New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Genesis 3
1
The serpent was more clever than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. The serpent said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat the fruit of any tree that is in the garden'?"
Reference
Creation
Matthew 4:3
Parallel theme
2 Corinthians 11:3
2 Corinthians 11:14
Revelation 12:9
Revelation 20:2
Matthew 10:16
References God
Matthew 4:6
References Lord
Isaiah 27:1
2
The woman said to the serpent, "We can eat the fruit of the trees that are in the garden.
3
But God did say, 'You must not eat the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden. Do not even touch it. If you do, you will die.' "
Reference
5
"God knows that when you eat the fruit of that tree, you will know things you have never known before. You will be able to tell the difference between good and evil. You will be like God."
Reference
Evil
Genesis 2:17
Matthew 6:23
Genesis 3:22
Parallel theme
2 Corinthians 11:3
Genesis 3:7
Genesis 3:10
References God
Ezekiel 28:2
2 Thessalonians 2:4
Acts 26:18
2 Corinthians 4:4
6
The woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good to eat. It was also pleasing to look at. And it would make a person wise. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her. And he ate it.
Reference
7
Then both of them knew things they had never known before. They realized they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made clothes for themselves.
Reference
8
Then the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking in the garden. It was the coolest time of the day. They hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
Reference
Kingdom
Deuteronomy 4:33
Parallel theme
Hebrews 4:13
Romans 2:15
Genesis 3:10
Job 31:33
References God
Deuteronomy 23:14
References Lord
Jeremiah 23:24
Proverbs 15:3
Jonah 1:3
Job 38:1
9
But the Lord God called out to the man. "Where are you?" he asked.
Reference
References Lord
Genesis 4:9
11
The Lord God said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten the fruit of the tree I commanded you not to eat?"
Reference
12
The man said, "It was the woman you put here with me. She gave me some fruit from the tree. And I ate it."
Reference
13
Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What have you done?" The woman said, "The serpent tricked me. That's why I ate the fruit."
Reference
14
So the Lord God spoke to the serpent. He said, "Because you have done this, "I am putting a curse on you. You are cursed more than all of the livestock and all of the wild animals. You will crawl on the ground. You will eat dust all of the days of your life.
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 72:9
Isaiah 29:4
Leviticus 20:25
References God
Micah 7:17
Genesis 9:6
References Lord
Isaiah 65:25
15
I will put hatred between you and the woman. Your children and her children will be enemies. Her son will crush your head. And you will crush his heel."
Reference
16
The Lord God said to the woman, "I will greatly increase your pain when you give birth. You will be in pain when you have children. You will long for your husband. And he will rule over you."
Reference
17
The Lord God said to Adam, "You listened to your wife. You ate the fruit of the tree that I commanded you about. I said, 'You must not eat its fruit.' "So I am putting a curse on the ground because of what you did. All the days of your life you will have to work hard to get food from the ground.
Reference
Curse
Genesis 5:29
Parallel theme
John 16:33
Psalm 127:2
Job 14:1
Job 21:17
Ecclesiastes 5:17
Ecclesiastes 2:17
Romans 3:19
18
You will eat the plants of the field, even though the ground produces thorns and thistles.
Reference
19
You will have to work hard and sweat a lot to produce the food you eat. You were made out of the ground. And you will return to it. You are dust. So you will return to it."
Reference
22
The Lord God said, "The man has become like one of us. He can now tell the difference between good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and pick fruit from the tree of life and eat it. If he does, he will live forever."
Reference
Evil
Genesis 2:9
Genesis 3:5
Parallel theme
Revelation 22:14
Proverbs 3:18
Revelation 22:2
References God
Revelation 2:7
Genesis 1:26
23
So the Lord God drove the man out of the Garden of Eden to work the ground he had been made out of.
Reference
Summary of Genesis 3
Chapter three presents a significant turn of events in the narrative about the creation of the first man and woman. It describes the fall – the first manifestation of sin in human life.
The chapter begins with the appearance of Serpent – the most cunning of all wild beasts. He approached Eve and asked her, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1). The woman replied that God commanded them not to eat from any tree bar the tree of knowledge, warning them that if they ate from it, they would surely die. Serpent argued that the two would not die if they ate from it and said God knew it but did not want them to eat from it. It also said that when they ate from the tree of knowledge, they would be as wise as God and be acquainted with all secrets and mysteries. It is important to note that the Serpent did not tell a lie but twisted and altered the truth and stoked their suspicions about the words of the Lord.
The woman gave way to temptation and decided that she could have everything that God had forbidden to them. She found the tree that was more beautiful than all the others, full of delicious fruits that promised to satisfy her curiosity and give them wisdom. Without hesitation, she plucked some fruits and ate. Then she gave some fruits to her husband, Adam, who tasted the forbidden fruit also without protest.
When their eyes had been opened, they did not experience the death that God had warned them about, but they became aware of their nakedness and felt ashamed of the fact that they were naked and, covering their bodies with fig leaves, hid in the bushes. God called out to Adam and asked where he was, but instead of answering, he began to explain that he was afraid to be seen by God because he was naked. God reminded him that He made him and asked him if He told him to be naked. God asked if it was the serpent who persuaded him to do this.
This is when Adam showed an aspect of his personality that is the most loathsome for the Christian – he accused others of doing something terrible. He told God that the woman gave him the fruit. When God asked the woman what made her do it, she pushed the blame away from her and said it was the serpent that convinced her to taste the fruit of knowledge. It seems that the first sin that caused the fall was the sin of lying, thus showing that the devil had already possessed their bodies and souls.
