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Genesis 2:16

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2:16Then the Lord God commanded48 the man, “You may freely eat49 fruit50 from every tree of the orchard,

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Footnotes

  1. 48 This is the first time in the Bible that the verb tsavah (צָוָה, “to command”) appears. Whatever the man had to do in the garden, the main focus of the narrative is on keeping God’s commandments. God created humans with the capacity to obey him and then tested them with commands.
  2. 49 The imperfect verb form probably carries the nuance of permission (“you may eat”) since the man is not being commanded to eat from every tree. The accompanying infinitive absolute adds emphasis: “you may freely eat,” or “you may eat to your heart’s content.”
  3. 50 The word “fruit” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied as the direct object of the verb “eat.” Presumably the only part of the tree the man would eat would be its fruit (cf. 3:2).

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,

NIVNew International Version (2011)

And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;

CSBChristian Standard Bible

And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden,

NLTNew Living Translation

But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, “From every tree of the garden you may freely eat,

KJV 1900King James Version

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: