The Serpent Tempts the Woman
Study note
The serpent is described as the most cunning of all the animals God had made. It approaches the woman and questions God's words, implying God was overly restrictive by asking whether he really forbade eating from any tree. The woman adds to God's command by saying they must not even touch the fruit, and the serpent directly contradicts God by saying she will not die. The serpent promises that eating the fruit will make them like God, knowing good and evil. The woman sees that the fruit looks good to eat and desirable for gaining wisdom, so she eats it and gives some to her husband, who eats it too. Immediately their eyes are opened and they realize they are naked.
1 Now the snake was sneakier than any other wild animal the Lord God had made. The snake asked the woman, "So, did God tell you that you can't eat from any tree in the garden?" Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 The woman told the snake, "No, we can eat fruit from the trees in the garden." And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 "But God did warn us about the tree right in the center. He said, 'Don't eat its fruit. Don't even touch it, or you will die.'" But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 The snake told the woman, "That's not true — you won't die!" And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 "The real reason is that God knows the second you eat it, you'll be able to see everything differently. You'll become just like God, understanding both good and evil." For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and ate, and gave also to her husband with her; and he ate. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
7 Instantly, both of their eyes were opened and they suddenly noticed they were naked. They quickly grabbed some fig leaves, sewed them together, and made something to cover themselves. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
God Confronts Adam and Eve
Study note
When God comes walking in the garden in the cool of the evening, Adam and Eve hide among the trees. God calls out to the man, who admits he was afraid because he was naked. God asks how he knew he was naked and whether he ate from the forbidden tree. The man blames the woman, and the woman blames the serpent. This pattern of blame-shifting shows how sin damages relationships.
8 Later, when the cool evening breeze was blowing, they heard the Lord God walking through the garden. The man and his wife ducked behind some trees, trying to hide from him. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
9 But the Lord God called out to the man, "Where are you?" And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
10 The man replied, "I heard you coming through the garden and I got scared because I was naked, so I hid." And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
11 God asked him, "How did you find out you were naked? Did you eat from that tree I specifically told you not to eat from?" And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
12 The man said, "It was the woman — the one you put here with me. She handed me fruit from the tree, and I ate it." And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
13 Then the Lord God asked the woman, "What is this you have done?" She replied, "The snake fooled me, and I ate it." And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
God Pronounces the Consequences
Study note
God pronounces consequences on all three parties. The serpent is cursed to crawl on its belly and is told that the woman's offspring will one day crush its head — a verse many see as the first promise of a coming Savior. The woman will experience pain in childbirth and tension in her relationship with her husband. The man will struggle with hard work as the ground is cursed because of him. He will have to sweat and labor to grow food until he returns to the dust he came from.
14 So the Lord God told the snake, "Because you did this, you are cursed worse than every farm animal and wild creature. From now on, you will slither on your belly and eat dust for the rest of your life." And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
15 "I am going to put hatred between you and the woman, and between your children and hers. One of her descendants will crush your head, and you will strike at his heel." And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
16 Then God told the woman, "I am going to make having babies much more painful for you. Giving birth will truly hurt. You will long for your husband, and he will have authority over you." Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
17 Then God told Adam, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree I told you to leave alone, I am cursing the ground because of what you did. You will have to work hard and struggle to get food from it for the rest of your life." And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
18 "The ground will grow thorns and prickly weeds for you, and you will have to eat wild plants from the fields." Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
19 "You will sweat and work hard just to eat until the day you die and go back into the ground. I made you from dust, and one day you will turn back into dust." In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Adam and Eve Are Sent Out of Eden
Study note
Adam names his wife Eve, meaning 'life' or 'living,' because she would be the mother of all people. Even though they sinned, God shows care for them by making them clothes from animal skins. But God sends them out of the garden so they cannot eat from the tree of life and live forever in their fallen state. God places powerful angels called cherubim and a flaming sword at the entrance to guard the way back to the tree of life.
20 Adam named his wife Eve. He chose that name because she was going to be the mother of every person who ever lives. And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
21 The Lord God made clothes out of animal skins and gave them to Adam and Eve to wear. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
22 Then the Lord God said, "Look — the man has become like one of us now, knowing both good and evil. We cannot let him reach over and eat from the tree of life too, because then he would live forever." And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
23 So the Lord God sent him away from the Garden of Eden to go work the same ground he had been made from. Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
24 After sending the man out, God stationed powerful angels called cherubim on the east side of the garden, along with a fiery sword that flashed in every direction. They guarded the path to the tree of life. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.