100

BIBLE STORIES
For Children
Retold by
Smriti Bansal
Illustrated & Designed by
Creative Concepts, New Delhi

Contents
The Old Testament
In the Beginning
The First Mother and Father
The Fall
Cain and Abel
Noah and his Ark
The Sign of the Rainbow
The Tower of Babel
The Story of Abraham
Sodom and Gomorrah
Abraham and Isaac

ISBN 978-81-8022-142-2
2011 Priority Publications
e-mail : ds_bookmaster@yahoo.co.in
www.dspublishersindia.com
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the publisher.

First published 2011

Illustrated & Designed by Creative Concepts

9
12
14
16
18
20
22
25
28
30

Isaac and Rebecca

Jacobs Dream
Josephs Wonderful Coat
Joseph Becomes a Slave
Joseph in Prison
Joseph and the Ruler of Egypt
Joseph Sees His Family Again
Baby Moses
God Calls Moses
Moses the Leader
The First Passover
Escape from Pharaoh
Moses the Law Giver
Joshua the Leader
The Call of Gideon
The Story of Ruth

32
34
36
38
41
44
46
48
50
52
54
57
60
62
64
66

The Call of Samuel

Samuel Chooses a King
Samuel Chooses David
David and His Harp
David and Goliath
David in Hiding
David the King
Jerusalem, City of God
David and Absalom
Solomons Dream
Solomon the Wise
The Temple of Solomon
Solomon in All His Glory
Solomon Turns Away from God
Elijah in the Desert
Elijah and the Prophets of Baal

68
70
73
76
78
80
82
83
84
86
89
92
94
96
98
100

The New Testament

Elijah the Champion of God

Elisha and the Lady from Shunem
Elisha and the Syrian General
Isaiah Saves Jerusalem
Isaiahs Warning
Josiah and the Discovery in the Temple
Exiles in Babylon
Nehemiah Rebuilds Jerusalem
Jeremiah
Jeremiah in Prison
Daniel in the Lions Den
Hosea
Amos the Shepherd
The Story of Jonah
Micah

102
105
108
110
112
114
116
118
121
124
126
128
129
130
132

The New Covenant

The Romans
A Son for Elizabeth
Mary is Chosen
Mary Visits Elizabeth
The Birth of John
The Birth of Jesus
The Shepherds Visit Jesus
The Three Wise Men
Joseph Returns to Nazareth
Jesus at the Temple of Jerusalem
John the Baptist
Jesus is Baptised
Jesus is Not Tempted

138
138
140
142
144
145
146
148
150
153
156
158
160
162

Jesus Visits Nazareth

The Special Fishermen
The Light of the World
How to Pray
The Kingdom of Heaven
The Paralysed Man Walks
The Tax Collectors
The Centurions Faith
A Woman Gets Healed
Jairus Daughter
The Loaves and the Fish
Jesus Walks on Water
The Good Neighbour
The Blind Man Sees
The Lost Sheep
The Lost Coin is Found
The Lost Son Returns
The Two Brothers
Jesus, the Son of God
Jesus, the Friend of Children
Using Our Talents Well
Judas Plans to Betray
Jesus Enters Jerusalem
The Last Supper
Jesus is Taken Away
The Crucification
Mary Sees Jesus
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
The Ascension

164
166
169
172
174
176
178
180
182
185
188
190
192
194
196
198
201
204
206
208
210
212
214
217
220
222
224
226
228

In the Beginning

he World wasnt always as it is today. Many years

ago there was just water and darkness, and there was
the Almighty God.
God made light and called it day, he then made
darkness to separate it from light and he called it night.
He made the sky and the heaven above it. And with his
power, he raised the dry land out of the dark waters. He
named the land, earth and the water, sea. He then made
plants and trees to cover up the earth.

He put the lights in the sky, the sun started to rise

and brighten the day and the moon and stars took their
place during the night.
God filled the earth with all sorts of creatures. He
made birds, fishes and animals to live and fill up the sky,
the earth and the sea.

10

God was pleased with his creation but he felt that

something was missing. He made men and women. He
made them just like him, to be his friends, to take care of
his creation.
God had finally finished making the heaven and the
earth, so he went to rest and looked down from the
heaven pleased that everything was going well.

