Genesis 3

Adam and Eve Fall Into Sin

1The 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’?”

2The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden. 3But 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.”

6The 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. 7Then 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.

8Then 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. 9But 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.”

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

12The 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.”

13Then 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.”

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

“You are set apart from all livestock

and all wild animals.

I am putting a curse on you.

You will crawl on your belly.

You will eat dust

all the days of your life.

15I will make you and the woman hate each other.

Your children and her children will be enemies.

Her son will crush your head.

And you will bite his heel.”

16The Lord God said to the woman,

“I will increase your pain when you give birth.

You will be in great pain when you have children.

You will long for your husband.

And he will rule over you.”

17The Lord God said to Adam, “You listened to your wife’s suggestion. You ate fruit from the tree I warned you about. I said, ‘You must not eat its fruit.’

“So I am putting a curse on the ground because of what you did.

All the days of your life you will have to work hard.

It will be painful for you to get food from the ground. 18You will eat plants from the field,

even though the ground produces thorns and prickly weeds.

19You will have to work hard and sweat a lot

to produce the food you eat.

You were made out of the ground.

You will return to it when you die.

You are dust,

and you will return to dust.”

20Adam named his wife Eve. She would become the mother of every living person.

21The Lord God made clothes out of animal skins for Adam and his wife to wear. 22The Lord God said, “Just like one of us, the man can now tell the difference between good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out and pick fruit from the tree of life and eat it. If he does, he will live forever.” 23So the Lord God drove the man out of the Garden of Eden. He sent the man to farm the ground he had been made from. 24The Lord God drove him out and then placed angels on the east side of the garden. He also placed there a flaming sword that flashed back and forth. The angels and the sword guarded the way to the tree of life.

Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®

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Genesis 3

The Beginning of Sin

1The snake was the most clever of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. The snake spoke to the woman and said, “Woman, did God really tell you that you must not eat from any tree in the garden?”

2The woman answered the snake, “No, we can eat fruit from the trees in the garden. 3But there is one tree we must not eat from. God told us, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden. You must not even touch that tree, 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 then you will be like God!”

6The woman could see that the tree was beautiful and the fruit looked so good to eat. She also liked the idea that it would make her wise. So she took some of the fruit from the tree and ate it. Her husband was there with her, so she gave him some of the fruit, and he ate it.

7Then it was as if their eyes opened, and they saw things differently. They saw that they were naked. So they got some fig leaves, sewed them together, and wore them for clothes.

8During the cool part of the day, the Lord God was walking in the garden. The man and the woman heard him, and they hid among the trees in the garden. 9The Lord God called to the man and said, “Where are you?”

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

11God said to the man, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat fruit from that special tree? I told you not to eat from that tree!”

12The man said, “The woman you put here with me gave me fruit from that tree. So I ate it.”

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

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

14So the Lord God said to the snake,

“You did this very bad thing,

so bad things will happen to you.

It will be worse for you

than for any other animal.

You must crawl on your belly

and eat dust all the days of your life.

15I will make you and the woman enemies to each other.

Your children and her children will be enemies.

You will bite her child’s foot,

but he will crush your head.”

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 much pain.

You will want your husband very much,

but he will rule over you.”#3:16 You will … over you Or “You will want to rule your husband, but he will rule over you.” In Hebrew this is like the last part of Gen. 4:7.

17Then God said to the man,

“I commanded you not to eat from that tree.

But you listened to your wife and ate from it.

So I will curse the ground because of you.

You will have to work hard all your life for the food the ground produces.

18The ground will grow thorns and weeds for you.

And you will have to eat the plants that grow wild in the fields.#3:18 See Gen. 1:28-29.

19You will work hard for your food,

until your face is covered with sweat.

You will work hard until the day you die,

and then you will become dust again.

I used dust to make you,

and when you die, you will become dust again.”

20Adam#3:20 Adam This name means “man” or “people.” It is like the word meaning “earth” or “red clay.” named his wife Eve.#3:20 Eve This name is like the Hebrew word meaning “life.” He gave her this name because Eve would be the mother of everyone who ever lived.

21The Lord God used animal skins and made some clothes for the man and his wife. Then he put the clothes on them.

22The Lord God said, “Look, the man has become like us—he knows about good and evil. And now the man might take the fruit from the tree of life. If the man eats that fruit, he will live forever.”

23So the Lord God forced the man out of the Garden of Eden to work the ground he was made from. 24God forced the man to leave the garden. Then he put Cherub angels and a sword of fire at the entrance to the garden to protect it. The sword flashed around and around, guarding the way to the tree of life.

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