Genesis 2: it is not good to be alone

What this reading says

This is the second creation story. God looks at the first human and says the first thing in the whole Bible that is not good: being alone. The man names every animal, but none is a match for him. So God puts the man to sleep, takes a rib and makes a woman. The man wakes up and speaks the first poem in scripture: bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh. The last line draws the lesson. A person leaves their parents, holds fast to their spouse and the two become one.

When it fits

Couples from a traditional background choose this reading because it ties their wedding to the start of the story and because Jesus himself quotes it when he is asked about marriage. It is the usual first reading at a Catholic wedding and common in Baptist and other Protestant services. The passage speaks only of a man and a woman, so couples who want words that fit every pair often go to Ruth 1 or Ecclesiastes 4 instead. Both also suit a non-religious ceremony; this one does not. What this reading has that the others lack is the image of leaving home to make a new one.

Reading it aloud

The father of one of the couple often reads it, which gives "leave his father and his mother" an extra edge. Read the story at a steady pace and slow right down for the man's words of recognition. The King James Version calls the woman "an help meet for him", which modern ears hear as "helpmate"; a current translation says "a helper suited to him" or "a partner". "Cleave" has flipped its meaning since 1611 and now sounds like cutting. Paste a modern text with its credit line into your wedding program.