through…”
    • CCC 1605 “Holy Scripture affirms that man and woman were created for one another: "It is not good that the man should be alone."…”
    • CCC 1652 “By its very nature the institution of marriage and married love is ordered to the procreation and education of the offspring and…”
  11. Genesis 2:19 in modern BiblesCCC 371 CCC 1605 CCC 2417
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 371 “God created man and woman together and willed each for the other. the Word of God gives us to understand this through…”
    • CCC 1605 “Holy Scripture affirms that man and woman were created for one another: "It is not good that the man should be alone."…”
    • CCC 2417 “God entrusted animals to the stewardship of those whom he created in his own image. Hence it is legitimate to use animals…”
  12. Genesis 2:20 in modern BiblesCCC 371 CCC 1605 CCC 2417
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 371 “God created man and woman together and willed each for the other. the Word of God gives us to understand this through…”
    • CCC 1605 “Holy Scripture affirms that man and woman were created for one another: "It is not good that the man should be alone."…”
    • CCC 2417 “God entrusted animals to the stewardship of those whom he created in his own image. Hence it is legitimate to use animals…”
  13. Genesis 2:21 in modern BiblesCCC 1605
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 1605 “Holy Scripture affirms that man and woman were created for one another: "It is not good that the man should be alone."…”
  14. Genesis 2:22 in modern BiblesCCC 369 CCC 1605 CCC 1607
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 369 “Man and woman have been created, which is to say, willed by God: on the one hand, in perfect equality as human…”
    • CCC 1605 “Holy Scripture affirms that man and woman were created for one another: "It is not good that the man should be alone."…”
    • CCC 1607 “According to faith the disorder we notice so painfully does not stem from the nature of man and woman, nor from the…”
  15. Genesis 2:23 in modern BiblesCCC 371 CCC 1605
    Read the Catechism and Fathers
    • CCC 371 “God created man and woman together and willed each for the other. the Word of God gives us to understand this through…”
    • CCC 1605 “Holy Scripture affirms that man and woman were created for one another: "It is not good that the man should be alone."…”

    • “Envy has alienated wives from their husbands, and changed that saying of our father Adam, "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.”

      Quoted in First Letter to the Corinthians, St. Clement of Rome (c. AD 96), Chapter VI. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

  16. Genesis 2:24 in modern BiblesCCC 372 CCC 1605 CCC 1616 CCC 1627 CCC 1644 CCC 2335
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 372 “Man and woman were made "for each other" - not that God left them half-made and incomplete: he created them to be…”
    • CCC 1605 “Holy Scripture affirms that man and woman were created for one another: "It is not good that the man should be alone."…”
    • CCC 1616 “This is what the Apostle Paul makes clear when he says: "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave…”
    • CCC 1627 “The consent consists in a "human act by which the partners mutually give themselves to each other": "I take you to be…”
    • CCC 1644 “The love of the spouses requires, of its very nature, the unity and indissolubility of the spouses' community of persons, which embraces…”
    • CCC 2335 “Each of the two sexes is an image of the power and tenderness of God, with equal dignity though in a different…”
  17. Genesis 2:25 in modern BiblesCCC 376 CCC 1605
    Read the Catechism and Fathers
    • CCC 376 “By the radiance of this grace all dimensions of man's life were confirmed. As long as he remained in the divine intimacy,…”
    • CCC 1605 “Holy Scripture affirms that man and woman were created for one another: "It is not good that the man should be alone."…”

    • “And even as she, having indeed a husband, Adam, but being nevertheless as yet a virgin (for in Paradise "they were both naked, and were not ashamed,”

      Quoted in Against Heresies, Book III, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

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A modern English Catholic translation will be added once its publisher grants permission.