NET Bible Text
3:1 Now the serpent was more shrewd than any of the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Is it really true that God said, ‘You must not eat from any tree of the orchard’?”
3:2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit from the trees of the orchard;
3:3 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, or else you will die.’”
3:4 The serpent said to the woman, “Surely you will not die,
3:5 for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like divine beings who know good and evil.”
3:6 When the woman saw that the tree produced fruit that was good for food, was attractive to the eye, and was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some of it to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.
3:7 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.
3:8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God moving about in the orchard at the breezy time of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the orchard.
3:9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
3:10 The man replied, “I heard you moving about in the orchard, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”
3:11 And the Lord God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
3:12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave me, she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it.”
3:13 So the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman replied, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.”
3:14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all the wild beasts and all the living creatures of the field! On your belly you will crawl and dust you will eat all the days of your life.
3:15 And I will put hostility between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring; her offspring will attack your head, and you will attack her offspring’s heel.”
3:16 To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your labor pains; with pain you will give birth to children. You will want to control your husband, but he will dominate you.”
3:17 But to Adam he said, “Because you obeyed your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ cursed is the ground thanks to you; in painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.
3:18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, but you will eat the grain of the field.
3:19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat food until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you will return.”
3:20 The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.
3:21 The Lord God made garments from skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.
3:22 And the Lord God said, “Now that the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, he must not be allowed to stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”
3:23 So the Lord God expelled him from the orchard in Eden to cultivate the ground from which he had been taken.
3:24 When he drove the man out, he placed on the eastern side of the orchard in Eden angelic sentries who used the flame of a whirling sword to guard the way to the tree of life.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible®, copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.
Simple Summary
The serpent questioned God’s word, and the man and woman listened and disobeyed. Their sin brought shame, fear, blame, curse, toil, pain, and death. Yet God also judged the serpent, gave hope through the woman’s offspring, and clothed the pair before sending them out of Eden.
What This Passage Means
This passage tells how sin entered human life. The serpent first cast doubt on God’s command. He denied that death would follow and promised that the woman would gain godlike knowledge. The woman saw the fruit as desirable, took it, and gave it to her husband, and he ate.
Their eyes were opened, but the result was shame, not life. They knew they were naked and tried to cover themselves. When God called to them, they hid in fear. The man blamed the woman, and the woman blamed the serpent.
God then spoke judgment. The serpent was cursed and told that there would be lasting hostility between it and the woman and between their offspring. The woman would have pain in childbirth, and the man would face painful toil in the ground. Death would end his life, and he would return to dust.
The passage also shows mercy. The man named his wife Eve, showing that life would continue. God made garments from skin and clothed them. Then he sent the man out of Eden and guarded the way to the tree of life so that fallen humans would not live forever in rebellion.
Important Truths
- Sin begins with doubting God’s word and trusting our own judgment.
- Disobedience brings shame, fear, blame-shifting, and broken fellowship with God.
- God’s judgment falls on the serpent, the woman, and the man.
- Genesis 3:15 gives an early promise of conflict and hope through the woman’s offspring.
- Work, childbirth, and daily life are now marked by pain and frustration.
- Death is the result of human sin: dust returns to dust.
- God still shows mercy by clothing the pair and preserving life.
Warnings, Promises, or Commands
- Warning: Do not doubt God’s word or treat rebellion as wisdom. Sin leads to shame, curse, toil, and death.
- Promise: God speaks of ongoing conflict with the serpent and the woman’s offspring, with a note of future victory.
- Command/response: When God exposes sin, the right response is confession and repentance, not blame-shifting or hiding.
How This Fits in God's Plan
This passage begins the Bible’s story of redemption after human sin. It explains why later covenant promises must deal with death, exile, and broken fellowship with God. The word about the woman’s offspring gives a restrained early hope that God will one day defeat the serpent’s work and open the way back to life.
Simple Application
Read this passage as a warning about sin and a call to trust God’s word. When temptation comes, do not excuse it or shift blame. Confess sin honestly, receive God’s mercy, and walk in humble obedience.