God told Adam that it would be more difficult for him to earn a living in the sweat of his brows, and till the ground that would thorn him till he brought fruits to the Lord. He cursed the serpent and said that his dwelling would be on his belly and that he would have to feed on dust for the rest of his days. God also said that there should be a perpetual enmity between Serpent and Eve – between her offspring and Adam’s sons, and He said that it would happen that one of Eve’s children would crush Serpent’s head, although the adversary would have bitten his heels (Genesis 3:15). Scripture scholars have traditionally interpreted this chapter as containing the earliest hope of the Gospel in Scripture, a promise of the Messiah who would deliver people from the power of darkness, the devil, and death.
Then God told Eve that she would bring children in pain and sorrow, that her desire would be granted, but that she would suffer when her husband would rule over her. After that, God made garments of animal skin and gave them to Adam and Eve, clothing them (Genesis 3:21). Scripture scholars believe that it is here that the first concept of sacrifice was born (the animals had to die for the sins of Adam and Eve so that God could show mercy and not destroy them).
The chapter ended with God expelling Adam and Eve from Paradise. He ordered Cherubim to guard the tree of life in Paradise and placed a flaming sword facing all around in order to stop the sinners from even looking at the tree of life. After they were expelled from Paradise, the dark world had become their new home, while the heavenly one was closed to them.
This chapter has great significance because it provides an explanation of how everything in this world happened. It is the first chapter that explains why the world is corrupted and miserable when God created it as a place of peace and happiness. In addition, this event becomes the most important turning point in the whole Scripture, setting the course for almost all subsequent history and the need for redemption from sin. The last sentence in this chapter contains the hint of hope, the first promise of salvation, which was fulfilled in due time in the history of mankind – Jesus paid the redemption for the sins of the whole world, and because of Him, people have been given a chance to live in Paradise.
The chapter begins with the appearance of Serpent – the most cunning of all wild beasts. He approached Eve and asked her, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1). The woman replied that God commanded them not to eat from any tree bar the tree of knowledge, warning them that if they ate from it, they would surely die. Serpent argued that the two would not die if they ate from it and said God knew it but did not want them to eat from it. It also said that when they ate from the tree of knowledge, they would be as wise as God and be acquainted with all secrets and mysteries. It is important to note that the Serpent did not tell a lie but twisted and altered the truth and stoked their suspicions about the words of the Lord.
The woman gave way to temptation and decided that she could have everything that God had forbidden to them. She found the tree that was more beautiful than all the others, full of delicious fruits that promised to satisfy her curiosity and give them wisdom. Without hesitation, she plucked some fruits and ate. Then she gave some fruits to her husband, Adam, who tasted the forbidden fruit also without protest.
When their eyes had been opened, they did not experience the death that God had warned them about, but they became aware of their nakedness and felt ashamed of the fact that they were naked and, covering their bodies with fig leaves, hid in the bushes. God called out to Adam and asked where he was, but instead of answering, he began to explain that he was afraid to be seen by God because he was naked. God reminded him that He made him and asked him if He told him to be naked. God asked if it was the serpent who persuaded him to do this.
This is when Adam showed an aspect of his personality that is the most loathsome for the Christian – he accused others of doing something terrible. He told God that the woman gave him the fruit. When God asked the woman what made her do it, she pushed the blame away from her and said it was the serpent that convinced her to taste the fruit of knowledge. It seems that the first sin that caused the fall was the sin of lying, thus showing that the devil had already possessed their bodies and souls.
God told Adam that it would be more difficult for him to earn a living in the sweat of his brows, and till the ground that would thorn him till he brought fruits to the Lord. He cursed the serpent and said that his dwelling would be on his belly and that he would have to feed on dust for the rest of his days. God also said that there should be a perpetual enmity between Serpent and Eve – between her offspring and Adam’s sons, and He said that it would happen that one of Eve’s children would crush Serpent’s head, although the adversary would have bitten his heels (Genesis 3:15). Scripture scholars have traditionally interpreted this chapter as containing the earliest hope of the Gospel in Scripture, a promise of the Messiah who would deliver people from the power of darkness, the devil, and death.
Then God told Eve that she would bring children in pain and sorrow, that her desire would be granted, but that she would suffer when her husband would rule over her. After that, God made garments of animal skin and gave them to Adam and Eve, clothing them (Genesis 3:21). Scripture scholars believe that it is here that the first concept of sacrifice was born (the animals had to die for the sins of Adam and Eve so that God could show mercy and not destroy them).
The chapter ended with God expelling Adam and Eve from Paradise. He ordered Cherubim to guard the tree of life in Paradise and placed a flaming sword facing all around in order to stop the sinners from even looking at the tree of life. After they were expelled from Paradise, the dark world had become their new home, while the heavenly one was closed to them.
This chapter has great significance because it provides an explanation of how everything in this world happened. It is the first chapter that explains why the world is corrupted and miserable when God created it as a place of peace and happiness. In addition, this event becomes the most important turning point in the whole Scripture, setting the course for almost all subsequent history and the need for redemption from sin. The last sentence in this chapter contains the hint of hope, the first promise of salvation, which was fulfilled in due time in the history of mankind – Jesus paid the redemption for the sins of the whole world, and because of Him, people have been given a chance to live in Paradise.