The fall

1Now the snake was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God really say, “You must not eat from any tree in the garden”?’

2The woman said to the snake, ‘We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 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.” ’

4‘You will not certainly die,’ the snake said to the woman. 5‘For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, 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 for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realised that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

8Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9But the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’

10He answered, ‘I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.’

11And he said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?’

12The man said, ‘The woman you put here with me – 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 snake deceived me, and I ate.’

14So the Lord God said to the snake, ‘Because you have done this,

‘Cursed are you above all livestock

and all wild animals!

You will crawl on your belly

and you will eat dust

all the days of your life.

15And I will put enmity

between you and the woman,

and between your offspring3:15 Or seed and hers;

he will crush3:15 Or strike your head,

and you will strike his heel.’

16To the woman he said,

‘I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;

with painful labour you will give birth to children.

Your desire will be for your husband,

and he will rule over you.’

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,”

‘Cursed is the ground because of you;

through painful toil you will eat food from it

all the days of your life.

18It will produce thorns and thistles for you,

and you will eat the plants of the field.

19By the sweat of your brow

you will eat your food

until you return to the ground,

since from it you were taken;

for dust you are

and to dust you will return.’

20Adam3:20 Or The man named his wife Eve,3:20 Eve probably means living. 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. 22And the Lord God said, ‘The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live for ever.’ 23So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side3:24 Or placed in front of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing to and fro to guard the way to the tree of life.