Book of Common Prayer

For the director of music. According to gittith. A psalm of David.

A psalm of David.

Adam and Eve Fall Into Sin

3 The serpent was more clever than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. The serpent said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat fruit from any tree in the garden’?”

² The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden. ³ But God did say, ‘You must not eat the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden. Do not even touch it. If you do, you will die.’ ”

⁴ “You will certainly not die,” the serpent said to the woman. ⁵ “God knows that when you eat fruit from that tree, you will know things you have never known before. Like God, you will be able to tell the difference between good and evil.”

⁶ The woman saw that the tree’s fruit was good to eat and pleasing to look at. She also saw that it would make a person wise. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her. And he ate it. ⁷ Then both of them knew things they had never known before. They realized they were naked. So they sewed together fig leaves and made clothes for themselves.

⁸ Then the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking in the garden. It was during the coolest time of the day. They hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But the Lord God called out to the man. “Where are you?” he asked.

¹⁰ “I heard you in the garden,” the man answered. “I was afraid, because I was naked. So I hid.”

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

¹² The man said, “It’s the fault of the woman you put here with me. She gave me some fruit from the tree. And I ate it.”

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

The woman said, “The serpent tricked me. That’s why I ate the fruit.”

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

Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ

¹² Sin entered the world because one man sinned. And death came because of sin. Everyone sinned, so death came to all people.

¹³ Before the law was given, sin was in the world. This is certainly true. But people are not judged for sin when there is no law. ¹⁴ Death ruled from the time of Adam to the time of Moses. Death ruled even over those who did not sin as Adam did. He broke God’s command. But Adam also became a pattern of the Messiah. The Messiah was the one who was going to come.

¹⁵ God’s gift can’t be compared with Adam’s sin. Many people died because of the sin of that one man. But it was even more sure that God’s grace would also come through one man. That man is Jesus Christ. God’s gift of grace was more than enough for the whole world. ¹⁶ The result of God’s gift is different from the result of Adam’s sin. That one sin brought God’s judgment. But after many sins, God’s gift made people right with him. ¹⁷ One man sinned, and death ruled over all people because of his sin. What will happen is even more sure than this. Those who receive the rich supply of God’s grace will rule with Christ. They will rule in his kingdom. They have received God’s gift and have been made right with him. This will happen because of what the one man, Jesus Christ, has done.

¹⁸ So one man’s sin brought guilt to all people. In the same way, one right act made people right with God. That one right act gave life to all people. ¹⁹ Many people were made sinners because one man did not obey. But one man did obey. That is why many people will be made right with God.

²⁰ The law was given so that sin would increase. But where sin increased, God’s grace increased even more. ²¹ Sin ruled and brought death. But grace rules in the lives of those who are right with God. The grace of God brings eternal life. That’s because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done.