Genesis 3

The Beginning of Sin

1Now the snake was the most clever of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day the snake said to the woman, “Did God really say that you must not eat fruit from any tree in the garden?”

2The woman answered the snake, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden. 3But God told us, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden. You must not even touch it, or you will die.’ ”

4But the snake said to the woman, “You will not die. 5God knows that if you eat the fruit from that tree, you will learn about good and evil and you will be like God!”

6The woman saw that the tree was beautiful, that its fruit was good to eat, and that it would make her wise. So she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some of the fruit to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.

7Then, it was as if their eyes were opened. They realized they were naked, so they sewed fig leaves together and made something to cover themselves.

8Then they heard the Lord God walking in the garden during the cool part of the day, and the man and his wife hid from the Lord God among the trees in the garden. 9But the Lord God called to the man and said, “Where are you?”

10The man answered, “I heard you walking in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”

11God asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat fruit from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?”

12The man said, “You gave this woman to me and she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it.”

13Then the Lord God said to the woman, “How could you have done such a thing?”

She answered, “The snake tricked me, so I ate the fruit.”

14The Lord God said to the snake,

“Because you did this,

a curse will be put on you.

You will be cursed as no other animal, tame or wild, will ever be.

You will crawl on your stomach,

and you will eat dust all the days of your life.

15I will make you and the woman

enemies to each other.

Your descendants and her descendants

will be enemies.

One of her descendants will crush your head,

and you will bite his heel.”

16Then God said to the woman,

“I will cause you to have much trouble

when you are pregnant,

and when you give birth to children,

you will have great pain.

You will greatly desire your husband,

but he will rule over you.”

17Then God said to the man, “You listened to what your wife said, and you ate fruit from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat.

“So I will put a curse on the ground,

and you will have to work very hard for your food.

In pain you will eat its food

all the days of your life.

18The ground will produce thorns and weeds for you,

and you will eat the plants of the field.

19You will sweat and work hard for your food.

Later you will return to the ground,

because you were taken from it.

You are dust,

and when you die, you will return to the dust.”

20The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.

21The Lord God made clothes from animal skins for the man and his wife and dressed them. 22Then the Lord God said, “Humans have become like one of us; they know good and evil. We must keep them from eating some of the fruit from the tree of life, or they will live forever.” 23So the Lord God forced Adam out of the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24After God forced humans out of the garden, he placed angels and a sword of fire that flashed around in every direction on its eastern border. This kept people from getting to the tree of life.

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Genesis 3

The Temptation and Fall of Man

1Now #1 Chr. 21:1; (Rev. 12:9; 20:2, 10)the serpent was #2 Cor. 11:3more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

2And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the #Gen. 2:16, 17fruit of the trees of the garden; 3but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you #Ex. 19:12, 13; Rev. 22:14touch it, lest you die.’ ”

4#John 8:44; (2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2:14)Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

6So when the woman #1 John 2:16saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit #1 Tim. 2:14and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7Then the eyes of both of them were opened, #Gen. 2:25and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

8And they heard #Job 38:1the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife #Job 31:33; Jer. 23:24hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

9Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”

10So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, #Gen. 2:25; Ex. 3:6; Deut. 9:19; 1 John 3:20and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”

11And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”

12Then the man said, #(Prov. 28:13)“The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”

13And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

The woman said, #Gen. 3:4; 2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2:14“The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

14So the Lord God said to the serpent:

“Because you have done this,

You are cursed more than all cattle,

And more than every beast of the field;

On your belly you shall go,

And #Deut. 28:15–20; Is. 65:25; Mic. 7:17you shall eat dust

All the days of your life.

15And I will put enmity

Between you and the woman,

And between #John 8:44; Acts 13:10; 1 John 3:8your seed and #Is. 7:14; Luke 1:31, 34, 35; Gal. 4:4her Seed;

#Rom. 16:20; (Rev. 12:7, 17)He shall bruise your head,

And you shall bruise His heel.”

16To the woman He said:

“I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception;

#Is. 13:8; John 16:21In pain you shall bring forth children;

#Gen. 4:7Your desire shall be for your husband,

And he shall #1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 5:22; 1 Tim. 2:12, 15rule over you.”

17Then to Adam He said, #1 Sam. 15:23“Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree #Gen. 2:17of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:

#Gen. 5:29; Rom. 8:20–22; Heb. 6:8“Cursed is the ground for your sake;

#Job 5:7; 14:1; Eccl. 2:23In toil you shall eat of it

All the days of your life.

18Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,

And #Ps. 104:14you shall eat the herb of the field.

19#2 Thess. 3:10In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread

Till you return to the ground,

For out of it you were taken;

#Gen. 2:7; 5:5For dust you are,

And #Job 21:26; Eccl. 3:20to dust you shall return.”

20And Adam called his wife’s name #2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2:13Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

21Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.

22Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— 23therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden #Gen. 4:2; 9:20to till the ground from which he was taken. 24So #Ezek. 31:3, 11He drove out the man; and He placed #Ex. 25:18–22; Ps. 104:4; Ezek. 10:1–20; Heb. 1:7cherubim #Gen. 2:8at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of #Gen. 2:9; (Rev. 22:2)life.

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