Genesis 3
3
The Man and Woman Sin
1The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”
2“Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3“It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”
4“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5“God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
6The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.
8When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man#3:8 Or Adam, and so throughout the chapter. and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. 9Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”
11“Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?”
12The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”
13Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?”
“The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”
14Then the Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this, you are cursed
more than all animals, domestic and wild.
You will crawl on your belly,
groveling in the dust as long as you live.
15And I will cause hostility between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring.
He will strike#3:15 Or bruise; also in 3:15b. your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
16Then he said to the woman,
“I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy,
and in pain you will give birth.
And you will desire to control your husband,
but he will rule over you.#3:16 Or And though you will have desire for your husband, / he will rule over you.”
17And to the man he said,
“Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree
whose fruit I commanded you not to eat,
the ground is cursed because of you.
All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.
18It will grow thorns and thistles for you,
though you will eat of its grains.
19By the sweat of your brow
will you have food to eat
until you return to the ground
from which you were made.
For you were made from dust,
and to dust you will return.”
Paradise Lost: God’s Judgment
20Then the man—Adam—named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all who live.#3:20 Eve sounds like a Hebrew term that means “to give life.” 21And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.
22Then the Lord God said, “Look, the human beings#3:22 Or the man; Hebrew reads ha-adam. have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” 23So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. 24After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
For more information about the NLT:
Genesis 3
3
The first sin and the first murder
The first sin
1The snake was more cunning than any of the other wild animals that the LORD God had made. One day it came to the woman and asked, “Did God tell you not to eat fruit from any tree in the garden?”#Rev 12.9; 20.2.
2The woman answered, “God said we could eat fruit from any tree in the garden, 3except the one in the middle. He told us not to eat fruit from that tree or even to touch it. If we do, we will die.”
4“No, you won't!” the snake replied. 5“God understands what will happen on the day you eat fruit from that tree. You will see what you have done, and you will know the difference between right and wrong, just as God does.”
6The woman stared at the fruit. It looked beautiful and tasty. She wanted the wisdom that it would give her, and she ate some of the fruit. Her husband was there with her, so she gave some to him, and he ate it too. 7Straight away they saw what they had done, and they realized they were naked. Then they sewed fig leaves together to make something to cover themselves.
8Late in the afternoon a breeze began to blow, and the man and woman heard the LORD God walking in the garden. They were frightened and hid behind some trees.
The trouble with sin
9The LORD called out to the man and asked, “Where are you?”
10The man answered, “I was naked, and when I heard you walking through the garden, I was frightened and hid!”
11“How did you know you were naked?” God asked. “Did you eat any fruit from that tree in the middle of the garden?”
12“It was the woman you put here with me,” the man said. “She gave me some of the fruit, and I ate it.”
13The LORD God then asked the woman, “What have you done?”#2 Co 11.3; 1 Ti 2.14.
“The snake tricked me,” she answered. “And I ate some of that fruit.”
14So the LORD God said to the snake:
“Because of what you have done,
you will be the only animal
to suffer this curse—
for as long as you live,
you will crawl on your stomach
and eat dust.
15You and this woman#Rev 12.17.
will hate each other;
your descendants and hers
will always be enemies.
One of hers will strike you
on the head,
and you will strike him
on the heel.”
16Then the LORD said to the woman,
“You will suffer terribly
when you give birth.
But you will still desire
your husband,
and he will rule over you.”
17The LORD said to the man,#He 6.8.
“You listened to your wife
and ate fruit from that tree.
And so, the ground
will be under a curse
because of what you did.
As long as you live,
you will have to struggle
to grow enough food.
18Your food will be plants,
but the ground will produce
thorns and thistles.
19You will have to sweat
to earn a living;
you were made out of soil,
and you will once again
turn into soil.”
20The man Adam#3.20 The man Adam: In Hebrew “man” and “Adam” are the same. named his wife Eve#3.20 Eve: In Hebrew “Eve” sounds like “living”. because she would become the mother of all who live.
21Then the LORD God made clothes out of animal skins for the man and his wife.
22The LORD said, “These people now know the difference between right and wrong, just as we do. But they must not be allowed to eat fruit from the tree that lets them live for ever.”#Rev 22.14. 23So the LORD God sent them out of the Garden of Eden, where they would have to work the ground from which the man had been made. 24Then God put winged creatures at the entrance to the garden and a flaming, flashing sword to guard the way to the life-giving tree.
© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012