Genesis 3:17-24

17 And he said to the man, "You listened to your wife and ate the fruit which I told you not to eat. Because of what you have done, the ground will be under a curse. You will have to work hard all your life to make it produce enough food for you. ¹

18 It will produce weeds and thorns, and you will have to eat wild plants.

19 You will have to work hard and sweat to make the soil produce anything, until you go back to the soil from which you were formed. You were made from soil, and you will become soil again."

20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all human beings.

21 And the Lord God made clothes out of animal skins for Adam and his wife, and he clothed them.

22 Then the Lord God said, "Now these human beings have become like one of us and have knowledge of what is good and what is bad. They must not be allowed to take fruit from the tree that gives life, eat it, and live forever." ²

23 So the Lord God sent them out of the Garden of Eden and made them cultivate the soil from which they had been formed.

24 Then at the east side of the garden he put living creatures and a flaming sword which turned in all directions. This was to keep anyone from coming near the tree that gives life.

Genesis 3:17-24 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 3

In this chapter an account is given of the temptation of our first parents, of the instrument of it, and of their fall into it, and of the effect of it, Ge 3:1-7 their summons upon it to appear before God, against whom they had sinned, Ge 3:8-10 their examination by him, and the excuses they made, Ge 3:11-13 the various sentences passed of the serpent, the woman, and the man, Ge 3:14-19 some incidental things recorded, expressive of faith and hope in man, and of favour to him, Ge 3:20,21 and his expulsion from the garden of Eden, Ge 3:22-24.

Cross References

• 1. 3.17, 18Hebrews 6.8.
• 2. 3.22Revelation 22.14.

Footnotes

• [a]. adam: [This name in Hebrew means "all human beings."]
• [b]. eve: [This name sounds similar to the Hebrew word for "living," which is rendered in this context as "human beings."]
• [c]. knowledge of what is good and what is bad; [or] knowledge of everything.
• [d]. living creatures: [See Word List.]