Genesis 3

Genesis 3:1

more shrewd

"more cunning" or "smarter at getting what he wanted by telling lies"

Has God really said, 'You ... garden'?

"I am surprised that God said, 'You ... garden.'"

You must not eat

The word "you" is plural and refers to the man and the woman.

Genesis 3:2

We may eat

"We are allowed to eat" or "We have permission to eat"

Genesis 3:3

You must not eat it, and you must not touch it

"Do not eat it, and do not touch it" or "You must not eat it or touch it"

or you will die

"If you eat it or touch it, you will die"

Genesis 3:4

You will ... not die

These words refer to the man and the woman and so are dual or plural.

Genesis 3:5

knowing good and evil

"knowing everything, including both good and evil"

Genesis 3:6

it was a delight to the eyes

"the tree was delightful to look at" or "it was nice to look at" or "it was very beautiful"

that the tree was desirable to make one wise

"she wanted the tree's fruit because it could make a person wise" or "she wanted its fruit because it could make her understand what was right and wrong just as God does"

Genesis 3:7

sewed

put together, probably using vines as thread

fig leaves

If people do not know what fig leaves are like, this can be translated as "large leaves from a fig tree" or simply "large leaves."

made coverings for their loins

"clothed themselves with them because they were ashamed"

Genesis 3:9

Where are you?

"Why are you trying to hide from me?" God knew where the man was. When the man answered, he did not say where he was but why he was hiding.

Genesis 3:11

Who told you

God knew the answer to this question. He asked it in order to help Adam to confess that he had disobeyed God.

Genesis 3:13

What is this you have done?

"You have done a terrible thing."

Genesis 3:14

all the livestock and all the beasts of the field

"all domestic animals and all wild animals"

It is on your stomach that you will go

"You will move along the ground on your stomach." The words "it is upon your stomach" comes first to emphasize the contrast between the way other animals would move along using their legs and the way the serpent would slither along on its stomach.

it is dust that you will eat

"you will eat dust." The words "it is dust" comes first to emphasize the contrast between the plants above the ground that other animals would eat and the dirty food on the ground that the serpent would eat.

Genesis 3:15

hostility between you and the woman

This means that the serpent and the woman would become enemies.

seed

The word "seed" refers to what a man puts into a woman to cause a baby to grow inside the woman. Like the word "offspring," it can refer to more than one person. Try to find a word that is singular but can refer to more than one person.

He will bruise ... his heel

The words "he" and "his" refer to the woman's descendant. If "seed" was translated as plural, this can be translated as "they will bruise ... their heel"; in this case, consider inserting footnotes to say that the "they" and "their" are used to translate a singular pronoun.

bruise

"crush" or "strike" or "attack"

Genesis 3:16

I will greatly multiply your pain

"I will make your pain increase much" or "I will make your pain to be very severe"

in childbirth

"in giving birth to children" or "when you give birth to children"

Your desire will be for your husband

"You will have a strong desire for your husband." Possible meanings are 1) "You will want very much to be with your husband" or 2) "You will want to control your husband"

he will rule over you

"he will be your master" or "he will control you"

Genesis 3:17

Adam

The name Adam is the same as the Hebrew word for "man." Some translations say "Adam" and some say "the man." You may use either form as it refers to the same person.

you have listened to the voice of your wife

"you have obeyed what your wife said"

have eaten from the tree

"have eaten the fruit of the tree" or "have eaten some of the fruit of the tree"

You may not eat from it

"You must not eat from it" or "Do not eat its fruit"

cursed is the ground

"I am cursing the ground"

through painful work

"by doing hard work"

Genesis 3:18

the plants of the field

Possible meanings are 1) "the plants that you take care of in your fields" or 2) "the wild plants that grow in the open fields."

Genesis 3:19

By the sweat of your face

"By doing hard work that makes your face sweat"

you will eat bread

"you will eat food"

until you return to the ground

"until you die and your body is put in the ground." Man's hard work does not end until the time of his death and burial.

For dust you are, and to dust you will return

"I made you from soil, so your body will become soil again." Translate both occurrences of "dust" with the same word in order to show that man begins and ends in the same condition.

Genesis 3:20

The man

Some translations say "Adam."

called his wife's name Eve

"gave his wife the name Eve" or "named his wife Eve"

Eve

Translators may write a footnote saying "The name Eve sounds like the Hebrew word that means 'living.'"

all the living

"all people" or "all living people"

Genesis 3:22

the man

Possible meanings are 1) God was referring to one human, the man, or 2) God was referring to humans in general, so this would mean the man and his wife. Even if God was speaking about one person, what he said applied to both of them.

like one of us

"like us." The pronoun "us" is plural.

knowing good and evil

"knowing everything, including both good and evil"

he must not be allowed

"I will not allow him"

tree of life

"the tree that gives people life." See how you translated this in Genesis 2:9.

Genesis 3:23

the ground from which he had been taken

"dirt because he had been taken from dirt." This does not refer to the particular place on the land that the God took man from.

to cultivate

This means to what is needed so that plants grow well.

Genesis 3:24

So God drove the man out of the garden

"God forced the man to leave the garden."

in order to guard the way to the tree of life

"in order to stop people from going to the tree of life"

flaming sword

Possible meanings are 1) a sword that had flames coming from it or 2) a fire that was shaped like a sword. Languages that do not have swords could use another weapon such as a spear or arrow.