Daniel 3:19-50. What Opus 5.5 found the page needs: 24 | Nothing; the page goes straight from the three men falling into the furnace to the king leaping up | Add that the three walk about in the middle of the flames, praising God and blessing the Lord | This verse is in the Catholic Bible. It turns the scene from the king's shock to the men in the fire, and the rest of this page follows from it. 25-45 | Nothing | Add Azariah (Abednego's Hebrew name) standing in the fire and praying aloud. He blesses the God of their fathers and says God's judgments on them and Jerusalem are just, because they sinned and did not keep his commands. He says they have been handed to cruel enemies and a wicked king, and they are ashamed before God's people. He begs God not to abandon them forever or break his covenant, for the sake of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, and to remember the promise of descendants like the stars and the sand. He says they now have no prince, prophet, sacrifice or temple, so he asks God to take a broken heart and humble spirit as their sacrifice. He says they will follow God with all their heart, asks to be saved by his wonders so his name is glorified, and asks that their persecutors be shamed and learn he alone is God. Shorten it in the storyteller's voice, but keep these steps in order | The Prayer of Azariah is Scripture for Catholics and is used in the liturgy. Its central line, a contrite heart and humble spirit accepted in place of sacrifice, is the one listeners will know best, so it must stay. 46-48 | Nothing | Add that the king's servants keep feeding the furnace with naphtha, pitch, tow and brushwood. The flame shoots up forty-nine cubits (about seventy-five feet) above the furnace, bursts out and burns the Chaldeans standing nearby | This is in the Catholic text and makes the danger worse just before the rescue. 49-50 | Nothing | Add that the angel of the Lord comes down into the furnace with Azariah and his companions and drives the flame out. He makes the inside of the furnace like a cool wind carrying dew, so the fire does not touch them, hurt them or trouble them at all | This is the rescue itself in the Catholic text. It shows who the fourth figure is before the king ever sees him. 91-92 (KJV 24-25) | The ending: Nebuchadnezzar leaps up in shock, questions his advisors, and sees four men walking free with a fourth who "looks like a god" | Take this ending off this page completely and save it for the page after the Song of the Three Young Men (Daniel 3:51-90). On that page it can stay much as it is, and "looks like a son of God" or "like a god" are both fine there | In the Catholic Bible the king does not see the four men until verses 91-92, after the hymn. If the ending stays here, it comes before the prayer, the rescue and the song, and this page would run past the passage it covers.
The king's fury boils over. His face twists into something terrible, and he shouts a new order: heat the furnace seven times hotter than it has ever been heated. Then he commands the strongest soldiers in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blaze.
The soldiers seize the three men and bind them just as they stand, still in their robes, their trousers, their turbans, all their clothing, and they drag them to the furnace and hurl them in. But the king's command was so urgent and the fire so fierce that the flames roar out and kill the soldiers who carry the three men to the edge, the heat takes them before they can step back. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fall bound into the heart of the blaze.
Then Nebuchadnezzar leaps to his feet. His face has changed again, not fury now, but shock.
He turns to his advisors: "Didn't we throw three men into the fire? Weren't they tied up?" They answer, "Yes, O king."
"Then look," he says. "I see four men walking around in there, and they're not tied, they're free. The fire hasn't touched them. And the fourth one looks like a god."
The king's fury boils over. His face twists into something terrible, and he shouts a new order: heat the furnace seven times hotter than it has ever been heated. Then he commands the strongest soldiers in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blaze.
The soldiers seize the three men and bind them just as they stand, still in their robes, their trousers, their turbans, all their clothing, and they drag them to the furnace and hurl them in. But the king's command was so urgent and the fire so fierce that the flames roar out and kill the soldiers who carry the three men to the edge, the heat takes them before they can step back. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fall bound into the heart of the blaze.
And there, in the middle of the flames, they walk about, praising God and blessing the Lord.
Then Azariah, the one the Babylonians call Abednego, stands up in the fire and prays aloud: "Blessed are you, O Lord, God of our fathers. Your name is worthy of praise and glorious forever. You are just in everything you have done to us.
"All your works are true, your ways are right, and your judgments are true. Everything you have brought on us and on Jerusalem, the holy city of our fathers, you brought rightly, because of our sins. We have sinned.
"We turned away from you and did wrong in every way. We did not listen to your commandments or keep them, though you gave them for our good. So all that you have done to us, you have done in true judgment.
"You handed us over to lawless and hateful enemies, and to an unjust king, the most wicked in all the world. And now we cannot even open our mouths. We have become a shame and a disgrace to those who serve you and worship you.
"For the sake of your name, do not give us up forever. Do not break your covenant. Do not take your mercy away from us, for the sake of Abraham, whom you loved, and Isaac your servant, and Israel your holy one. You promised them that their children would be as many as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore.
"But Lord, we have become fewer than any nation. Today we are brought low in all the earth because of our sins. We have no prince now, no leader, no prophet. We have no burnt offering, no sacrifice, no gift, no incense, no place to bring you the first of our harvest and find your mercy.
"But let us be accepted with a broken heart and a humble spirit. Let that be our sacrifice before you today, as if it were burnt offerings of rams and bulls and thousands of fat lambs, and let it please you.
"For no one who trusts in you is ever put to shame. Now we follow you with all our heart. We fear you, and we seek your face.
"Do not put us to shame. Deal with us in your kindness and in your great mercy. Rescue us by your wonders, and bring glory to your name, O Lord.
"Let all who harm your servants be put to shame. Strip them of their power and break their strength. Let them know that you alone are the Lord God, glorious over all the world."
All the while, the king's servants who threw them in keep feeding the furnace with tar, pitch, rope, and brushwood. The flames shoot up forty-nine cubits above the furnace, burst out, and burn the Babylonians standing nearby.
But the angel of the Lord comes down into the furnace with Azariah and his two friends. He drives the flames out of the furnace and makes the middle of it like a cool breeze carrying dew. The fire does not touch them at all. It does not hurt them or trouble them in any way.
The king's fury boils over. His face twists into something terrible, and he shouts a new order: heat the furnace seven times hotter than it has ever been heated. Then he commands the strongest soldiers in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blaze.
The soldiers seize the three men and bind them just as they stand, still in their robes, their trousers, their turbans, all their clothing, and they drag them to the furnace and hurl them in. But the king's command was so urgent and the fire so fierce that the flames roar out and kill the soldiers who carry the three men to the edge, the heat takes them before they can step back. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fall bound into the heart of the blaze.
But inside the furnace the three of them walk about in the middle of the flames, praising God and blessing the Lord.
Then Azariah, the one the Babylonians call Abednego, stands in the fire and prays aloud. "Blessed are you, Lord, God of our fathers," he says.
"Your name deserves praise forever. You are just in everything you have done to us. You brought judgment on us and on Jerusalem, and it was true judgment, because we sinned.
"We turned away from you, we did not keep your commands, we did not do what you told us, and so things have not gone well with us. Everything you have brought on us, you have done rightly. You handed us over to enemies who hate you and hate us, to a king more wicked than any on earth. Now we cannot even open our mouths, we are an embarrassment to those who worship you.
"But do not give us up forever, we beg you, for your name's sake. Do not break your covenant. Do not take your mercy from us, for the sake of Abraham whom you loved, and Isaac your servant, and Israel your holy one, to whom you promised descendants as many as the stars in the sky and the grains of sand on the shore.
"We have become the smallest of nations, brought low everywhere because of our sins. We have no prince now, no prophet, no sacrifice, no offering, no incense, no place to bring you the first of what we grow.
"But take a broken heart and a humble spirit as our offering. Let it be as good to you as rams and bulls and thousands of fat lambs, let this be our sacrifice today, because no one who trusts in you is ever put to shame. Now we follow you with everything in us. We fear you, we look for your face.
"Do not let us be shamed. Deal with us gently, the way you always have. Rescue us by one of your wonders and let your name be honored. Let everyone who is cruel to your servants be humiliated, let their power be broken, and let them learn that you alone are God, glorious over all the world."
