The Fall

Now (A)the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You[a] shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, (B)‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” (C)But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise,[b] she took of its fruit (D)and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, (E)and he ate. (F)Then the eyes of both were opened, (G)and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

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

14 The Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this,
    cursed are you above all livestock
    and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
    and (L)dust you shall eat
    all the days of your life.
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring[e] and (M)her offspring;
(N)he shall bruise your head,
    and you shall bruise his heel.”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 3:1 In Hebrew you is plural in verses 1–5
  2. Genesis 3:6 Or to give insight
  3. Genesis 3:8 Hebrew wind
  4. Genesis 3:9 In Hebrew you is singular in verses 9 and 11
  5. Genesis 3:15 Hebrew seed; so throughout Genesis

The Fall

Now the serpent(A) 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’?(B)

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,(C) 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.’”(D)

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.(E) “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,(F) knowing good and evil.”

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable(G) for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband,(H) who was with her, and he ate it.(I) Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked;(J) so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.(K)

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking(L) in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid(M) from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”(N)

10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid(O) because I was naked;(P) so I hid.”

11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked?(Q) Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?(R)

12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me(S)—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,(T) and I ate.”

14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,

“Cursed(U) are you above all livestock
    and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
    and you will eat dust(V)
    all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
    between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring[a](W) and hers;(X)
he will crush[b] your head,(Y)
    and you will strike his heel.”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 3:15 Or seed
  2. Genesis 3:15 Or strike

You Must Be Born Again

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named (A)Nicodemus, (B)a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus[a] (C)by night and said to him, (D)“Rabbi, (E)we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do (F)unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is (G)born (H)again[b] he cannot (I)see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born (J)of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (K)That which is born of the flesh is (L)flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.[c] (M)Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You[d] must be born (N)again.’ (O)The wind[e] blows (P)where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Nicodemus said to him, (Q)“How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel (R)and yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, (S)we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but (T)you[f] do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 (U)No one has (V)ascended into heaven except (W)he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.[g] 14 And (X)as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man (Y)be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes (Z)in him (AA)may have eternal life.[h]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. John 3:2 Greek him
  2. John 3:3 Or from above; the Greek is purposely ambiguous and can mean both again and from above; also verse 7
  3. John 3:6 The same Greek word means both wind and spirit
  4. John 3:7 The Greek for you is plural here
  5. John 3:8 The same Greek word means both wind and spirit
  6. John 3:11 The Greek for you is plural here; also four times in verse 12
  7. John 3:13 Some manuscripts add who is in heaven
  8. John 3:15 Some interpreters hold that the quotation ends at verse 15

Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus(A) who was a member of the Jewish ruling council.(B) He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi,(C) we know(D) that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs(E) you are doing if God were not with him.”(F)

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.[a](G)

“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.(H) Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[b] gives birth to spirit.(I) You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You[c] must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”[d](J)

“How can this be?”(K) Nicodemus asked.

10 “You are Israel’s teacher,”(L) said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know,(M) and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.(N) 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven(O) except the one who came from heaven(P)—the Son of Man.[e](Q) 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness,(R) so the Son of Man must be lifted up,[f](S) 15 that everyone who believes(T) may have eternal life in him.”[g](U)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. John 3:3 The Greek for again also means from above; also in verse 7.
  2. John 3:6 Or but spirit
  3. John 3:7 The Greek is plural.
  4. John 3:8 The Greek for Spirit is the same as that for wind.
  5. John 3:13 Some manuscripts Man, who is in heaven
  6. John 3:14 The Greek for lifted up also means exalted.
  7. John 3:15 Some interpreters end the quotation with verse 21.