Genesis · Douay-Rheims (Challoner), American Edition 1899
Genesis 3 Douay-Rheims (Challoner), American Edition 1899
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
DRB Douay-Rheims (Challoner), American Edition 1899
WEB World English Bible (Classic, with Deuterocanon)
1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any of the beasts of the earth which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman: Why hath God commanded you, that you should not eat of every tree of paradise?
1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any animal of the field which Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden’?”
2 And the woman answered him, saying: Of the fruit of the trees that are in paradise we do eat:
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees of the garden,
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of paradise, God hath commanded us that we should not eat; and that we should not touch it, lest perhaps we die.
3 but not the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden. God has said, ‘You shall not eat of it. You shall not touch it, lest you die.’”
4 And the serpent said to the woman: No, you shall not die the death.
4 The serpent said to the woman, “You won’t really die,
5 For God doth know that in what day soever you shall eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened: and you shall be as Gods, knowing good and evil.
5 for God knows that in the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 And the woman saw that the tree was good to eat, and fair to the eyes, and delightful to behold: and she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave to her husband who did eat.
6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took some of its fruit, and ate. Then she gave some to her husband with her, and he ate it, too.
7 And the eyes of them both were opened: and when they perceived themselves to be naked, they sewed together fig leaves, and made themselves aprons.
7 Their eyes were opened, and they both knew that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together, and made coverings for themselves.
8 And when they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in paradise at the afternoon air, Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face of the Lord God, amidst the trees of paradise.
8 They heard Yahweh God’s voice walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh God among the trees of the garden.
9 And the Lord God called Adam, and said to him: Where art thou?
9 Yahweh God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”
10 And he said: I heard thy voice in paradise; and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.
10 The man said, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; so I hid myself.”
11 And he said to him: And who hath told thee that thou wast naked, but that thou hast eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat?
11 God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
12 And Adam said: The woman, whom thou gavest me to be my companion, gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
13 And the Lord God said to the woman: Why hast thou done this? And she answered: The serpent deceived me, and I did eat.
13 Yahweh God said to the woman, “What have you done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14 And the Lord God said to the serpent: Because thou hast done this thing, thou art cursed among all cattle, and beasts of the earth: upon thy breast shalt thou go, and earth shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.
14 Yahweh God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed above all livestock, and above every animal of the field. You shall go on your belly and you shall eat dust all the days of your life.
15 I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.
15 I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.”
16 To the woman also he said: I will multiply thy sorrows, and thy conceptions: in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children, and thou shalt be under thy husband’s power, and he shall have dominion over thee.
16 To the woman he said, “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth. You will bear children in pain. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
17 And to Adam he said: Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat, cursed is the earth in thy work; with labour and toil shalt thou eat thereof all the days of thy life.
17 To Adam he said, “Because you have listened to your wife’s voice, and have eaten from the tree, about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ the ground is cursed for your sake. You will eat from it with much labor all the days of your life.
18 Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herbs of the earth.
18 It will yield thorns and thistles to you; and you will eat the herb of the field.
19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return to the earth, out of which thou wast taken: for dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt return.
19 You will eat bread by the sweat of your face until you return to the ground, for you were taken out of it. For you are dust, and you shall return to dust.”
20 And Adam called the name of his wife Eve: because she was the mother of all the living.
20 The man called his wife Eve because she would be the mother of all the living.
21 And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife, garments of skins, and clothed them.
21 Yahweh God made garments of animal skins for Adam and for his wife, and clothed them.
22 And he said: Behold Adam is become as one of us, knowing good and evil: now, therefore, lest perhaps he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever.
22 Yahweh God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand, and also take of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever—”
23 And the Lord God sent him out of the paradise of pleasure, to till the earth from which he was taken.
23 Therefore Yahweh God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken.
24 And he cast out Adam; and placed before the paradise of pleasure Cherubims, and a flaming sword, turning every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
24 So he drove out the man; and he placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Adam
Formed from the dust by God's own hand, the father of all who live.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 1–5
Eve
The first woman, formed from Adam and named "the mother of all living."
