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Genesis 3

3
1And the serpent hath been subtile above every beast of the field which Jehovah God hath made, and he saith unto the woman, ‘Is it true that God hath said, Ye do not eat of every tree of the garden?’
2And the woman saith unto the serpent, ‘Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we do eat,
3and of the fruit of the tree which [is] in the midst of the garden God hath said, Ye do not eat of it, nor touch it, lest ye die.’
4And the serpent saith unto the woman, ‘Dying, ye do not die,
5for God doth know that in the day of your eating of it — your eyes have been opened, and ye have been as God, knowing good and evil.’
6And the woman seeth that the tree [is] good for food, and that it [is] pleasant to the eyes, and the tree is desirable to make [one] wise, and she taketh of its fruit and eateth, and giveth also to her husband with her, and he doth eat;
7and the eyes of them both are opened, and they know that they [are] naked, and they sew fig-leaves, and make to themselves girdles.
8And they hear the sound of Jehovah God walking up and down in the garden at the breeze of the day, and the man and his wife hide themselves from the face of Jehovah God in the midst of the trees of the garden.
9And Jehovah God calleth unto the man, and saith to him, ‘Where [art] thou?’
10and he saith, ‘Thy sound I have heard in the garden, and I am afraid, for I am naked, and I hide myself.’
11And He saith, ‘Who hath declared to thee that thou [art] naked? of the tree of which I have commanded thee not to eat, hast thou eaten?’
12and the man saith, ‘The woman whom Thou didst place with me — she hath given to me of the tree — and I do eat.’
13And Jehovah God saith to the woman, ‘What [is] this thou hast done?’ and the woman saith, ‘The serpent hath caused me to forget — and I do eat.’
14And Jehovah God saith unto the serpent, ‘Because thou hast done this, cursed [art] thou above all the cattle, and above every beast of the field: on thy belly dost thou go, and dust thou dost eat, all days of thy life;
15and enmity I put between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; he doth bruise thee — the head, and thou dost bruise him — the heel.’
16Unto the woman He said, ‘Multiplying I multiply thy sorrow and thy conception, in sorrow dost thou bear children, and toward thy husband [is] thy desire, and he doth rule over thee.’
17And to the man He said, ‘Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and dost eat of the tree concerning which I have charged thee, saying, Thou dost not eat of it, cursed [is] the ground on thine account; in sorrow thou dost eat of it all days of thy life,
18and thorn and bramble it doth bring forth to thee, and thou hast eaten the herb of the field;
19by the sweat of thy face thou dost eat bread till thy return unto the ground, for out of it hast thou been taken, for dust thou [art], and unto dust thou turnest back.’
20And the man calleth his wife's name Eve: for she hath been mother of all living.
21And Jehovah God doth make to the man and to his wife coats of skin, and doth clothe them.
22And Jehovah God saith, ‘Lo, the man was as one of Us, as to the knowledge of good and evil; and now, lest he send forth his hand, and have taken also of the tree of life, and eaten, and lived to the age,’ —
23 Jehovah God sendeth him forth from the garden of Eden to serve the ground from which he hath been taken;
24yea, he casteth out the man, and causeth to dwell at the east of the garden of Eden the cherubs and the flame of the sword which is turning itself round to guard the way of the tree of life.

