The Temptation and the Fall

3 Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?” ^(A)

² The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. ³ But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’”^(B)

⁴ “No! You will certainly not die,” the serpent said to the woman.^{(C) 5} “In fact, God knows that when^[a] you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ⁶ The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.^{(D) 7} Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Sin’s Consequences

⁸ Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze,^[b] and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.^{(E) 9} So the Lord God called out to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

¹⁰ And he said, “I heard you^[c] in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”

¹¹ Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

¹² The man replied,^(F) “The woman you gave to be with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate.”

¹³ So the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?”

And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”^(G)

¹⁴ So the Lord God said to the serpent:

¹⁶ He said to the woman:

¹⁷ And he said to the man, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘Do not eat from it’:

²⁰ The man named his wife Eve^[g] because she was the mother of all the living. ²¹ The Lord God made clothing from skins for the man and his wife, and he clothed them.

²² The Lord God said, “Since the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, he must not reach out, take from the tree of life, eat, and live forever.”^{(O) 23} So the Lord God sent him away from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. ²⁴ He drove the man out and stationed the cherubim and the flaming, whirling sword east of the garden of Eden to guard the way to the tree of life.^(P)

¹⁹ For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation^(A) for God’s sons^(B) to be revealed. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected^(C) to futility^(D)—not willingly, but because of him who subjected it^(E)—in the hope ²¹ that the creation itself^(F) will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. ²² For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains^(G) until now. ²³ Not only that,^(H) but we ourselves who have the Spirit as the firstfruits^(I)—we also groan within ourselves,^(J) eagerly waiting for adoption,^(K) the redemption of our bodies.^{(L) 24} Now in this hope^(M) we were saved, but hope^(N) that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? ²⁵ Now if we hope for what we do not see,^(O) we eagerly wait for it with patience.

²⁶ In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should,^(P) but the Spirit himself intercedes for us^[a](Q) with inexpressible groanings. ²⁷ And he who searches our hearts^(R) knows the mind of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

²⁸ We know that all things work together^[b] for the good^[c] of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.^{(S) 29} For those he foreknew he also predestined^(T) to be conformed to the image of his Son,^(U) so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.^{(V) 30} And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified;^(W) and those he justified, he also glorified.^(X)

The Believer’s Triumph

³¹ What, then, are we to say about these things?^(Y) If God is for us, who is against us?^{(Z) 32} He did not even spare his own Son^(AA) but gave him up for us all.^(AB) How will he not also with him grant us everything? ³³ Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect?^(AC) God is the one who justifies.^{(AD) 34} Who is the one who condemns?^(AE) Christ Jesus is the one who died,^(AF) but even more, has been raised;^(AG) he also is at the right hand of God^(AH) and intercedes for us.^{(AI) 35} Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction^(AJ) or distress or persecution^(AK) or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors^(AN) through him who loved us.^{(AO) 38} For I am persuaded that neither death nor life,^(AP) nor angels nor rulers,^(AQ) nor things present nor things to come,^(AR) nor powers, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God^(AS) that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.^(AT)

¹³ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us,^(A) because it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.^{[a](B) 14} The purpose was that the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles by Christ Jesus, so that we could receive the promised Spirit through faith.^(C)