Genesis 3:12-17

Contemporary English Version

¹²“It was the woman you put here with me,” the man said. “She gave me some of the fruit, and I ate it.”

¹³^(A) The Lord God then asked the woman, “What have you done?”

“The snake tricked me,” she answered, “and I ate some of that fruit.”

¹⁴So the Lord God said to the snake:

“Because of what you have done,
you will be the only animal
    to suffer this curse—
For as long as you live,
you will crawl on your stomach
    and eat dirt.
¹⁵^(B) You and this woman
    will hate each other;
your descendants and hers
    will always be enemies.
One of hers will strike you
    on the head,
and you will strike him
    on the heel.”

¹⁶Then the Lord God said to the woman,

“You will suffer terribly
when you give birth.
But you will still desire
your husband,
and he will rule over you.”

¹⁷^(C) The Lord said to the man,

“You listened to your wife
and ate the fruit
    I told you not to eat.
And so, the ground
will be under a curse
    because of what you did.
As long as you live,
you will have to struggle
    to grow enough food.