Genesis 3

Chapter 3

The Man and Woman Sin

1 The 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.”
6 The 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.

7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.
8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the mant and his wife heard the LORD God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the LORD God among the trees.

9 Then the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”

10 He 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?”

12 The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”

13 Then the LORD God asked the woman, “What have you done?”
“The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”

14 Then 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.15 And I will cause hostility between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring.
He will striket your head,
and you will strike his heel.”

16 Then 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.t”

17 And 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.18 It will grow thorns and thistles for you,
though you will eat of its grains.19 By 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

20 Then the man—Adam—named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all who live.t

21 And the LORD God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.
22 Then the LORD God said, “Look, the human beingst 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!”23 So 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.

24 After 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.

Genesis 3

The Temptation and the Fall

1 Nowt the serpents was more shrewdts than any of the wild animalst that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Is it really true thatt Gods said, ‘You must not eat from any tree of the orchard’?”t2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eatt of the fruit from the trees of the orchard;3 but concerning the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard God said, ‘You must not eat from it, and you must not touch it,s or else you will die.’”t4 The serpent said to the woman, “Surely you will not die,ts

5 for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will opent and you will be like divine beings who knowt good and evil.”s
6 Whent the woman saw that the tree produced fruit that was good for food,t was attractivets to the eye, and was desirable for making one wise,ts she took some of its fruit and ate it.ts She also gave some of it to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.s

7 Then the eyes of both of them opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

The Judgment Oracles of God at the Fall

8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God moving aboutt in the orchard at the breezy timet of the day, and they hidt from the Lord God among the trees of the orchard.9 But the Lord God called tot the man and said to him, “Where are you?”s10 The man replied,t “I heard you moving aboutt in the orchard, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”11 And the Lord Godt said, “Who told you that you were naked?s Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”s12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave me, she gavet me some fruitt from the tree and I ate it.”

13 So the Lord God said to the woman, “What is thist you have done?” And the woman replied, “The serpents trickedt me, and I ate.”

14 The Lord God said to the serpent,s
“Because you have done this,
cursedt are you above all the wild beasts
and all the living creatures of the field!
On your belly you will crawlt
and dust you will eats all the days of your life.

15 And I will put hostilityt between you and the woman
and between your offspring and her offspring;s
her offspring will attackt your head,
andt yous will attack her offspring’s heel.”ts

16 To the woman he said,
“I will greatly increaset your labor pains;t
with pain you will give birth to children.
You will want to control your husband,t
but he will dominatets you.”

17 But to Adamt he said,
“Because you obeyedt your wife
and ate from the tree about which I commanded you,
‘You must not eat from it,’
cursed is the grounds thanks to you;t
in painful toil you will eats of it all the days of your life.

18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
but you will eat the graint of the field.

19 By the sweat of your browt you will eat food
until you return to the ground,s
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust, and to dust you will return.”s
20 The mant named his wife Eve,s becauset she was the mother of all the living.t21 The Lord God made garments from skins for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.22 And the Lord God said, “Nowt that the man has become like one of us,s knowingt good and evil, he must not be allowedt to stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”23 So the Lord God expelled himt from the orchard in Eden to cultivate the ground from which he had been taken.

24 When he drovet the man out, he placed on the eastern sidet of the orchard in Eden angelic sentriests who used the flame of a whirling swordt to guard the way to the tree of life.