All this time the king's servants keep feeding the furnace, naphtha, pitch, bundles of tow, armfuls of dry brush, and they do not stop. The flames shoot up seventy-five feet above the mouth of the furnace, burst outward, and burn the Chaldeans standing nearby.
But the angel of the Lord comes down into the furnace with Azariah and his companions. He drives the flames back, and the heart of the fire becomes like a cool wind carrying dew. The fire does not touch them, does not hurt them, does not trouble them at all.
Esther 10:1-13. What Opus 5.5 found the page needs: 4 | nothing; the page stops after verse 3 | Mordecai speaking at last, saying that God has done all these things | Catholic Bibles include this ending from the Greek text (Addition F). It is the first time in Esther that a character names God's hand in the rescue, so a Catholic listener will notice if it is missing. 5 | nothing | Mordecai remembering the dream he had about these events, and saying that not one detail of it has failed to come true | This links back to his dream at the start of the Catholic Esther (Addition A) and completes the story. If the app hasn't told that dream yet, the storyteller should give its pictures briefly here so the meaning makes sense. 6 | nothing | The small spring that grew into a river, became light and sun, and spread into many waters, which is Esther, whom the king married and made queen | This is the first meaning of the dream: the humble girl God raised up. 7–8 | nothing | The two dragons, which are Mordecai and Haman, and the gathered nations, which are those who tried to wipe out the name of the Jews | This explains the conflict in the dream. 9 | nothing | Mordecai's people, Israel, who cried out to the Lord; the Lord saved them, rescued them from every evil, and did great signs and wonders among the nations | This gives the turn of the story its meaning: the rescue answered their prayer, and God did it, not luck. 10–11 | nothing | God making two lots, one for his own people and one for all the nations, and both lots coming to the hour and day God had set long before, as judgment over every nation | This turns the "pur" (lot) that Haman cast into God's own lots, which is the point of the Greek ending. 12 | nothing | The Lord remembering his people, having mercy on his inheritance and setting them right | This is the climax of the passage, God's faithfulness to his people. 13 | nothing | These days to be kept in the month of Adar, on the fourteenth and fifteenth, with care and joy, the people gathered together, in every generation of Israel from now on | This ties the feast of Purim to God's rescue and closes the book with the people's thanks.
King Ahasuerus lays a tribute on every part of his empire, the mainland and the islands of the sea, as far as his reach extends. Everything he did, all his power and all his might, and the full account of how he raised Mordecai to greatness, it is written down in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia, recorded there for anyone who wants to know.
Mordecai the Jew stands second only to the king. Among his own people he is honored and loved, welcomed by Jews everywhere, because he gives his life to their good. He works for the welfare of his people. He speaks peace to their children, and to their children's children, for generations to come.
King Ahasuerus lays a tribute on every part of his empire, the mainland and the islands of the sea, as far as his reach extends. Everything he did, all his power and all his might, and the full account of how he raised Mordecai to greatness, it is written down in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia, recorded there for anyone who wants to know.
Mordecai the Jew stands second only to the king. Among his own people he is honored and loved, welcomed by Jews everywhere, because he gives his life to their good. He works for the welfare of his people. He speaks peace to their children, and to their children's children, for generations to come.
Then Mordecai says, "God has done all this. I remember the dream I had long ago. It pointed to these very things, and not one part of it has failed to come true.
"There was a little spring that grew into a river. It became a light, and then the sun, and it overflowed into many waters. That spring is Esther, whom the king married and made queen.
"The two dragons are Haman and me. The nations that gathered together are the ones who tried to wipe out the name of the Jews.
"And my nation is Israel, who cried out to the Lord. The Lord saved his people. He rescued us from all these evils, and he did great signs and wonders among the nations.
"God made two lots, one for the people of God and one for all the nations. Both lots came before God at the hour and on the day he had set long before, for every nation. And the Lord remembered his people, and he showed mercy to his inheritance.
"So these days will be kept in the month of Adar, on the fourteenth and fifteenth days, with great care and with joy, the people gathered together as one, by all the generations of Israel to come."