11

The First Mother and Father

fter God had made the earth, he made man. He

moulded him out of the wet mud and breathed life
into him.
He called him Adam.
He made a beautiful garden for Adam and filled it
with all sorts of trees and flowers. In the middle of the
garden stood the tree of knowledge. God told Adam that
he could help himself to any fruit in the garden but he
must not touch the one from the tree of knowledge.
Adam started getting lonely. God noticed that Adam
needed a friend. So he made animals, birds and fish out
of the soil but none of them proved to be a suitable
companion for Adam.
Finally, God decided to make Adam a
female companion. He put him in deep
slumber, and out of Adams rib, he
made a woman.

12

Adam called her Eve and loved her

dearly.
Hence, Adam and Eve
were the first father and
mother of all those on the
earth.

13

The Fall

When God came, Adam and Eve ran behind the trees
to hide themselves, as they were ashamed.
God seeing this, said, What have you done? I told
you not to eat the fruit from that tree!
Adam exclaimed, Its not my fault! Eve gave it to me!
Eve said, Well, it is not mine either. The snake
tricked me into having it!
God was angry that they had disobeyed them, so he
banished them from the garden. From that day on, Adam
would have to hunt for food to live and things would not
be easy anymore.
As for the snake, God cursed him that the woman
and the snake will always be enemies. And one day, her
child will crush his head, when he would strike his heel.

f all the animals God had made, the serpent was the
most cunning. One day it went up to Eve and asked
her, Dear Eve, is it true that you cannot touch the fruit
from the tree of knowledge?
Yes, we can eat fruit of any other tree but that one.
God says that if we touch it, we will die!
Thats foolishness. God has lied to you! The fruit
from the tree will give you wondrous knowledge.
But why would he lie to us? asked Eve, astonished.
He does not want you to become wise like him. I
say you eat it! the cunning snake replied.
So Eve took some fruit from the tree and ate it. She
then took some for Adam. As soon as they both had the
fruit, they realised that they were naked. So they took
some leaves and woved them together to cover
themselves.
14

15

Cain and Abel

dam and Eve had two sons, Cain and Abel.

Abel was a shepherd; he looked after flocks of
sheep while Cain was a farmer, working on the land to
produce crops.
One day, both the sons decided to make an offering
to God. Cain offered his best produce, while Abel gave
the best sheep in his flock.
God was more pleased with Abels gift and did not
even accept Cains offering.
Cain was deeply disappointed and was also angry
and jealous of Abel.
God warned Cain that there was sin in is heart,
which was ready to pounce like a wild animal. But Cain
took no notice, instead he made a plan to kill his brother
Abel.
He invited Abel to go for a walk and when they
reached a lonely place, he attacked him and killed him.

16

When Cain returned, God, sensing that something

was wrong, asked him, Cain, where is Abel?
Cain lied, I do not know. Obviously I cant be
expected to look after him all the time!
You lie Cain. You have killed Abel. His blood cries
out to me in protest. I cannot forgive you! You have
sinned! From this day you will be a restless wanderer
and no land will give you food, God said.
Cain knew that if he left, his life would become
difficult and he would be constantly in danger. So he
pleaded and begged God to forgive him and to not be so
harsh. But God did not relent.
However, God placed a special mark on Cain to
ensure that no one would harm him. And so Cain left
and wandered off to live in a land to the east of Eden.

17

Noah and his Ark

od had created Adam and Eve so that their children

and their families could fill up the earth. He wanted
them to be kind and caring people, but soon God realised
that that was not so.
The descendants of Adam and Eve were wicked and
had sin and greed in their hearts. This made God very
sad and he decided to rid the earth of all such creatures
and start afresh.
But there was one man who had made God happy.
He was loyal to God and was a kind and caring man. His
name was Noah.

