Light For Life NASB Study Bible (Mahogany Lighthouse)

On the Occasion of Date

Letter Edition

Red

New American Standard Bible copyright © 1960, 1971, 1973, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation, a corporation not for profit, La Habra, California. All rights reserved. www.Lockman.org

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INTRODUCTION TO

THE LIGHT FOR LIFE NASB STUDY BIBLE

This brand-new study Bible, featuring notes from the Layman’s Bible Commentary series, includes the text of the 2020 update of the New American Standard Bible.

Always considered one of the most literal translations available, the New American Standard Bible was completed in 1971. Updates were made in 1977, 1995, and most recently 2020. This latest version of the NASB, while keeping and improving the careful translation work of past editions, enhances readability with modernized language. Making use of advances in biblical scholarship over the preceding quarter century, the NASB’s refreshed text will speak powerfully to readers today and well into the future.

Now, combined with Barbour’s clear and helpful study notes—nearly 6,500 in all—the Light for Life NASB Study Bible is ready to engage, encourage, and edify readers of all ages and backgrounds.

SPECIAL FEATURES OF THIS EDITION

The Light for Life NASB Study Bible contains a number of additional features to help you gain the most from your Bible reading:

Book Introductions. Appearing before all sixty-six books of the Bible, these brief summaries will help orient you as you read God’s Word.

Nearly 6,500 Study Notes. Found underneath the Bible text on each page, these notes explain difficult concepts and provide important background information that will help you better understand the Bible text. All study notes in this volume have been selected and adapted from the Layman’s Bible Commentary Series released by Barbour Publishing.

Cross References. Found at the very bottom of each page, these references elaborate on certain verses by pointing to other verses in the Bible.

Q&A Articles. These articles appear throughout the Bible, providing answers to many of your questions about people and events of Scripture.

Full-Page Articles. More in-depth information is provided for a number of interesting topics.

Subject Headings. In-text thumbnails appear throughout the pages of this Bible to help you track the message as well as find favorite passages.

Words of Christ in Red. As you read the pages of the New Testament, you’ll find words spoken directly by the Lord Jesus Christ are highlighted in color.

Paragraph Indicators. Boldface verse numbers appear whenever a new paragraph begins in the Bible text. The paragraph extends until the next bold verse number. Dictionary/Concordance. This helpful tool, appearing in the back of the Bible, will help you find favorite Bible passages while providing explanations of important words and names.

Map Section. Eight full-color maps appear in the back of this Bible to help you better visualize and understand where many of the Bible stories took place.

Additional information specific to the New American Standard Bible appears on the following pages.

SCRIPTURAL PROMISE

“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.”

Isaiah 40:8

The New American Standard Bible has been produced with the conviction that the words of Scripture as originally penned in the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek were inspired by God. Since they are the eternal Word of God, the Holy Scriptures speak with fresh power to each generation, to give wisdom that leads to salvation, that people may serve Christ to the glory of God.

The NASB strives to adhere as closely as possible to the original languages of the Holy Scriptures and to make the translation in a fluent and readable style according to current English usage.

THE FOURFOLD AIM OF THE LOCKMAN FOUNDATION

1. These publications shall be true to the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.

2. They shall be grammatically correct.

3. They shall be understandable.

4. They shall give the Lord Jesus Christ His proper place, the place which the Word gives Him; therefore, no work will ever be personalized.

PREFACE TO THE NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE

In the history of English Bible translations, the King James Version is the most prestigious. This time-honored version of 1611, itself a revision of the Bishops’ Bible of 1568, became the basis for the English Revised Version appearing in 1881 (New Testament) and 1885 (Old Testament). The American counterpart of this last work was published in 1901 as the American Standard Version. The ASV, a product of both British and American scholarship, has been highly regarded for its scholarship and accuracy. Recognizing the values of the American Standard Version, The Lockman Foundation felt an urgency to preserve these and other lasting values of the ASV by incorporating recent discoveries of Hebrew and Greek textual sources and by rendering it into current English. Therefore, in 1959 a new and original translation project was launched, based on the time-honored principles of translation used for the ASV and KJV to produce an accurate and readable English text. The result is the New American Standard Bible. This edition of the NASB represents updates according to modern English usage and refinements recommended over the last several years as well as updates based on current research of the ancient manuscripts.

