The Fall of Mankind

Now (A)the serpent was more cunning than any animal of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 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 middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” (C)The serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die! For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and (D)you will [a]become like God, knowing good and evil.” (E)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 desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate. Then 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 waist coverings.

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

(M)Because you have done this,
Cursed are you more than all the livestock,
And more than any animal of the field;
On your belly you shall go,
And (N)dust you shall eat
All the days of your life;
15 And I will [c](O)make enemies
Of you and the woman,
And of your [d]offspring and her [e]Descendant;
(P)He shall [f]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 [g]in childbirth,
In pain you shall (Q)deliver children;
Yet your desire will be for your husband,
And (R)he shall 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)With [h]hard labor you shall eat from it
All the days of your life.
18 Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;
Yet you shall eat the [i]plants of the field;
19 By the sweat of your face
You shall eat bread,
Until you (U)return to the ground,
Because (V)from it you were taken;
For you are dust,
And to dust you shall return.”

20 Now the man named his wife [j](W)Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. 21 And the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.

22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of (X)Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out with his hand, and take fruit also from (Y)the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. 24 So (Z)He drove the man out; and at the (AA)east of the Garden of Eden He stationed the (AB)cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to (AC)the tree of life.

Cain and Abel

Now the man [k]had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have obtained a male child with the help of the Lord.” And again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now (AD)Abel was (AE)a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a cultivator of the ground. So it came about [l]in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord from the fruit of the ground. (AF)Abel, on his part also brought an offering, from the firstborn of his flock and from their fat portions. And (AG)the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering; but (AH)for Cain and his offering He had no regard. So (AI)Cain became very angry and his face [m]was gloomy. Then the Lord said to Cain, “(AJ)Why are you angry? And why is your face [n]gloomy? (AK)If you do well, [o]will your face not be [p]cheerful? (AL)And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; and its desire is for you, (AM)but you must master it.” Cain [q]talked to his brother Abel; and it happened that when they were in the field Cain rose up against his brother Abel and (AN)killed him.

Then the Lord said to Cain, “(AO)Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 Then He said, “What have you done? (AP)The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to Me from the ground. 11 Now (AQ)you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 (AR)When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; (AS)you will be a wanderer and a drifter on the earth.” 13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is too great to endure! 14 Behold, You have (AT)driven me this day from the face of the ground; and I will be hidden from Your face, and (AU)I will be a wanderer and a drifter on the earth, and (AV)whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 So the Lord said to him, “Therefore whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him (AW)seven times as much.” And the Lord [r](AX)placed a mark on Cain, so that no one finding him would kill him.

16 Then Cain left the presence (AY)of the Lord, and [s]settled in the land of [t]Nod, east of Eden.

17 Cain [u]had relations with his wife and she conceived, and gave birth to Enoch; and Cain built a city, and named the city Enoch, after the name of his son. 18 Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. 19 Lamech took (AZ)two wives for himself: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other, Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and have livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and flute. 22 As for Zillah, she also gave birth to Tubal-cain, the forger of all implements of bronze and iron; and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

23 Lamech said to his wives,

“Adah and Zillah,
Listen to my voice,
You wives of Lamech,
Pay attention to my words,
(BA)For I have killed a man for wounding me;
And a boy for striking me!
24 If Cain is avenged (BB)seven times,
Then Lamech seventy-seven times!”

