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®)

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Genesis 3

The Serpent’s Deception

(Romans 5:12–21)

1Now the serpent #3:1 Hebrew nachash, translated in this chapter as serpent, is translated in most cases as snake. was more crafty than any beast of the field that the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’”

2The woman answered the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden, 3but about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You must not eat of it or touch it, or you will die.’”

4“You will not surely die,” the serpent told her. 5“For God knows that in the day you eat of 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 pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.

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

God Arraigns Adam and Eve

8Then the man and his wife heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the breeze #3:8 Or at the breezy (time); Hebrew unto the Ruach of the day, and they hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

9But the Lord God called out to the man, “Where are you?”

10“I heard Your voice in the garden,” he replied, “and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”

11“Who told you that you were naked?” asked the Lord God. “Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

12And the man answered, “The woman whom You gave me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

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

“The serpent deceived me,” she replied, “and I ate.”

The Fate of the Serpent

14So the Lord God said to the serpent:

“Because you have done this,

cursed are you above all livestock

and every beast of the field!

On your belly will you go,

and dust you will eat,

all the days of your life.

15And I will put enmity between you and the woman,

and between your seed and her seed.

He will crush your head,

and you will strike his heel.#3:15 Or He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel. The same Hebrew root for crush, bruise, or strike appears twice in this verse.”

The Punishment of Mankind

16To the woman He said:

“I will sharply increase your pain in childbirth;

in pain you will bring forth children.

Your desire will be for your husband,#3:16 Or You will desire to control your husband

and he will rule over you.”

17And to Adam He said:

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife

and have eaten from the tree

of which I commanded you not to eat,

cursed is the ground because of you;

through toil you will eat of it

all the days of your life.

18Both thorns and thistles it will yield for you,

and you will eat the plants of the field.

19By the sweat of your brow

you will eat your bread,

until you return to the ground—

because out of it were you taken.

For dust you are,

and to dust you shall return.”

20And Adam named his wife Eve,#3:20 Eve sounds like the Hebrew for giving life or living. because she would be the mother of all the living.

The Expulsion from Paradise

21And the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and He clothed them.

22Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. And now, lest he reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever...”

23Therefore the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24So He drove out the man and stationed cherubim on the east side of the Garden of Eden, along with a whirling sword of flame to guard the way to the tree of life.

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Genesis 3

Genesis 3