Genesis 3
1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made: and he said to the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
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?”
2 And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
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.
3 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.
God told us, ‘You mustn't eat from that tree, or even touch it, otherwise you'll die.’”
4 And the serpent said to the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
“You certainly won't die,” the serpent told Eve.
5 For God doth know, that in the day ye eat of it, then your eyes shall be opened: and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
“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.”
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 its fruit, and ate, and gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
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.
7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they [were] naked: and they sewed fig-leaves together, and made for themselves aprons.
Immediately they saw everything differently and realized they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves up.
8 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.
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.
9 And the LORD God called to Adam, and said to him, Where [art] thou?
The Lord God called out to Adam, “Where are you?”
10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden: and I was afraid, because I [was] naked; and I hid myself.
“I heard you walking in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid,” he replied.
11 And he said, Who told thee that thou [wast] naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, that thou shouldest not eat?
“Who told you that you were naked?” asked the Lord God. “Did you eat fruit from the tree I ordered you not to?”
12 And the man said, The woman, whom thou gavest [to be] with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.
“It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit from the tree, and I ate it,” Adam replied.
13 And the LORD God said to the woman, What [is] this [that] thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I ate.
The Lord God asked Eve, “Why have you done this?” “The serpent tricked me, and so I ate it,” she replied.
14 And the LORD God said to 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:
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.
15 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.
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.”
16 To 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.
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.”
17 And to Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened to 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;
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.
18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
It will grow thorns and thistles for you, and you will have to eat wild plants.
19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou shalt return to the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou [art], and to dust shalt thou return.
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.”
20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
Adam named his wife Eve, because she was to be the mother of all human beings.
21 For Adam also and for his wife the LORD God made coats of skins, and clothed them.
The Lord God made Adam and Eve clothes from animal skins and dressed them.
22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man hath become as one of us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he should put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
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!”
23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken.
So the Lord God expelled them from the Garden of Eden. He sent Adam to cultivate the ground from which he'd been made.
24 So he drove out the man: and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
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.