King Ahasuerus lays a tribute on every part of his empire, the mainland and the islands of the sea, as far as his reach extends. Everything he did, all his power and all his might, and the full account of how he raised Mordecai to greatness, it is written down in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia, recorded there for anyone who wants to know.
Mordecai the Jew stands second only to the king. Among his own people he is honored and loved, welcomed by Jews everywhere, because he gives his life to their good. He works for the welfare of his people. He speaks peace to their children, and to their children's children, for generations to come.
And now Mordecai speaks. "God has done these things," he says. "I remember the dream I had, and everything it showed me has come true, not one detail has failed. There was a little spring that grew into a river, and the river turned to light and then to the sun, and the waters spread everywhere.
"That spring is Esther, the girl the king married and made his queen. The two dragons I saw, they are myself and Haman. The nations that gathered to destroy the name of the Jews, they were there in the dream too.
"And my people, Israel, we cried out to the Lord, and the Lord saved us. He rescued us from every evil. He worked signs and wonders among the nations that no one could miss.
"He set two lots before him, one for his own people, one for all the nations, and both lots came to their appointed hour, the day God had fixed long ago, when he would judge between them. The Lord remembered his people. He had mercy on us, his own inheritance."
And so these days will be kept in the month of Adar, on the fourteenth and the fifteenth, with care and with joy, the people gathered as one, in every generation of Israel from this day forward, forever.
Luke 1:26-38. What Opus 5.5 found the page needs: 38 | "I belong to the Lord." | Mary should call herself the Lord's servant, in words close to "I am the Lord's servant." Keep the rest of her reply as it is. | Catholics pray her answer every day in the Angelus ("Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done unto me according to thy word"), and modern Catholic Bibles also render it as "handmaid" or "servant." "I belong to the Lord" loses her calling herself a servant, and that is what makes her yes a free, humble consent. A Catholic listener will notice that her best-known words are missing.
Six months into Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sends the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a young woman named Mary. She is a virgin, and she is engaged to a man named Joseph, who comes from the line of King David.
Gabriel comes to her and says, "Greetings, favored one, the Lord is with you." Mary is shaken by his words. She turns them over in her mind, trying to understand what a greeting like this could mean. The angel says, "Don't be afraid, Mary.
"God is pleased with you. Listen: you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and he will be called the Son of the Most High.
"The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever. His kingdom will never end."
Mary says to the angel, "How can this happen? I have never been with a man."
Gabriel answers, "The Holy Spirit will come over you, and the power of the Most High will rest on you like a shadow. That is why the child will be holy, he will be called the Son of God. And look: your relative Elizabeth has conceived a son, old as she is. This is the sixth month for the woman everyone called barren, because nothing is impossible for God."
Mary says, "I belong to the Lord. Let it happen to me just as you have said." And the angel leaves her.
Six months into Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sends the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a young woman named Mary. She is a virgin, and she is engaged to a man named Joseph, who comes from the line of King David.
Gabriel comes to her and says, "Greetings, favored one, the Lord is with you." Mary is shaken by his words. She turns them over in her mind, trying to understand what a greeting like this could mean. The angel says, "Don't be afraid, Mary.
"God is pleased with you. Listen: you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and he will be called the Son of the Most High.
"The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever. His kingdom will never end."
Mary says to the angel, "How can this happen? I have never been with a man."
Gabriel answers, "The Holy Spirit will come over you, and the power of the Most High will rest on you like a shadow. That is why the child will be holy, he will be called the Son of God. And look: your relative Elizabeth has conceived a son, old as she is. This is the sixth month for the woman everyone called barren, because nothing is impossible for God."
Mary says, "I am the Lord's servant. Let it happen to me just as you have said." And the angel leaves her.
Six months into Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sends the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a young woman named Mary. She is a virgin, and she is engaged to a man named Joseph, who comes from the line of King David.
Gabriel comes to her and says, "Greetings, favored one, the Lord is with you." Mary is shaken by his words. She turns them over in her mind, trying to understand what a greeting like this could mean. The angel says, "Don't be afraid, Mary.