25 (BC)Adam [v]had relations with his wife again; and she gave birth to a son, and named him [w]Seth, for, she said, “God [x]has appointed me another [y]child in place of Abel, (BD)because Cain killed him.” 26 To Seth also (BE)a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then people began (BF)to call [z]upon the name of the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 3:5 Or be
  2. Genesis 3:8 Lit breeze of
  3. Genesis 3:15 Lit put enmity between you
  4. Genesis 3:15 Lit seed
  5. Genesis 3:15 Lit Seed; i.e., a prophetic reference to Christ
  6. Genesis 3:15 Or crush
  7. Genesis 3:16 Lit and your pregnancy
  8. Genesis 3:17 Or hardship
  9. Genesis 3:18 Lit plant
  10. Genesis 3:20 I.e., living; or life
  11. Genesis 4:1 Lit knew his
  12. Genesis 4:3 Lit at the end of days
  13. Genesis 4:5 Lit fell
  14. Genesis 4:6 Lit fallen
  15. Genesis 4:7 Or you will certainly be accepted
  16. Genesis 4:7 Lit lifted up
  17. Genesis 4:8 Lit said to
  18. Genesis 4:15 Or set a sign for
  19. Genesis 4:16 Lit dwelt
  20. Genesis 4:16 I.e., wandering
  21. Genesis 4:17 Lit knew his
  22. Genesis 4:25 Lit knew his
  23. Genesis 4:25 Heb Sheth
  24. Genesis 4:25 Heb shath
  25. Genesis 4:25 Lit seed
  26. Genesis 4:26 Or by

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.”

16 To the woman he said,

“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;
    with painful labor you will give birth to children.(Z)
Your desire will be for your husband,
    and he will rule over you.(AA)

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,’(AB)

“Cursed(AC) is the ground(AD) because of you;
    through painful toil(AE) you will eat food from it
    all the days of your life.(AF)
18 It will produce thorns and thistles(AG) for you,
    and you will eat the plants of the field.(AH)
19 By the sweat of your brow(AI)
    you will eat your food(AJ)
until you return to the ground,
    since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
    and to dust you will return.”(AK)

20 Adam[c] named his wife Eve,[d](AL) 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.(AM) 22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us,(AN) knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life(AO) and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden(AP) to work the ground(AQ) from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side[e] of the Garden of Eden(AR) cherubim(AS) and a flaming sword(AT) flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.(AU)

Cain and Abel

Adam[f] made love to his wife(AV) Eve,(AW) and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain.[g](AX) She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth[h] a man.” Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.(AY)

Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.(AZ) In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering(BA) to the Lord.(BB) And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions(BC) from some of the firstborn of his flock.(BD) The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering,(BE) but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry?(BF) Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door;(BG) it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.(BH)

Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”[i] While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.(BI)

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”(BJ)

“I don’t know,(BK)” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

10 The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.(BL) 11 Now you are under a curse(BM) and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you.(BN) You will be a restless wanderer(BO) on the earth.(BP)

13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. 14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence;(BQ) I will be a restless wanderer on the earth,(BR) and whoever finds me will kill me.”(BS)

15 But the Lord said to him, “Not so[j]; anyone who kills Cain(BT) will suffer vengeance(BU) seven times over.(BV)” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. 16 So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence(BW) and lived in the land of Nod,[k] east of Eden.(BX)

17 Cain made love to his wife,(BY) and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city,(BZ) and he named it after his son(CA) Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.

19 Lamech married(CB) two women,(CC) one named Adah and the other Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play stringed instruments(CD) and pipes.(CE) 22 Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged(CF) all kinds of tools out of[l] bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain’s sister was Naamah.

23 Lamech said to his wives,

“Adah and Zillah, listen to me;
    wives of Lamech, hear my words.
I have killed(CG) a man for wounding me,
    a young man for injuring me.
24 If Cain is avenged(CH) seven times,(CI)
    then Lamech seventy-seven times.(CJ)

25 Adam made love to his wife(CK) again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth,[m](CL) saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.”(CM) 26 Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh.(CN)

At that time people began to call on[n] the name of the Lord.(CO)

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 3:15 Or seed
  2. Genesis 3:15 Or strike
  3. Genesis 3:20 Or The man
  4. Genesis 3:20 Eve probably means living.
  5. Genesis 3:24 Or placed in front
  6. Genesis 4:1 Or The man
  7. Genesis 4:1 Cain sounds like the Hebrew for brought forth or acquired.
  8. Genesis 4:1 Or have acquired
  9. Genesis 4:8 Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Masoretic Text does not have “Let’s go out to the field.”
  10. Genesis 4:15 Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew Very well
  11. Genesis 4:16 Nod means wandering (see verses 12 and 14).
  12. Genesis 4:22 Or who instructed all who work in
  13. Genesis 4:25 Seth probably means granted.
  14. Genesis 4:26 Or to proclaim