Genesis 3, side by side
Our retelling next to the Bible text it comes from. Each row lines up one scene with the verses it retells.
Scene 8: A Question from the SerpentVerses 1 to 5
The serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal God had made. Crafty means clever in a sneaky way.
He asked the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden?'" (3:1).
That is not what God said. God said they could eat from every tree but one. The serpent made God sound stingy, which means not willing to share.
The woman said they could eat from the trees. But God had said not to eat from the tree in the middle, or even touch it, or they would die.
"You will not surely die," the serpent told her (3:4). He said God knew that when they ate it, their eyes would be opened. They would be like God, knowing good and evil.
Now the serpent was calling God a liar.
1Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’” 2The woman answered the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden, 3but about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You must not eat of it or touch it, or you will die.’” 4“You will not surely die,” the serpent told her. 5“For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Scene 9: They EatVerses 6 to 7
The woman looked at the tree. The fruit looked good to eat and beautiful. She wanted the wisdom it promised.
She took some fruit and ate it. She gave some to her husband, who was with her. And he ate it too.
Then their eyes were opened. They saw that they were naked, and they felt ashamed. They sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.
6When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. 7And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed together fig leaves and made coverings for themselves.
Scene 10: "Where Are You?"Verses 8 to 13
In the cool breeze of the day, the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking in the garden. They hid among the trees.
"But the LORD God called out to the man, 'Where are you?'" (3:9).
God already knew where they were. His question gave them a chance to come out and tell the truth.
The man said he heard God and was afraid because he was naked. So he hid.
God asked, "Who told you that you were naked?" (3:11). Then he asked if they had eaten from the tree he told them not to eat from.
The man blamed the woman, and he blamed God for giving her to him. "The woman whom You gave me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it" (3:12).
Then God asked the woman, "What is this you have done?" (3:13). The woman blamed the serpent. "The serpent deceived me," she said, "and I ate" (3:13). Deceived means tricked.
8Then the man and his wife heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the breeze of the day, and they hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9But the LORD God called out to the man, “Where are you?” 10“I heard Your voice in the garden,” he replied, “and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” 11“Who told you that you were naked?” asked the LORD God. “Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12And the man answered, “The woman whom You gave me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied, “and I ate.”
Scene 11: What BreaksVerses 14 to 19
God put a curse on the serpent. It would crawl on its belly all its life.
Then God said the serpent and the woman would be enemies, and so would their children. God said to the serpent, "He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel" (3:15).
God told the woman that having children would now be very painful. She would long for her husband, and he would rule over her.
God told the man that the ground was now cursed because of what he did. Growing food would be hard work, with thorns and sweat.
And one day he would die. "For dust you are, and to dust you shall return" (3:19).
14So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and every beast of the field! On your belly will you go, and dust you will eat, all the days of your life. 15And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” 16To the woman He said: “I will sharply increase your pain in childbirth; in pain you will bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” 17And to Adam He said: “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat, cursed is the ground because of you; through toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18Both thorns and thistles it will yield for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground— because out of it were you taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”
Scene 12: Clothes and a Way OutVerses 20 to 24
The man named his wife Eve. The name sounds like the Hebrew word for "living." She would be the mother of every person.
Then God made clothes out of animal skins for Adam and Eve. He dressed them himself.
God did not want them to take fruit from the tree of life and live forever. So he banished them from the garden, to work the ground. Many readers see mercy here: God would not let them live forever in a broken world.
East of the garden, God placed cherubim, powerful heavenly guards, and a flaming sword. They guarded the way to the tree of life.
20And Adam named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all the living. 21And the LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and He clothed them. 22Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. And now, lest he reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever...” 23Therefore the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24So He drove out the man and stationed cherubim on the east side of the Garden of Eden, along with a whirling sword of flame to guard the way to the tree of life.
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