18

God called upon Noah and said to him, I am going

to cause a mighty flood to rid all life from earth. I want
you to build a strong ark with pitch, to make it
waterproof, and fill it with two of every kind of animal.
This way I can start again. Take your family into the ark
and keep them safe. You have pleased me.
Noah did just as God had instructed him. He made a
strong ark and filled it with all sorts of animals and took
his family inside. As he shut the doors of the ark, the
great storms came.
19

The Sign of the Rainbow

he rain lasted for about forty days. It covered up

everything, the hills, the valleys, the land and even
the mountains. Every living thing drowned except Noah,
his family and the animals in his ark, just as God had
decided.
Eventually the rain stopped, but it would take
months for the water to go down. After two months,
Noah sent a raven and a dove in search of dry land, but
none of them returned. He then sent out another dove.
This time it returned with an olive leaf in its beak. Noah
knew that the water had finally gone down and the earth
would soon be dry again.
20

Noah left his ark on a piece of dry land and

immediately made an altar for God, to thank him for
saving him and his family.
God appeared and said to him, You are to fill the
earth with your descendants. Take care of the trees the
plants and the animals. If you will be loyal and good
then I will always be your God.
He then promised Noah that there never will be
another flood that will destroy life on earth and that there
will be a time to sow and to harvest. There will be cold
and heat and day and night just like before.
He said to Noah, I will put my rainbow up in the
heavens, as a sign to remind you and your descendants
of my promise and yours.
21

The Tower of Babel

ver time, the descendants of Noah spread around

the world and finally settled in the land of Shinar.
At that time everyone spoke the same language, so
the people of Shinar decided to make a great tower
which would reach the heavens, and a fine city out of
bricks for themselves. They thought that by doing so,
they would soon become powerful and the envy of the
other people. They would no longer have to scatter in the
countryside either.
22

One day, God decided to visit. When he saw what

the people of Shinar were doing, he became very sad.
The people were no longer loyal or pure hearted. They
had greed and self ambition in their hearts. God knew
that once the city and tower were made, there would be
no end to greed, envy and scheming. There would be
nothing to stop them.
23

So God decided to confuse the language of all

people. Hence people were no longer able to understand
each other and the construction of the tower came to a
stop. The tower was called the tower of babble - which
had its name from the babbling sound everyone made.
The people of Shinar, once more, scattered in all
directions.

24

The Story of Abraham

braham was a rich man, who lived in the city of Ur

in Mesopotamia. Abraham was a good man; he had
been a loyal servant of God his whole life. He was
seventy-five years old and had a wife called Sarah, but
they had no children.
One day, God appeared before him.

25

God said to him, You should leave your land and

go live in the land that I show you. I will bless you and
your wife Sarah.
Abraham trusted God, so he soon left Ur with his
wife, servants, nephew Lot and his sheep and goats. He
took with him everything that belonged to him, in search
of the land God had instructed him to find.
They set off towards Canaan and only
stopped for water. Soon they reached
the holy place of Shecham.

There, God again appeared by his side and said to

him, Look around, I give this land to you and your
descendants. Look up at the stars in the sky, I promise
you, one day your descendants will be as many.
Abraham trusted God, but he was worried because he
and his wife were too old to have children. But nothing
was impossible for God; hence within a few months, they
had their first son, and they called him Isaac.
26

27

Sodom and Gomorrah

Abraham spoke up again, Forgive me for my

boldness my Lord, but what if there are ten good people,
would you still destroy the city?
God replied, If I find ten innocent people, then I will
not destroy the city.
God knew why Abraham was concerned; he also knew
that apart from Lots family there were no other good
people in Sodom. So he sent his angels to warn them.
Soon there was a great storm in the cities of Sodom
and Gomorrah. The sky rained fire and sulphur and
destroyed anything and everything.
Lots family escaped in time, so they were saved. But
Lots wife turned back to take a last look at their city, so
she was turned into a pillar of salt.

hile Abraham had settled in Canaan, his nephew

Lot, took his family to the city of Jordan, in Sodom.
People, who lived in Sodom and its neighbouring
city Gomorrah, were wicked people. They lied and
schemed, and had sin in their hearts. So God decided to
destroy both the cities.
When Abraham got to know about this, he was very
sad. His nephew Lot was living in Sodom, and he didnt
want him to die. So Abraham decided to speak to God.
He asked the Lord, Lord, what if there are innocent
people in Sodom, would you really like to destroy them
as well? If there are fifty good people in Sodom, would
you spare the city for their sake?
Yes, God replied. I would spare the city if I find
fifty good people.
28

29