Cited in the guide: Genesis 2-4
Cross references (24)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 2 Corinthians 11:3; 2 Corinthians 11:14; Revelation 12:9; Revelation 20:2; Matthew 4:3
- 2 Psalm 58:4
- 3 Genesis 2:16–17; 2 Corinthians 6:17; Genesis 20:6; Job 1:11; Exodus 19:12–13
- 4 John 8:44; 2 Corinthians 11:3; 1 Timothy 2:14; 2 Corinthians 2:11; Genesis 3:13
- 5 Ezekiel 28:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:4; 2 Corinthians 11:13–15; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Genesis 2:17
- 6 1 John 2:16; James 1:14–15; 1 Timothy 2:14; 2 Samuel 11:2; Romans 5:12–19
- 7 Isaiah 59:6; Genesis 2:25; Genesis 3:5; Job 9:29–31; Isaiah 28:20
- 8 Jeremiah 23:24; Hebrews 4:13; Proverbs 15:3; Job 34:21–22; Psalm 139:1–12
- 9 Genesis 4:9; Genesis 16:8; Revelation 20:12–13; Joshua 7:17–19; Genesis 11:5
- 10 Genesis 2:25; Psalm 119:120; Isaiah 57:11; Isaiah 47:3; 1 John 3:20
- 11 Romans 3:20; Genesis 4:10; Psalm 50:21
- 12 Proverbs 28:13; James 1:13–15; Romans 10:3; Job 31:33; Luke 10:29
- 13 2 Corinthians 11:3; 1 Timothy 2:14; John 18:35; Genesis 4:10–12; Genesis 3:4–6
- 14 Micah 7:17; Isaiah 65:25; Psalm 72:9; Isaiah 29:4; Leviticus 20:25
- 15 Romans 16:20; 1 John 3:8; Revelation 12:17; Isaiah 7:14; Hebrews 2:14–15
- 16 Titus 2:5; Colossians 3:18; 1 Corinthians 11:3; 1 Timothy 2:15; 1 Corinthians 14:34
- 17 Romans 8:20–22; Genesis 5:29; Isaiah 24:5–6; Ecclesiastes 2:22–23; John 16:33
- 18 Job 5:5; Matthew 13:7; Isaiah 7:23; Psalm 104:14–15; Proverbs 22:5
- 19 Ecclesiastes 12:7; Job 34:15; Psalm 104:29; Genesis 2:7; Psalm 90:3
- 20 Matthew 1:23; Genesis 2:23; Genesis 2:20; Genesis 5:29; Genesis 16:11
- 21 Isaiah 61:10; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 2 Corinthians 5:2–3; Genesis 3:7; Romans 3:22
- 22 Revelation 2:7; Revelation 22:14; Proverbs 3:18; Genesis 11:6–7; Revelation 22:2
- 23 Genesis 4:2; Genesis 4:12; Genesis 3:19; Ecclesiastes 5:9; Genesis 2:5
- 24 Hebrews 1:7; Psalm 104:4; Exodus 25:18–22; 1 Chronicles 21:16–17; Hebrews 10:18–22
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
"And God," it is declared, "said to the serpent: Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou above all cattle, and above all the beasts of the earth." And this same thing does the Lord also say in the Gospel, to those who are found upon the left hand: "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, which my Father …
… be subjected and bring them over unto Himself, allaying their swelling, and fostering their love; to the end that they might go on no further in self-confidence, but rather should become weak, seeing before their feet the Divinity weak by taking our "coats of skins;" and wearied, might cast themselves down upon It, and It rising, might lift them up.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)
For it will be no longer, "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return," and thou "tillest the ground," and those former words, that will be said to us; but what is far more grievous than these, the "outer darkness," the bonds that may not be burst, the venomous worm, the "gnashing of teeth;" and this with great reason.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
Adam received the sentence, Cursed is the ground in thy labours; thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)
"The serpent," says she, "beguiled me, and I did eat." But He put no question to the serpent; for He knew that he had been the prime mover in the guilty deed; but He pronounced the curse upon him in the first instance, that it might fall upon man with a mitigated rebuke.