Genesis 3
1 The serpent was more cunning than any of the other wild animals that the Lord God had made. He asked Eve, “Did God really say that you can't eat fruit from every tree in the garden?”
Now the snake was wiser than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, Has God truly said that you may not take of the fruit of any tree in the garden?
2 Eve replied to the serpent, “We can eat from the trees in the garden, but not the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden.
And the woman said, We may take of the fruit of the trees in the garden:
3 God told us, ‘You mustn't eat from that tree, or even touch it, otherwise you'll die.’”
But of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God has said, If you take of it or put your hands on it, death will come to you.
4 “You certainly won't die,” the serpent told Eve.
And the snake said, Death will not certainly come to you:
5 “It's because God knows that as soon as you eat it, you'll see things differently, and you'll be like God, knowing both what is good and what is evil.”
For God sees that on the day when you take of its fruit, your eyes will be open, and you will be as gods, having knowledge of good and evil.
6 Eve saw that the fruit of the tree appeared good to eat. It looked very attractive. She really wanted it so she could become wise. So she took some of its fruit and ate it, and she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it too.
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and a delight to the eyes, and to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit, and gave it to her husband.
7 Immediately they saw everything differently and realized they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves up.
And their eyes were open and they were conscious that they had no clothing and they made themselves coats of leaves stitched together.
8 Later they heard the Lord walking in the garden in the evening when the breeze was blowing. Adam and Eve went and hid out of sight of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
And there came to them the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the evening wind: and the man and his wife went to a secret place among the trees of the garden, away from the eyes of the Lord God.
9 The Lord God called out to Adam, “Where are you?”
And the voice of the Lord God came to the man, saying, Where are you?
10 “I heard you walking in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid,” he replied.
And he said, Hearing your voice in the garden I was full of fear, because I was without clothing: and I kept myself from your eyes.
11 “Who told you that you were naked?” asked the Lord God. “Did you eat fruit from the tree I ordered you not to?”
And he said, Who gave you the knowledge that you were without clothing? Have you taken of the fruit of the tree which I said you were not to take?
12 “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit from the tree, and I ate it,” Adam replied.
And the man said, The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me the fruit of the tree and I took it.
13 The Lord God asked Eve, “Why have you done this?” “The serpent tricked me, and so I ate it,” she replied.
And the Lord God said to the woman, What have you done? And the woman said, I was tricked by the deceit of the snake and I took it.
14 Then the Lord God told the serpent, “Because of what you've done, you are cursed more than any of the other animals. You will slide along on your belly and eat dust as long as you live.
And the Lord God said to the snake, Because you have done this you are cursed more than all cattle and every beast of the field; you will go flat on the earth, and dust will be your food all the days of your life:
15 I will make sure you and your children, and the woman and her children, are enemies. One of her children will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
And there will be war between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed: by him will your head be crushed and by you his foot will be wounded.
16 He told Eve, “I will make pregnancy much more difficult, and giving birth will be very painful. However, you will still desire your husband, but he will have control over you.”
To the woman he said, Great will be your pain in childbirth; in sorrow will your children come to birth; still your desire will be for your husband, but he will be your master.
17 He told Adam, “Because you did what your wife told you, and ate fruit from the tree after I ordered you, ‘Don't eat fruit from this tree,’ the ground is now cursed because of you. You will have to work painfully hard to grow food from it throughout your whole life.
And to Adam he said, Because you gave ear to the voice of your wife and took of the fruit of the tree which I said you were not to take, the earth is cursed on your account; in pain you will get your food from it all your life.
18 It will grow thorns and thistles for you, and you will have to eat wild plants.
Thorns and waste plants will come up, and the plants of the field will be your food;
19 You will have to sweat to grow enough food to eat until you die and return to the ground. For you were made from dust and you will return to dust.”
With the hard work of your hands you will get your bread till you go back to the earth from which you were taken: for dust you are and to the dust you will go back.
20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she was to be the mother of all human beings.
And the man gave his wife the name of Eve because she was the mother of all who have life.
21 The Lord God made Adam and Eve clothes from animal skins and dressed them.
And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife coats of skins for their clothing.
22 Then the Lord God observed, “Look, the human beings have become like one of us, knowing both what is good and what is evil. Now if they take the fruit from the tree of life and eat it, then they'll live forever!”
And the Lord God said, Now the man has become like one of us, having knowledge of good and evil; and now if he puts out his hand and takes of the fruit of the tree of life, he will go on living for ever.
23 So the Lord God expelled them from the Garden of Eden. He sent Adam to cultivate the ground from which he'd been made.
So the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to be a worker on the earth from which he was taken.
24 After he drove them out, the Lord God placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden angels and a sword that flashed in every direction. They were to prevent access to the tree of life.
So he sent the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden he put winged ones and a flaming sword turning every way to keep the way to the tree of life.
