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The Beginning of Sin

Now the ·snake [serpent] was the most ·clever [shrewd; cunning; crafty] of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day the snake said to the woman, “Did God really say that you must not eat fruit from any tree in the garden?”

The woman answered the snake [3:1], “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden. But God told us, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden [C the tree of the knowledge of good and evil]. You must not even touch it [C Eve was adding to the divine command], or you will die.’ ”

But the snake [3:1] said to the woman, “You will [L most certainly] not die. [L For] God knows that if you eat ·the fruit from that tree [L from it], [L your eyes will be opened and] you will ·learn about [experience; L know about] good and evil and you will be like God!”

The woman saw that the tree was ·beautiful [L pleasing to the eyes], that its fruit was good ·to eat [L for food], and that it would make her wise. So she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some of the fruit to her husband who was with her [C apparently he was present but silent while the woman spoke to the snake], and he ate it.

Then, ·it was as if their eyes [L the eyes of both of them] were opened. They ·realized [knew] they were naked, so they sewed fig leaves together and made ·something to cover [L loincloths for] themselves [Rom. 5:12–21].

Then they heard the [L sound of the] Lord God walking in the garden during the cool part of the day, and the man and his wife hid from the Lord God among the trees in the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said, “Where are you?”

10 The man answered, “I heard ·you walking in the garden [L your voice/sound], and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”

11 ·God [L He] asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat fruit from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?”

12 The man said, “You gave this woman to me and she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it.”

13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “·How could you have done such a thing [What is this you have done]?”

She answered, “The snake ·tricked [deceived; 1 Tim. 2:14] me, so I ate the fruit.”

14 The Lord God said to the ·snake [serpent],

“Because you did this,
    a curse will be put on you.
    You will be cursed as no other animal, ·tame [beasts; livestock] or ·wild [L of the field], will ever be.
You will ·crawl [go] on your ·stomach [belly],
    and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
15 I will ·make you and the woman
    enemies to each other [T place hostility/enmity between you and the woman].
Your ·descendants [L seed] and her ·descendants [L seed]
    will be enemies.
·One of her descendants [L He] will crush your head,
    and you will ·bite [strike; T bruise; L crush] his heel [Rom. 16:20; Rev. 12:9].”

16 Then God said to the woman,

“I will ·cause you to have much trouble [or increase your pain]
    ·when you are pregnant [in childbearing],
and when you give birth to children,
    you will have great pain.
You will greatly desire [C the word implies a desire to control; 4:7] your husband,
    but he will rule over you.”

17 Then God said to ·the man [or Adam; 1:27], “You listened to what your wife said, and you ate fruit from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat.

“·So I will put a curse on [Cursed is] the ground,
    and you will have to ·work very hard [toil; labor] for your food.
In pain you will eat its food
    all the days of your life.
18 The ground will produce thorns and ·weeds [thistles] for you,
    and you will eat the plants of the field.
19 ·You will sweat and work hard for [L By the sweat of your brow you will eat] your food.
Later you will return to the ground,
    because you were taken from it.
You are dust,
    and ·when you die, you will return to the dust [T to dust you will return; 1 Cor. 15:21-22, 40–45].”

20 The man named his wife Eve [C the name derives from an early form of the verb “to live”], because she was the mother of all the living.

21 The Lord God made clothes from animal skins for ·the man [or Adam; 1:27] and his wife and dressed them. 22 Then the Lord God said, “Humans have become like one of us [C referring to the supernatural heavenly beings, God and the angels]; they know good and evil. We must keep them from [L putting forth their hand and taking and] eating some of the fruit from the tree of life, or they will live forever.” 23 So the Lord God ·forced [expelled] Adam out of the garden of Eden to ·work [till; or care for; 2:5] the ground from which he was taken. 24 After God ·forced [drove] humans out of the garden, he placed ·angels [L cherubim; C particularly powerful spiritual beings] and a sword of fire that flashed around in every direction on its eastern border. ·This kept people from getting […to guard the way] to the tree of life.

Adam and Eve Sent Out from the Garden

Now (A)the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which Yahweh God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘[a]You shall not eat from [b]any tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “(B)From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God said, ‘You shall not eat from it, and you shall not touch it, lest you die.’” (C)And the serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and (D)you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (E)Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, so she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they (F)knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves [c]loin coverings.

Then they heard the sound of (G)Yahweh God walking in the garden in the [d]cool of the day, (H)and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh God in the midst of the trees of the garden. Yahweh God called to the man and said to him, “(I)Where are you?” 10 And he said, “(J)I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 (K)And the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave to me from the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then Yahweh God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “(L)The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 14 And Yahweh God said to the serpent,

(M)Because you have done this,
Cursed are you more than any of the cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you will go,
And (N)dust you will eat
All the days of your life;
15 And I will put (O)enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
(P)He shall [e]bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.”

16 To the woman He said,

“I will greatly multiply
Your pain and [f]conception,
In pain you will [g](Q)bear children;
Your desire will be for your husband,
And (R)he will rule over you.”

17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’;

(S)Cursed is the ground because of you;
(T)In [h]pain you will eat of it
All the days of your life.
18 Both thorns and thistles it shall (U)grow for you;
And you will eat the [i]plants of the field;
19 By the sweat of your [j]face
You will eat bread,
Till you (V)return to the ground,
Because (W)from it you were taken;
For you are dust,
And to dust you shall return.”

20 Now the man called his wife’s name [k](X)Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. 21 Then Yahweh God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and He clothed them.

22 Then Yahweh God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of (Y)Us [l]to know good and evil; and now, lest he send forth his hand and take also from (Z)the tree of life and eat and live forever”— 23 therefore Yahweh God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to [m]cultivate the ground from which he was taken. 24 So (AA)He drove the man out; and at the (AB)east of the garden of Eden He stationed the (AC)cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to [n]guard the way to (AD)the tree of life.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 3:1 Lit you (plural)
  2. Genesis 3:1 Or every
  3. Genesis 3:7 Or girdles
  4. Genesis 3:8 Lit wind, breeze
  5. Genesis 3:15 Or crush
  6. Genesis 3:16 Or childbirth
  7. Genesis 3:16 Or give birth to, cf. 4:1, 2, 17, 20, 22
  8. Genesis 3:17 Or sorrow
  9. Genesis 3:18 Lit plant
  10. Genesis 3:19 Lit nose
  11. Genesis 3:20 Lit living, life
  12. Genesis 3:22 Or knowing
  13. Genesis 3:23 Lit serve
  14. Genesis 3:24 Lit keep, cf. 2:15