Bible Gateway passage: Genesis 3:3-24 - New International Version (2024)

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Listen to Genesis 3:3-24

3but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”(A)

4“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.(B) 5“For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,(C) knowing good and evil.”

6When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable(D) for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband,(E) who was with her, and he ate it.(F) 7Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked;(G) so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.(H)

8Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking(I) in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid(J) from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”(K)

10He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid(L) because I was naked;(M) so I hid.”

11And he said, “Who told you that you were naked?(N) Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?(O)

12The man said, “The woman you put here with me(P)—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

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

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me,(Q) and I ate.”

14So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,

“Cursed(R) are you above all livestock
and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust(S)
all the days of your life.
15And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring[a](T) and hers;(U)
he will crush[b] your head,(V)
and you will strike his heel.”

16To the woman he said,

“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;
with painful labor you will give birth to children.(W)
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you.(X)

17To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’(Y)

“Cursed(Z) is the ground(AA) because of you;
through painful toil(AB) you will eat food from it
all the days of your life.(AC)
18It will produce thorns and thistles(AD) for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.(AE)
19By the sweat of your brow(AF)
you will eat your food(AG)
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return.”(AH)

20Adam[c] named his wife Eve,[d](AI) because she would become the mother of all the living.

21The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.(AJ) 22And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us,(AK) knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life(AL) and eat, and live forever.” 23So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden(AM) to work the ground(AN) from which he had been taken. 24After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side[e] of the Garden of Eden(AO) cherubim(AP) and a flaming sword(AQ) flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.(AR)

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 3:15 Or seed
  2. Genesis 3:15 Or strike
  3. Genesis 3:20 Or The man
  4. Genesis 3:20 Eve probably means living.
  5. Genesis 3:24 Or placed in front

Cross references

  1. Genesis 3:3 : S Ge 2:17
  2. Genesis 3:4 : S Jn 8:44; 2Co 11:3
  3. Genesis 3:5 : S Ge 1:26; 14:18, 19; Ps 7:8; Isa 14:14; Eze 28:2
  4. Genesis 3:6 : Jas 1:14-15; 1Jn 2:16
  5. Genesis 3:6 : Nu 30:7-8; Jer 44:15, 19, 24
  6. Genesis 3:6 : 2Co 11:3; 1Ti 2:14
  7. Genesis 3:7 : Ge 2:25
  8. Genesis 3:7 : ver 21
  9. Genesis 3:8 : Lev 26:12; Dt 23:14
  10. Genesis 3:8 : Job 13:16; 23:7; 31:33; 34:22, 23; Ps 5:5; 139:7-12; Isa 29:15; Jer 16:17; 23:24; 49:10; Rev 6:15-16
  11. Genesis 3:9 : Ge 4:9; 16:8; 18:9; 1Ki 19:9, 13
  12. Genesis 3:10 : Ex 19:16; 20:18; Dt 5:5; 1Sa 12:18
  13. Genesis 3:10 : Ge 2:25
  14. Genesis 3:11 : Ge 2:25
  15. Genesis 3:11 : S Ge 2:17
  16. Genesis 3:12 : Ge 2:22
  17. Genesis 3:13 : Ro 7:11; 2Co 11:3; 1Ti 2:14
  18. Genesis 3:14 : Dt 28:15-20
  19. Genesis 3:14 : Ps 72:9; Isa 49:23; 65:25; Mic 7:17
  20. Genesis 3:15 : Jn 8:44; Ac 13:10; 1Jn 3:8
  21. Genesis 3:15 : Ge 16:11; Jdg 13:5; Isa 7:14; 8:3; 9:6; Mt 1:23; Lk 1:31; Gal 4:4; Rev 12:17
  22. Genesis 3:15 : Ro 16:20; Heb 2:14
  23. Genesis 3:16 : Ps 48:5-6; Isa 13:8; 21:3; 26:17; Jer 4:31; 6:24; Mic 4:9; 1Ti 2:15
  24. Genesis 3:16 : 1Co 11:3; Eph 5:22
  25. Genesis 3:17 : S Ge 2:17
  26. Genesis 3:17 : Ge 5:29; Nu 35:33; Ps 106:39; Isa 24:5; Jer 3:1; Ro 8:20-22
  27. Genesis 3:17 : Ge 6:13; 8:21; Isa 54:9
  28. Genesis 3:17 : Ge 29:32; 31:42; Ex 3:7; Ps 66:11; 127:2; Ecc 1:13
  29. Genesis 3:17 : Ge 47:9; Job 5:7; 7:1; 14:1; Ecc 2:23; Jer 20:18
  30. Genesis 3:18 : Job 31:40; Isa 5:6; Heb 6:8
  31. Genesis 3:18 : Ps 104:14
  32. Genesis 3:19 : Ps 104:23
  33. Genesis 3:19 : Ge 14:18; Dt 8:3, 9; 23:4; Ru 1:6; 2:14; 2Th 3:10
  34. Genesis 3:19 : S Ge 2:7; S Job 7:21; S Ps 146:4; 1Co 15:47; Heb 9:27
  35. Genesis 3:20 : S Ge 2:20; 2Co 11:3; 1Ti 2:13
  36. Genesis 3:21 : S ver 7
  37. Genesis 3:22 : S Ge 1:26
  38. Genesis 3:22 : S Ge 2:9; S Rev 2:7
  39. Genesis 3:23 : S Ge 2:8
  40. Genesis 3:23 : S Ge 2:7
  41. Genesis 3:24 : S Ge 2:8
  42. Genesis 3:24 : Ex 25:18-22; 1Sa 4:4; 2Sa 6:2; 22:11; 1Ki 6:27; 8:6; 2Ki 19:15; 2Ch 5:8; Ps 18:10; 80:1; 99:1; Isa 37:16; Eze 10:1; 28:16
  43. Genesis 3:24 : Job 40:19; Ps 104:4; Isa 27:1
  44. Genesis 3:24 : S Ge 2:9
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FAQs

