Genesis 3

The Fall

1Now #Matt. 10:16; 2 Cor. 11:3; Rev. 12:9; 20:2the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You#3:1 In Hebrew you is plural in verses 1–5 shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3but God said, #ch. 2:17‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4#ver. 13; John 8:44; [2 Cor. 11:3]But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6So when 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,#3:6 Or to give insight she took of its fruit #1 Tim. 2:14 and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, #ver. 12, 17; Hos. 6:7and he ate. 7#ver. 5 Then the eyes of both were opened, #ch. 2:25and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

8And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool#3:8 Hebrew wind of the day, and the man and his wife #[Ps. 139:1-12; Jer. 23:23, 24]hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”#3:9 In Hebrew you is singular in verses 9 and 11 10And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, #ver. 7; ch. 2:25because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12The man said, #ch. 2:18; Job 31:33“The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, #ver. 4; 2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2:14“The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

14The Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this,

cursed are you above all livestock

and above all beasts of the field;

on your belly you shall go,

and #Isa. 65:25; Mic. 7:17dust you shall eat

all the days of your life.

15I will put enmity between you and the woman,

and between your offspring#3:15 Hebrew seed; so throughout Genesis and #Isa. 7:14; Mic. 5:3; Matt. 1:23, 25; Luke 1:34, 35; Gal. 4:4; 1 Tim. 2:15 her offspring;

# Rom. 16:20; Heb. 2:14; Rev. 20:1-3, 10 he shall bruise your head,

and you shall bruise his heel.”

16To the woman he said,

“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;

# [John 16:21] in pain you shall bring forth children.

# ch. 4:7; Song 7:10 Your desire shall be contrary to#3:16 Or shall be toward (see 4:7) your husband,

but he shall #1 Cor. 11:3; 14:34; Eph. 5:22-24; Col. 3:18; 1 Tim. 2:11, 12; Titus 2:5; 1 Pet. 3:1, 5, 6rule over you.”

17And to Adam he said,

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife

and have eaten of the tree

# ch. 2:17 of which I commanded you,

‘You shall not eat of it,’

# ch. 5:29; [Rom. 8:20-22] cursed is the ground because of you;

# Eccles. 2:22, 23 in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;

18thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;

and you shall eat the plants of the field.

19By the sweat of your face

you shall eat bread,

till you return to the ground,

for out of it you were taken;

# ch. 2:7; Ps. 103:14 for you are dust,

and #Job 34:15; Ps. 104:29; Eccles. 3:20; 12:7; Rom. 5:12to dust you shall return.”

20The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.#3:20 Eve sounds like the Hebrew for life-giver and resembles the word for living 21And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

22Then the Lord God said, #ver. 5 “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand #ch. 2:9and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden #ch. 2:5to work the ground from which he was taken. 24He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the #Ps. 18:10; 104:4; Heb. 1:7; [Ex. 25:18-22; Ezek. 28:11-16]cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

Learn More About English Standard Version 2016

Genesis 3

The First Sin

1 # Ws 2.24; Rev 12.9; 20.2. The snake was sneakier 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?”

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. 7At once they saw what they had done, and they realized they were naked. Then they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

8Late in the afternoon, when the breeze began to blow, the man and woman heard the Lord God walking in the garden. So they hid behind some trees.

Sin Brings a Curse

9The Lord God 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.”

13 # 2 Co 11.3; 1 Ti 2.14. The Lord God then asked the woman, “What have you done?”

“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 dirt.

15 # Rev 12.17. You and this woman

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 God 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.”

17 # He 6.8. The Lord said to the man,

“You listened to your wife

and ate the fruit

I told you not to eat.

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 sweat all your life

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.

22 # Rev 22.14. The Lord said, “They 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 forever.” 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.

Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)

Learn More About Contemporary English Version Interconfessional Edition