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The Fall Into Sin

Now the serpent was more clever than any wild animal which the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees of the garden, but not from the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden. God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it. You shall not touch it, or else you will die.’”

The serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die. In fact, God knows that the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was appealing to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate. She gave some also to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. The eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for their waists.[a] They heard the voice of the Lord God, who was walking around in the garden during the cooler part[b] of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

The Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

10 The man said, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself.”

11 God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?”

12 The man said, “The woman you gave to be with me—she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

13 The Lord God said to the woman, “What have you done?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

14 The Lord God said to the serpent:

Because you have done this,
you are cursed more than all the livestock,
and more than every wild animal.
You shall crawl on your belly,
and you shall eat dust all the days of your life.
15 I will put hostility between you and the woman,
and between your seed and her seed.[c]
He will crush your head,
and you will crush his heel.

16 To the woman he said:

I will greatly increase your pain in childbearing.
With painful labor you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
but[d] he will rule over you.

17 To Adam he said:

Because you listened to your wife’s voice
and ate from the tree about which I commanded you,
“You shall not eat from it,”
the soil is cursed on account of you.
You will eat from it with painful labor all the days of your life.
18 Thorns and thistles will spring up from the ground for you,
but you will eat the crops of the field.
19 By the sweat of your face you will eat bread
until you return to the soil,
for out of it you were taken.
For you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.

20 The man named his wife Eve[e] because she would be the mother of all the living. 21 The Lord God made clothing of animal skins for Adam and for his wife and clothed them.

22 The Lord God said, “Look, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Now, so that he does not reach out his hand and also take from the Tree of Life and eat and live forever—” 23 the Lord God sent him out from the Garden of Eden to work the soil from which he had been taken. 24 So he drove the man out, and in front of[f] the Garden of Eden he stationed cherubim[g] and a flaming sword, which turned in every direction to guard the way to the Tree of Life.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 3:7 The Hebrew word often means belt, but here it apparently is an apron or a loincloth.
  2. Genesis 3:8 Literally the wind or breeze of the day, that is, late afternoon or evening
  3. Genesis 3:15 In the promises of Genesis and their fulfillment, the translation retains the literal expression seed rather than offspring or descendants to keep the imagery of the Messiah as the Seed of the Woman.
  4. Genesis 3:16 Or and
  5. Genesis 3:20 Eve means life.
  6. Genesis 3:24 Or east of
  7. Genesis 3:24 Cherubim are angels who are part of God’s honor guard. The translation retains the Hebrew form of the plural because cherubs has a different connotation in English.

The Fall

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal[a] which Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God indeed say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat, but from the tree that is in the midst of the garden, God said, ‘You shall not eat from it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die’.” But the serpent said to the woman, “You shall not surely die. For God knows that on the day you both eat from it, then your eyes will be opened and you both shall be like gods,[b] knowing good and evil.” When[c] the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes, and the tree was desirable to make one wise, then[d] she took from its fruit and she ate. And she gave it also to her husband with her, and he ate. Then[e] the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed together fig leaves and they made for themselves coverings.

Then[f] they heard the sound of Yahweh God walking in the garden at the windy time of day.[g] And the man[h] and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh God among the trees of the garden. And Yahweh God called to the man[i] and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he replied,[j] “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid because I am naked, so I hid myself.” 11 Then he[k] asked,[l] “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I forbade you to eat?”[m] 12 And the man[n] replied,[o] “The woman whom you gave to be with me—she gave to me from the tree and I ate.” 13 Then[p] Yahweh God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 14 Then[q] Yahweh God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this,
    you will be cursed
    more than any domesticated animal
    and more than any wild animal.[r]
On your belly you shall go
    and dust you shall eat
    all the days of your life.
15 And I will put hostility
    between you and between the woman,
    and between your offspring[s] and between her offspring;[t]
he will strike you on the head,
    and you will strike him on the heel.”

16 To the woman he said,

“I will greatly increase
    your pain in childbearing;[u]
    in pain you shall bear children.
And to your husband shall be your desire.
    And he shall rule over you.”

17 And to Adam[v] he said, “Because you listened to the voice of your wife and you ate from the tree from which I forbade you to eat,[w]

the ground shall be cursed on your account.
    In pain you shall eat from it
    all the days of your life.
18 And thorns and thistles shall sprout for you,
    and you shall eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow[x]
    you shall eat bread,
until your return to the ground.
    For from it you were taken;
for you are dust,
    and to dust you shall return.”

20 And the man[y] named[z] his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all life. 21 And Yahweh God made for Adam[aa] and for his wife garments of skin, and he clothed them.

22 And Yahweh God said, “Look—the man has become as one of us, to know good and evil. What if[ab] he stretches out his hand and takes also from the tree of life and eats, and lives forever?” 23 And Yahweh God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So[ac] he drove the man out, and placed cherubim east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming, turning sword[ad] to guard the way to the tree of life.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 3:1 Literally “animal of the field”
  2. Genesis 3:5 The plural is in the context of v. 22 “one of us” and the plural suffix pronouns [[“you all”]] throughout the verse
  3. Genesis 3:6 Or “And”
  4. Genesis 3:6 Or “and”
  5. Genesis 3:7 Or “And”
  6. Genesis 3:8 Or “And”
  7. Genesis 3:8 Literally “at the wind of the day”
  8. Genesis 3:8 “The man” indicates the noun is singular and occurs with the definite article
  9. Genesis 3:9 “The man” indicates the noun is singular and occurs with the definite article
  10. Genesis 3:10 Literally “And he said”; “replied” distinguishes Adam as the speaker
  11. Genesis 3:11 That is, Yahweh God
  12. Genesis 3:11 Or “said”
  13. Genesis 3:11 Literally “the tree which I commanded to not eat from it”
  14. Genesis 3:12 “The man” indicates the noun is singular and occurs with the definite article
  15. Genesis 3:12 Or “said”
  16. Genesis 3:13 Or “And”
  17. Genesis 3:14 Or “And”
  18. Genesis 3:14 Literally “animal of the earth/land”
  19. Genesis 3:15 Literally “seed”
  20. Genesis 3:15 Literally “seed”
  21. Genesis 3:16 Literally “your pain and your childbearing”
  22. Genesis 3:17 The noun lacks the definite article and is taken as a proper noun in this context
  23. Genesis 3:17 Literally “from the tree which I commanded saying not to eat from it”
  24. Genesis 3:19 Literally “your face”
  25. Genesis 3:20 “The man” indicates the noun is singular and occurs with the definite article
  26. Genesis 3:20 Literally “called the name”
  27. Genesis 3:21 The noun lacks the definite article and is taken as a proper noun in this context
  28. Genesis 3:22 Literally “And now lest”
  29. Genesis 3:24 Or “And”
  30. Genesis 3:24 Literally “a flame of the sword which was turning”