What is the meaning of Genesis 3 24? ›

Genesis 3:24 says that the Tree of Life is guarded. The Holy Spirit is guarded. We understand this symbolically, making it clear that our way back to the Tree of Life and access to the Holy Spirit is not going to be easy. In fact, it is impossible! No human being is going to get past a cherub.

What is the flaming sword in Genesis 3:24? ›

According to the Bible, a flaming sword (Hebrew: להט החרב lahat chereb or literally "flame of the whirling sword" Hebrew: להט החרב המתהפכת lahaṭ haḥereb hammithappeket) was entrusted to the cherubim by God to guard the gates of Paradise after Adam and Eve were banished (Genesis 3:24).

What does Genesis 3:3 mean? ›

here the woman is charged by some both with adding to, and taking from the law of God; and if so, must have sinned very heinously before she eat of the fruit; but neither of them are sufficiently proved; not the former by her saying, "neither shall ye touch it", which though not expressed in the prohibition, is implied ...

What message does God give us in chapter 3 of Genesis? ›

Genesis 3 tells us about how sin entered the world. It also shows you how sin enters your life. Adam and Eve chose to do what they knew was wrong. They chose themselves over God, and by doing that, they damaged themselves.

What Genesis 24 teaches us? ›

In Genesis 24, it is Isaac who discovers that God was not only faithful to Abraham, but that God's faithfulness extends to a new generation as well. The topic of Genesis 24 is the question many young men and women ask when they come of age, and that is where do I get a wife or husband?

How many angels are there according to the Bible? ›

The Protestant Bible provides names for five angels, "Michael the archangel" (Jude 1:9), the angel Gabriel, who is called "the man Gabriel" in Daniel 9:21, which are considered part of the standard New Testament canon and Old Testament canon respectively, as well as Raphael, who is mentioned in Tobit 12:15, which falls ...

What hope does God give us? ›

Hope of Eternal Life

Our expectation of eternal life – experiencing the hope of the glory of God – gives Christians perspective on how to live our life while we're here on earth. This hope colors our experiences and how we interact with people. It fuels us and gives our life more meaning.

What are the consequences of Genesis 3? ›

Were Adam and Eve “Punished” for Their Transgression? “We can picture the plight of Adam and Eve. They had been condemned to sorrows, woes, troubles, and labor and they were cast out from the presence of God, and death had been declared to be their fate.

What happened in the Bible in Genesis Chapter 3? ›

Sin separates us from God and ruins our world. Adam and Eve no longer enjoyed the company of God in the same way after their sin. They were removed from the garden (a life of ease) and thrust out into a world of difficulty. The serpent lied to them about the outcome of their disobedience.

What is Satan's offspring? ›

Mainstream Christianity teaches the belief that all individuals are the spiritual children of Satan because they were born in a state of original sin. Through the act of Christian conversion, individuals can become children of God through adoption.

What is the conflict in Genesis 3? ›

Genesis 3 not only depicts the serpent as rebellious towards God, it also depicts the serpent's seduction of humanity to rebel against God. Humanity succumbs to the serpent's seduction, thereby rebelling against God by doing what God commanded the first human being not to do.

How does God show mercy in Genesis 3? ›

But amazingly, throughout this litany of woes upon humankind, God also acted in a most merciful and gracious way. First, he declared that Eve's progeny would somehow bring about a final, decisive triumph over the serpent and all the evil that he represents (Gen. 3:15).

What does the tree of knowledge of good and evil represent? ›

In Jewish tradition, the Tree of Knowledge and the eating of its fruit represents the beginning of the mixture of good and evil together. Before that time, the two were separate, and evil had only a nebulous existence in potential.

What does for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance mean? ›

It means that God won't change His mind about what he has called you to do. If God has called you, that calling is still there, whether or not you have obeyed. And if God gave you a gift, that gift is still there! Whatever God has called you to do, He has also gifted you to do it.

What does it mean that his mercies are new every morning? ›

“They are new every morning”

Since he has eternal love then his mercy will be as well because they are connected. The statement that God's mercies are new every morning is really a reminder to us. God gives mercy for each day and it is refilled and refreshed each morning.

What does it mean for the man to be the head of the household biblically? ›

Headship is not power. It is not control. It is not preference, favoritism, or even special authority. Headship is responsibility. It is a responsibility given BY God TO man, creating an accountability relationship in which man answers to God for how he spiritually disciples his family.

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