Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options Listen to Genesis 3-4
Close HCSB

Genesis 3-4
Holman Christian Standard Bible

The Temptation and the Fall

3 Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?”(A)

2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. 3 But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’”(B)

4 “No! You will not die,” the serpent said to the woman.(C) 5 “In fact, God knows that when[a] you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God,[b] knowing good and evil.” 6 Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.(D) 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

Sin’s Consequences

8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze,[c] and they hid themselves from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.(E) 9 So the Lord God called out to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

10 And he said, “I heard You[d] in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”

11 Then He asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

12 Then the man replied,(F) “The woman You gave to be with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate.”

13 So the Lord God asked the woman, “What is this you have done?”

And the woman said, “It was the serpent. He deceived me, and I ate.”(G)

14 Then the Lord God said to the serpent:

Because you have done this,
you are cursed more than any livestock
and more than any wild animal.
You will move on your belly
and eat dust all the days of your life.(H)
15 I will put hostility between you and the woman,
and between your seed and her seed.
He will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel.(I)

16 He said to the woman:

I will intensify your labor pains;
you will bear children in anguish.(J)
Your desire(K) will be for your husband,
yet he will rule over you.

17 And He said to Adam, “Because you listened to your wife’s voice and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘Do not eat from it’:

The ground is cursed because of you.(L)
You will eat from it by means of painful labor[e]
all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.(M)
19 You will eat bread[f] by the sweat of your brow
until you return to the ground,(N)
since you were taken from it.
For you are dust,
and you will return to dust.”

20 Adam named his wife Eve[g] because she was the mother of all the living. 21 The Lord God made clothing out of skins for Adam and his wife, and He clothed them.

22 The Lord God said, “Since man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil, he must not reach out, take from the tree of life, eat, and live forever.”(O) 23 So the Lord God sent him away from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove man out and stationed the cherubim and the flaming, whirling sword east of the garden of Eden to guard the way to the tree of life.(P)

Cain Murders Abel

4 Adam was intimate with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. She said, “I have had a male child with the Lord’s help.”[h] 2 Then she also gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel became a shepherd of flocks, but Cain worked the ground. 3 In the course of time Cain presented some of the land’s produce as an offering to the Lord.(Q) 4 And Abel also presented an offering—some of the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions.(R) The Lord had regard for Abel and his offering,(S) 5 but He did not have regard for Cain and his offering. Cain was furious, and he looked despondent.[i]

6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you furious?(T) And why do you look despondent?[j] 7 If you do what is right, won’t you be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”(U)

8 Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”[k] And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.(V)

9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s guardian?”

10 Then He said, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground!(W) 11 So now you are cursed, alienated, from the ground that opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood you have shed.[l] 12 If you work the ground, it will never again give you its yield. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”(X)

13 But Cain answered the Lord, “My punishment[m] is too great to bear! 14 Since You are banishing me today from the soil, and I must hide myself from Your presence and become a restless wanderer on the earth, whoever finds me will kill me.”(Y)

15 Then the Lord replied to him, “In that case,[n] whoever kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.”[o] And He placed a mark(Z) on Cain so that whoever found him would not kill him. 16 Then Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

The Line of Cain

17 Cain was intimate with his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. Then Cain became the builder of a city, and he named the city Enoch after his son. 18 Irad was born to Enoch, Irad fathered Mehujael, Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. 19 Lamech took two wives for himself, one named Adah and the other named Zillah. 20 Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of the nomadic herdsmen.[p] 21 His brother was named Jubal; he was the father of all who play the lyre and the flute. 22 Zillah bore Tubal-cain, who made all kinds of bronze and iron tools. Tubal-cain’s sister was Naamah.

23 Lamech said to his wives:

Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
wives of Lamech, pay attention to my words.
For I killed a man for wounding me,
a young man for striking me.
24 If Cain is to be avenged seven times over,
then for Lamech it will be seventy-seven times!

25 Adam was intimate with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, for she said, “God has given[q] me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.” 26 A son was born to Seth(AA) also, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of Yahweh.(AB)

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 3:5 Lit on the day
  2. Genesis 3:5 Or gods, or divine beings
  3. Genesis 3:8 Lit at the wind of the day
  4. Genesis 3:10 Lit the sound of You
  5. Genesis 3:17 Lit it through pain
  6. Genesis 3:19 Or food
  7. Genesis 3:20 Lit Living, or Life
  8. Genesis 4:1 Lit the Lord
  9. Genesis 4:5 Lit and his face fell
  10. Genesis 4:6 Lit why has your face fallen
  11. Genesis 4:8 Sam, LXX, Syr, Vg; MT omits Let’s go out to the field
  12. Genesis 4:11 Lit blood from your hand
  13. Genesis 4:13 Or sin
  14. Genesis 4:15 LXX, Syr, Vg read Not so!
  15. Genesis 4:15 Or suffer severely
  16. Genesis 4:20 Lit the dweller of tent and livestock
  17. Genesis 4:25 The Hb word for given sounds like the name “Seth.”
Listen to Genesis 3-4
Close NIV

Genesis 3-4
New International Version

The Fall

3 Now the serpent(A) 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’?(B)”

2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,(C) 3 but 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.’”(D)

4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.(E) 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,(F) knowing good and evil.”

