Genesis 3
3
1Now the serpent was more subtle than any animal of the field which Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden’?”
2The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees of the garden, 3but not the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden. God has said, ‘You shall not eat of it. You shall not touch it, lest you die.’”
4The serpent said to the woman, “You won’t really die, 5for God knows that in the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took some of its fruit, and ate. Then she gave some to her husband with her, and he ate it, too. 7Their eyes were opened, and they both knew that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together, and made coverings for themselves. 8They heard Yahweh God’s voice walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh God among the trees of the garden.
9Yahweh God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”
10The man said, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; so I hid myself.”
11God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
12The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
13Yahweh God said to the woman, “What have you done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14Yahweh God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
you are cursed above all livestock,
and above every animal of the field.
You shall go on your belly
and you shall eat dust all the days of your life.
15I will put hostility between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring.
He will bruise your head,
and you will bruise his heel.”
16To the woman he said,
“I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth.
You will bear children in pain.
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you.”
17To Adam he said,
“Because you have listened to your wife’s voice,
and have eaten from the tree,
about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it,’
the ground is cursed for your sake.
You will eat from it with much labor all the days of your life.
18It will yield thorns and thistles to you;
and you will eat the herb of the field.
19You will eat bread by the sweat of your face until you return to the ground,
for you were taken out of it.
For you are dust,
and you shall return to dust.”
20The man called his wife Eve because she would be the mother of all the living. 21Yahweh God made garments of animal skins for Adam and for his wife, and clothed them.
22Yahweh God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand, and also take of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever—” 23Therefore Yahweh God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. 24So he drove out the man; and he placed cherubim#3:24 cherubim are powerful angelic creatures, messengers of God with wings. See Ezekiel 10. at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
PUBLIC DOMAIN (not copyrighted)
Genesis 3
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.
© 1987, 2004 Bible League International