"God is pleased with you. Listen: you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and he will be called the Son of the Most High.
"The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever. His kingdom will never end."
Mary says to the angel, "How can this happen? I have never been with a man."
Gabriel answers, "The Holy Spirit will come over you, and the power of the Most High will rest on you like a shadow. That is why the child will be holy, he will be called the Son of God. And look: your relative Elizabeth has conceived a son, old as she is. This is the sixth month for the woman everyone called barren, because nothing is impossible for God."
Mary says, "I am the Lord's servant. Let it happen to me just as you have said." And the angel leaves her.
Genesis 3:1-24. What Opus 5.5 found the page needs: none
Now, the serpent is more cunning than any other animal the Lord God has made, clever and quick with words. He comes to the woman and says, "So, God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?"
The woman answers, "No, we can eat fruit from the trees in the garden. It's only the tree in the middle that God told us not to eat from. He said we must not eat from it or even touch it, or we will die."
The serpent says, "You won't die. God knows that the moment you eat from it, your eyes will open and you'll be like him, you'll know good and evil for yourselves."
The woman looks at the tree. The fruit is ripe and good to eat, beautiful to look at, and the thought of becoming wise pulls at her. She reaches out, takes some of the fruit, and eats it. Her husband is right there beside her; she hands him some, and he eats it too.
In that moment, something shifts. Their eyes open, and for the first time they see themselves clearly, they are naked. They grab fig leaves, press them together, and tie them around their waists to cover themselves.
Later, in the cool of the evening, they hear the sound of the Lord God walking through the garden. The man and his wife slip behind the trees, hiding from him among the thick leaves. The Lord God calls out to the man: "Where are you?"
The man answers from the shadows, "I heard you coming, and I was afraid because I'm naked. So I hid."
God says, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree I commanded you not to eat from?"
The man says, "The woman you gave me to be with me, she handed me the fruit, and I ate it."
The Lord God turns to the woman. "What have you done?"
She says, "The serpent tricked me, and I ate."
The Lord God says to the serpent, "Because you have done this, you are cursed, set apart from every animal, wild or tame. You will crawl on your belly and eat dust every day of your life. I will put hatred between you and the woman, between your offspring and hers. He will crush your head, and you will strike at his heel."
To the woman he says, "I will make your pain in childbirth sharp and heavy; in pain you will bring your children into the world. You will long for your husband, and he will rule over you."
To the man he says, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree I told you never to eat from, the ground is cursed because of you. You will struggle to get your food from it every day of your life.
"It will grow thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. You will work and sweat for every mouthful of bread, until the day you return to the ground you came from. You are dust, and to dust you will go back."
The man names his wife Eve, because she will be the mother of everyone who lives. The Lord God makes clothes for them out of animal skins, real coverings, and dresses them himself.
Then the Lord God says, "The man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out and take fruit from the tree of life as well, and eat it, and live forever."
So the Lord God sends him out of the garden of Eden to work the ground he was made from. He drives the man out, and at the east side of the garden he sets cherubim and a sword of fire that flashes and turns in every direction, guarding the way to the tree of life.
Now, the serpent is more cunning than any other animal the Lord God has made, clever and quick with words. He comes to the woman and says, "So, God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?"
The woman answers, "No, we can eat fruit from the trees in the garden. It's only the tree in the middle that God told us not to eat from. He said we must not eat from it or even touch it, or we will die."
The serpent says, "You won't die. God knows that the moment you eat from it, your eyes will open and you'll be like him, you'll know good and evil for yourselves."
The woman looks at the tree. The fruit is ripe and good to eat, beautiful to look at, and the thought of becoming wise pulls at her. She reaches out, takes some of the fruit, and eats it. Her husband is right there beside her; she hands him some, and he eats it too.
In that moment, something shifts. Their eyes open, and for the first time they see themselves clearly, they are naked. They grab fig leaves, press them together, and tie them around their waists to cover themselves.