6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable(G) for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband,(H) who was with her, and he ate it.(I) 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked;(J) so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.(K)

8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking(L) in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid(M) from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”(N)

10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid(O) because I was naked;(P) so I hid.”

11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked?(Q) Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?(R)”

12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me(S)—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me,(T) and I ate.”

14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,

“Cursed(U) are you above all livestock
    and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
    and you will eat dust(V)
    all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
    between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring[a](W) and hers;(X)
he will crush[b] your head,(Y)
    and you will strike his heel.”

16 To the woman he said,

“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;
    with painful labor you will give birth to children.(Z)
Your desire will be for your husband,
    and he will rule over you.(AA)”

17 To 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,’(AB)

“Cursed(AC) is the ground(AD) because of you;
    through painful toil(AE) you will eat food from it
    all the days of your life.(AF)
18 It will produce thorns and thistles(AG) for you,
    and you will eat the plants of the field.(AH)
19 By the sweat of your brow(AI)
    you will eat your food(AJ)
until you return to the ground,
    since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
    and to dust you will return.”(AK)

20 Adam[c] named his wife Eve,[d](AL) because she would become the mother of all the living.

21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.(AM) 22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us,(AN) knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life(AO) and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden(AP) to work the ground(AQ) from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side[e] of the Garden of Eden(AR) cherubim(AS) and a flaming sword(AT) flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.(AU)

Cain and Abel

4 Adam[f] made love to his wife(AV) Eve,(AW) and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain.[g](AX) She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth[h] a man.” 2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.(AY)

Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.(AZ) 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering(BA) to the Lord.(BB) 4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions(BC) from some of the firstborn of his flock.(BD) The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering,(BE) 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry?(BF) Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door;(BG) it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.(BH)”

8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”[i] While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.(BI)

9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”(BJ)

“I don’t know,(BK)” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

10 The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.(BL) 11 Now you are under a curse(BM) and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you.(BN) You will be a restless wanderer(BO) on the earth.(BP)”

13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. 14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence;(BQ) I will be a restless wanderer on the earth,(BR) and whoever finds me will kill me.”(BS)

15 But the Lord said to him, “Not so[j]; anyone who kills Cain(BT) will suffer vengeance(BU) seven times over.(BV)” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. 16 So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence(BW) and lived in the land of Nod,[k] east of Eden.(BX)

17 Cain made love to his wife,(BY) and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city,(BZ) and he named it after his son(CA) Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.

19 Lamech married(CB) two women,(CC) one named Adah and the other Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play stringed instruments(CD) and pipes.(CE) 22 Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged(CF) all kinds of tools out of[l] bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain’s sister was Naamah.

23 Lamech said to his wives,

“Adah and Zillah, listen to me;
    wives of Lamech, hear my words.
I have killed(CG) a man for wounding me,
    a young man for injuring me.
24 If Cain is avenged(CH) seven times,(CI)
    then Lamech seventy-seven times.(CJ)”

25 Adam made love to his wife(CK) again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth,[m](CL) saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.”(CM) 26 Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh.(CN)

At that time people began to call on[n] the name of the Lord.(CO)

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 3:15 Or seed
  2. Genesis 3:15 Or strike
  3. Genesis 3:20 Or The man
  4. Genesis 3:20 Eve probably means living.
  5. Genesis 3:24 Or placed in front
  6. Genesis 4:1 Or The man
  7. Genesis 4:1 Cain sounds like the Hebrew for brought forth or acquired.
  8. Genesis 4:1 Or have acquired
  9. Genesis 4:8 Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Masoretic Text does not have “Let’s go out to the field.”
  10. Genesis 4:15 Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew Very well
  11. Genesis 4:16 Nod means wandering (see verses 12 and 14).
  12. Genesis 4:22 Or who instructed all who work in
  13. Genesis 4:25 Seth probably means granted.
  14. Genesis 4:26 Or to proclaim
Next
Genesis 2
Genesis 5
Next
dropdown
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.

July Summer Surge

More on the NIV