Genesis 3

3
Expulsion from Eden. 1Now the snake was the most cunning#Cunning: there is a play on the words for “naked” (2:25) and “cunning/wise” (Heb. ‘arum). The couple seek to be “wise” but end up knowing that they are “naked.” of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He asked the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You shall not eat from any of the trees in the garden’?” 2The woman answered the snake: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3#Gn 2:17; Rom 6:23. it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, or else you will die.’” 4But the snake said to the woman: “You certainly will not die!#Wis 2:24; Sir 25:14; Is 14:14; Jn 8:44; 2 Cor 11:3. 5God knows well that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, who know#Like gods, who know: or “like God who knows.” good and evil.” 6The woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and the tree was desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.#Gn 3:22; 1 Tm 2:14. 7Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
8When they heard the sound of the Lord God walking about in the garden at the breezy time of the day,#The breezy time of the day: lit., “the wind of the day.” Probably shortly before sunset. the man and his wife hid themselves from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.#Jer 23:24. 9The Lord God then called to the man and asked him: Where are you? 10He answered, “I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid.” 11Then God asked: Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat? 12The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me—she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it.” 13The Lord God then asked the woman: What is this you have done? The woman answered, “The snake tricked me, so I ate it.”#2 Cor 11:3.
14Then the Lord God said to the snake:
Because you have done this,
cursed are you
among all the animals, tame or wild;
On your belly you shall crawl,
and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.#Each of the three punishments (the snake, the woman, the man) has a double aspect, one affecting the individual and the other affecting a basic relationship. The snake previously stood upright, enjoyed a reputation for being shrewder than other creatures, and could converse with human beings as in vv. 1–5. It must now move on its belly, is more cursed than any creature, and inspires revulsion in human beings (v. 15). #Is 65:25; Mi 7:17; Rev 12:9.
15I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
They will strike at your head,
while you strike at their heel.#They will strike…at their heel: the antecedent for “they” and “their” is the collective noun “offspring,” i.e., all the descendants of the woman. Christian tradition has seen in this passage, however, more than unending hostility between snakes and human beings. The snake was identified with the devil (Wis 2:24; Jn 8:44; Rev 12:9; 20:2), whose eventual defeat seemed implied in the verse. Because “the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the devil” (1 Jn 3:8), the passage was understood as the first promise of a redeemer for fallen humankind, the protoevangelium. Irenaeus of Lyons (ca. A.D. 130–200), in his Against Heresies 5.21.1, followed by several other Fathers of the Church, interpreted the verse as referring to Christ, and cited Gal 3:19 and 4:4 to support the reference. Another interpretive translation is ipsa, “she,” and is reflected in Jerome’s Vulgate. “She” was thought to refer to Mary, the mother of the messiah. In Christian art Mary is sometimes depicted with her foot on the head of the serpent. #Rom 16:20; 1 Jn 3:8; Rev 12:17.
16To the woman he said:
I will intensify your toil in childbearing;
in pain#Toil…pain: the punishment affects the woman directly by increasing the toil and pain of having children. He shall rule over you: the punishment also affects the woman’s relationship with her husband. A tension is set up in which her urge (either sexual urge or, more generally, dependence for sustenance) is for her husband but he rules over her. But see Sg 7:11. you shall bring forth children.
Yet your urge shall be for your husband,
and he shall rule over you.
17To the man he said: Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, You shall not eat from it,
Cursed is the ground#Cursed is the ground: the punishment affects the man’s relationship to the ground (’adam and ’adamah). You are dust: the punishment also affects the man directly insofar as he is now mortal. because of you!
In toil you shall eat its yield
all the days of your life.#Gn 5:29; Rom 5:12; 8:20; Heb 6:8.
18Thorns and thistles it shall bear for you,
and you shall eat the grass of the field.
19By the sweat of your brow
you shall eat bread,
Until you return to the ground,
from which you were taken;
For you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.#Gn 2:7; Jb 10:9; 34:15; Ps 90:3; 103:14; Eccl 3:20; 12:7; Wis 15:8; Sir 10:9; 17:2; Rom 5:12; 1 Cor 15:21; Heb 9:27.
20The man gave his wife the name “Eve,” because she was the mother of all the living.#The man gives his wife a more specific name than “woman” (2:23). The Hebrew name hawwa (“Eve”) is related to the Hebrew word hay (“living”); “mother of all the living” points forward to the next episode involving her sons Cain and Abel.
21The Lord God made for the man and his wife garments of skin, with which he clothed them. 22Then the Lord God said: See! The man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil! Now, what if he also reaches out his hand to take fruit from the tree of life, and eats of it and lives forever?#Gn 2:9; Rev 22:2, 14. 23The Lord God therefore banished him from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he had been taken. 24He expelled the man, stationing the cherubim and the fiery revolving sword east of the garden of Eden, to guard the way to the tree of life.