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Genesis 2:15-3:24
Common English Bible
Genesis 2:15-3:24
Common English Bible
15 The Lord God took the human and settled him in the garden of Eden to farm it and to take care of it. 16 The Lord God commanded the human, “Eat your fill from all of the garden’s trees; 17 but don’t eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because on the day you eat from it, you will die!” 18 Then the Lord God said, “It’s not good that the human is alone. I will make him a helper that is perfect for him.” 19 So the Lord God formed from the fertile land all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky and brought them to the human to see what he would name them. The human gave each living being its name. 20 The human named all the livestock, all the birds in the sky, and all the wild animals. But a helper perfect for him was nowhere to be found.
21 So the Lord God put the human into a deep and heavy sleep, and took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh over it. 22 With the rib taken from the human, the Lord God fashioned a woman and brought her to the human being. 23 The human[a] said,
“This one finally is bone from my bones
and flesh from my flesh.
She will be called a woman[b]
because from a man[c] she was taken.”
24 This is the reason that a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife, and they become one flesh. 25 The two of them were naked, the man and his wife, but they weren’t embarrassed.
Knowledge, not eternal life
3 The snake was the most intelligent[d] of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say that you shouldn’t eat from any tree in the garden?”
2 The woman said to the snake, “We may eat the fruit of the garden’s trees 3 but not the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden. God said, ‘Don’t eat from it, and don’t touch it, or you will die.’”
4 The snake said to the woman, “You won’t die! 5 God knows that on the day you eat from it, you will see clearly and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 The woman saw that the tree was beautiful with delicious food and that the tree would provide wisdom, so she took some of its fruit and ate it, and also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then they both saw clearly and knew that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made garments for themselves.
8 During that day’s cool evening breeze, they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden; and the man and his wife hid themselves from the Lord God in the middle of the garden’s trees. 9 The Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
10 The man[e] replied, “I heard your sound in the garden; I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself.”
11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree, which I commanded you not to eat?”
12 The man said, “The woman you gave me, she gave me some fruit[f] from the tree, and I ate.”
13 The Lord God said to the woman, “What have you done?!”
And the woman said, “The snake tricked me, and I ate.”
14 The Lord God said to the snake,
“Because you did this,
you are the one cursed
out of all the farm animals,
out of all the wild animals.
On your belly you will crawl,
and dust you will eat
every day of your life.
15 I will put contempt
between you and the woman,
between your offspring and hers.
They will strike your head,
but you will strike at their heels.”
16 To the woman he said,
“I will make your pregnancy very painful;
in pain you will bear children.
You will desire your husband,
but he will rule over you.”
17 To the man he said, “Because you listened to your wife’s voice and you ate from the tree that I commanded, ‘Don’t eat from it,’
cursed is the fertile land because of you;
in pain you will eat from it
every day of your life.
18 Weeds and thistles will grow for you,
even as you eat the field’s plants;
19 by the sweat of your face you will eat bread—
until you return to the fertile land,
since from it you were taken;
you are soil,
to the soil you will return.”
20 The man named his wife Eve[g] because she is the mother of everyone who lives. 21 The Lord God made the man and his wife leather clothes and dressed them. 22 The Lord God said, “The human being[h] has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.” Now, so he doesn’t stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat and live forever, 23 the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to farm the fertile land from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the human. To the east of the garden of Eden, he stationed winged creatures wielding flaming swords to guard the way to the tree of life.
Footnotes
- Genesis 2:23 Or man (Heb adam)
- Genesis 2:23 Or wife (Heb ishshah)
- Genesis 2:23 Or husband (Heb ish)
- Genesis 3:1 Heb sounds like naked.
- Genesis 3:10 Or He
- Genesis 3:12 Heb lacks some fruit.
- Genesis 3:20 Heb sounds like live.
- Genesis 3:22 Or man (Heb adam)
Genesis 2:15-3:24
New International Version
Genesis 2:15-3:24
New International Version
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden(A) to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;(B) 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,(C) for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”(D)
18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”(E)
19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals(F) and all the birds in the sky.(G) He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called(H) each living creature,(I) that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.
But for Adam[a] no suitable helper(J) was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep;(K) and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs[b] and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib[c](L) he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
23 The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;(M)
she shall be called(N) ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.(O)”
24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united(P) to his wife, and they become one flesh.(Q)
25 Adam and his wife were both naked,(R) and they felt no shame.
The Fall
3 Now the serpent(S) was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?(T)”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,(U) 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”(V)
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.(W) 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,(X) knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable(Y) for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband,(Z) who was with her, and he ate it.(AA) 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked;(AB) so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.(AC)
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking(AD) in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid(AE) from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”(AF)
10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid(AG) because I was naked;(AH) so I hid.”
11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked?(AI) Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?(AJ)”
12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me(AK)—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me,(AL) and I ate.”
14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
“Cursed(AM) are you above all livestock
and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust(AN)
all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring[d](AO) and hers;(AP)
he will crush[e] your head,(AQ)
and you will strike his heel.”
16 To the woman he said,
“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;
with painful labor you will give birth to children.(AR)
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you.(AS)”
17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’(AT)
“Cursed(AU) is the ground(AV) because of you;
through painful toil(AW) you will eat food from it
all the days of your life.(AX)
18 It will produce thorns and thistles(AY) for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.(AZ)
19 By the sweat of your brow(BA)
you will eat your food(BB)
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return.”(BC)
20 Adam[f] named his wife Eve,[g](BD) because she would become the mother of all the living.
21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.(BE) 22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us,(BF) knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life(BG) and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden(BH) to work the ground(BI) from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side[h] of the Garden of Eden(BJ) cherubim(BK) and a flaming sword(BL) flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.(BM)
Footnotes
- Genesis 2:20 Or the man
- Genesis 2:21 Or took part of the man’s side
- Genesis 2:22 Or part
- Genesis 3:15 Or seed
- Genesis 3:15 Or strike
- Genesis 3:20 Or The man
- Genesis 3:20 Eve probably means living.
- Genesis 3:24 Or placed in front
Common English Bible (CEB)
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.