Genesis 3:1–15

The Disobedience of Man

3^*Now the snake was the most cunning animal that the Lord God had made. The snake asked the woman, “Did God really tell you not to eat fruit from any tree in the garden?”

²“We may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden,” the woman answered, ³“except the tree in the middle of it. God told us not to eat the fruit of that tree or even touch it; if we do, we will die.”

⁴The snake replied, “That’s not true; you will not die. ⁵God said that, because he knows that when you eat it you will be like God^m and know what is good and what is bad.”ⁿ

⁶The woman saw how beautiful the tree was and how good its fruit would be to eat, and she thought how wonderful it would be to become wise. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, and he also ate it. ⁷As soon as they had eaten it, they were given understanding and realized that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and covered themselves.

⁸That evening they heard the Lord God walking in the garden, and they hid from him among the trees. ⁹But the Lord God called out to the man, “Where are you?”

¹⁰He answered, “I heard you in the garden; I was afraid and hid from you, because I was naked.”

¹¹“Who told you that you were naked?” God asked. “Did you eat the fruit that I told you not to eat?”

¹²The man answered, “The woman you put here with me gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”

^13*The Lord God asked the woman, “Why did you do this?”

She replied, “The snake tricked me into eating it.”

God Pronounces Judgement

¹⁴Then the Lord God said to the snake, “You will be punished for this; you alone of all the animals must bear this curse: from now on you will crawl on your belly, and you will have to eat dust as long as you live. ^15*I will make you and the woman hate each other; her offspring and yours will always be enemies. Her offspring will crush your head, and you will bite her offspring’s^o heel.”