Later, in the cool of the evening, they hear the sound of the Lord God walking through the garden. The man and his wife slip behind the trees, hiding from him among the thick leaves. The Lord God calls out to the man: "Where are you?"
The man answers from the shadows, "I heard you coming, and I was afraid because I'm naked. So I hid."
God says, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree I commanded you not to eat from?"
The man says, "The woman you gave me to be with me, she handed me the fruit, and I ate it."
The Lord God turns to the woman. "What have you done?"
She says, "The serpent tricked me, and I ate."
The Lord God says to the serpent, "Because you have done this, you are cursed, set apart from every animal, wild or tame. You will crawl on your belly and eat dust every day of your life. I will put hatred between you and the woman, between your offspring and hers. He will crush your head, and you will strike at his heel."
To the woman he says, "I will make your pain in childbirth sharp and heavy; in pain you will bring your children into the world. You will long for your husband, and he will rule over you."
To the man he says, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree I told you never to eat from, the ground is cursed because of you. You will struggle to get your food from it every day of your life.
"It will grow thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. You will work and sweat for every mouthful of bread, until the day you return to the ground you came from. You are dust, and to dust you will go back."
The man names his wife Eve, because she will be the mother of everyone who lives. The Lord God makes clothes for them out of animal skins, real coverings, and dresses them himself.
Then the Lord God says, "The man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out and take fruit from the tree of life as well, and eat it, and live forever."
So the Lord God sends him out of the garden of Eden to work the ground he was made from. He drives the man out, and at the east side of the garden he sets cherubim and a sword of fire that flashes and turns in every direction, guarding the way to the tree of life.
Now, the serpent is more cunning than any other animal the Lord God has made, clever and quick with words. He comes to the woman and says, "So, God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?"
The woman answers, "No, we can eat fruit from the trees in the garden. It's only the tree in the middle that God told us not to eat from. He said we must not eat from it or even touch it, or we will die."
The serpent says, "You won't die. God knows that the moment you eat from it, your eyes will open and you'll be like him, you'll know good and evil for yourselves."
The woman looks at the tree. The fruit is ripe and good to eat, beautiful to look at, and the thought of becoming wise pulls at her. She reaches out, takes some of the fruit, and eats it. Her husband is right there beside her; she hands him some, and he eats it too.
In that moment, something shifts. Their eyes open, and for the first time they see themselves clearly, they are naked. They grab fig leaves, press them together, and tie them around their waists to cover themselves.
Later, in the cool of the evening, they hear the sound of the Lord God walking through the garden. The man and his wife slip behind the trees, hiding from him among the thick leaves. The Lord God calls out to the man: "Where are you?"
The man answers from the shadows, "I heard you coming, and I was afraid because I'm naked. So I hid."
God says, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree I commanded you not to eat from?"
The man says, "The woman you gave me to be with me, she handed me the fruit, and I ate it."
The Lord God turns to the woman. "What have you done?"
She says, "The serpent tricked me, and I ate."
The Lord God says to the serpent, "Because you have done this, you are cursed, set apart from every animal, wild or tame. You will crawl on your belly and eat dust every day of your life. I will put hatred between you and the woman, between your offspring and hers. He will crush your head, and you will strike at his heel."
To the woman he says, "I will make your pain in childbirth sharp and heavy; in pain you will bring your children into the world. You will long for your husband, and he will rule over you."
To the man he says, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree I told you never to eat from, the ground is cursed because of you. You will struggle to get your food from it every day of your life.
"It will grow thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. You will work and sweat for every mouthful of bread, until the day you return to the ground you came from. You are dust, and to dust you will go back."
The man names his wife Eve, because she will be the mother of everyone who lives. The Lord God makes clothes for them out of animal skins, real coverings, and dresses them himself.
Then the Lord God says, "The man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out and take fruit from the tree of life as well, and eat it, and live forever."
So the Lord God sends him out of the garden of Eden to work the ground he was made from. He drives the man out, and at the east side of the garden he sets cherubim and a sword of fire that flashes and turns in every direction, guarding the way to the tree of life.