Genesis 3:16-19

16 To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; ¹in pain you shall bring forth children. ²Your desire shall be for^[a] your husband, and he shall ³rule over you. ”

17 And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree ⁴of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it, ’ ⁵cursed is the ground because of you; ⁶in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;

18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.

19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; ⁷for you are dust, and ⁸to dust you shall return. ”

Genesis 3:16-19 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. 3:16 [John 16:21]
• 2. 3:16 ch. 4:7; Song 7:10
• 3. 3:16 1 Cor. 11:3; 14:34; Eph. 5:22-24; Col. 3:18; 1 Tim. 2:11, 12; Titus 2:5; 1 Pet. 3:1, 5, 6
• 4. 3:17 ch. 2:17
• 5. 3:17 ch. 5:29; [Rom. 8:20-22]
• 6. 3:17 Eccles. 2:22, 23
• 7. 3:19 ch. 2:7; Ps. 103:14
• 8. 3:19 Job 34:15; Ps. 104:29; Eccles. 3:20; 12:7; Rom. 5:12

Footnotes

• [a] 3:16 Or 'against'