Genesis 3

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

1The snake was trickier than any wild animal God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden?"

2And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

2The woman said to the snake, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden."

3But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

3"But there is one tree in the middle of the garden. God said, 'Do not eat its fruit. Do not even touch it, or you will die.'"

4And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

4The snake said to the woman, "No, you will not die."

5For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

5"God knows what will happen. The day you eat it, your eyes will open. You will be like God. You will know good and evil."

6And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

6The woman looked at the tree. The fruit looked good to eat. It was pretty to look at. She wanted to be wise. So she picked some fruit and ate it. She gave some to her husband, who was with her. He ate it too.

7And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

7Then the eyes of both of them opened. They saw that they had no clothes on. So they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings.

8And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

8A cool breeze blew in the garden that day. They heard the LORD God walking there. The man and his wife hid from him among the trees.

9And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

9But the LORD God called to the man. He said, "Where are you?"

10And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

10The man said, "I heard you in the garden. I was afraid, because I had no clothes on. So I hid."

11And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

11God said, "Who told you that you had no clothes? Did you eat from the tree I told you to leave alone?"

12And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

12The man said, "The woman you gave me handed me fruit from the tree. So I ate it."

13And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

13The LORD God said to the woman, "What have you done?" The woman said, "The snake tricked me, and I ate it."

14And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

14The LORD God said to the snake, "You did this, so a curse is on you. You are worse off than any tame or wild animal. You will crawl on your belly. You will eat dust every day of your life."

15And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

15"You and the woman will be enemies. Her children and your children will be enemies too. He will crush your head. You will strike his heel."

Note"Seed" in the old English means children, and their children, on and on. "Bruise" here means a hard blow, not a small bump.

16Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

16God said to the woman, "Having babies will hurt much more now. You will have pain when your children are born. You will want your husband, and he will rule over you."

17And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

17God said to Adam, "You listened to your wife. You ate from the tree I told you to leave alone. So a curse is now on the ground because of you. You will work hard for your food all your life."

18Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

18"The ground will grow thorns and prickly weeds for you. You will eat the plants of the field."

19In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

19"You will sweat hard to get your bread. You will work until you go back to the ground. You were made from the ground. You are dust, and you will become dust again."

20And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

20Adam named his wife Eve. He did this because she would be the mother of everyone alive.

21Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

21The LORD God made clothes from animal skins for Adam and his wife. He dressed them in the clothes.

22And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

22Then the LORD God said, "The man has become like one of us. He knows good and evil now. He must not reach out and take fruit from the tree of life. If he ate that, he would live forever."

NoteIn the old English this sentence stops in the middle, just as it does in the very old Hebrew. It does not say what God will do. The next verse tells us.

23Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

23So the LORD God sent the man out of the garden of Eden. Now he had to work the ground he was made from.

24So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

24God made the man leave. On the east side of the garden he placed cherubim. He also placed a sword of fire that turned every way. They guarded the path to the tree of life.

Note"Cherubims" is the old way of saying cherubim. They are powerful beings who serve God and guard things for him.