PRINCIPLES OF TRANSLATION

Modern English Usage: The goal is to render the grammar and terminology in contemporary English. When it was felt that the word-for-word literalness was unacceptable to the modern reader, a change was made in the direction of a more current English idiom. In editions that include the full set of translator’s notes, in the instances where this has been done, a more literal rendering is indicated by “Lit” notes when necessary. These notes provide the “literal” meaning of the word or phrase in question, or as more technically known, its formal equivalent in the immediate context. Almost all words have a range of meanings, and a “Lit” note supplies the literal or formal meaning for that particular context. There are a few exceptions to this procedure. Punctuation is a relatively modern invention, and ancient writers often linked most of their sentences with “and” or other connectives, which are sometimes omitted at the beginning of sentences for better English. Also, the Hebrew idiom “answered and said” is sometimes reduced to “answered” or “said” as demanded by the context. For current English the idiom “it came about that” has not been translated in the New Testament except when a major transition is needed.

Gender

Accuracy: In past editions it was common practice to translate the Greek word anthropoi as “men” and the Hebrew adam when used as a plural as “men,” as well as all pluralistic uses of ish and similar words. The same was true for singulars, as masculine. This was never intended to be gender-exclusive when the context indicated that women were included; it was assumed at

that time that readers inferred the inclusion of women. Gender accuracy is important, however, so in this edition Greek and Hebrew words that are not actually exclusive in gender as they are used in a given context are rendered by inclusive terms, such as “people.” Just as important, when the words in the original languages are in fact referring only to males or females, the distinction is maintained in English.

The Word Brethren: This word was used in past editions of the NASB as the plural of the Greek “brothers” (adelphoi) because it can still be used in a formal setting to address members of a profession, society, or church, regardless of gender. However, most people today would seldom use “brethren” informally and not often in most churches. This created the challenge of choosing a replacement that would have the same meaning that led to the original usage of “brethren,” and only “brothers” was deemed adequate. To be gender-accurate, when it is clear that the author or speaker is referring to women as well as men, “and sisters” is added in italic for accuracy and clarity. The italic is necessary to indicate that the addition is implied in the meaning of adelphoi for the context, and the addition is not in the Greek text itself.

Let’s for Action: In most places the phrase “let us” has been replaced with “let’s” when a proposal is being made by one or more persons within a group to engage in an action. Such a proposal is common not only in English, but also in the ancient languages of the Bible; however,

it is expressed in the ancient languages grammatically rather than by using an auxiliary, “helping” verb such as “let.” It is common today for readers to understand “let us” to mean “allow us,” so in effect, “let us” has become unintentionally misleading to most readers. Therefore, the simple contraction “let’s” has emerged as the clearest expression because this form reflects the nuance of meaning in the original languages—that is, a proposal to do something. However, in some situations “Let Us” is retained for intimate discourse within the Godhead, as in Gen 1:26. “Let us” is also kept when there is a request for permission, and in some other select cases.

Alternative Readings: In addition to the more literal renderings explained under Modern English Usage, notations have been made to include alternate translations, readings of variant manuscripts, and explanatory equivalents of the text. Only such notations have been used as have been felt justified in assisting the reader’s comprehension of the terms used by the original author.

Hebrew Text: In the present translation Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia and, where available, Biblia Hebraica Quinta have been employed, together with the LXX, the Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient versions, and the most recent scholarship from lexicography.

Hebrew Tenses: The timing of tenses in Hebrew can be a challenging element of translation and careful attention has been given to the requirements of accurate translation, the sequence of tenses, and the immediate and broad contexts.

The Proper Name of God in the Old Testament: In the Scriptures, the name of God is most significant. It is inconceivable to think of spiritual matters without a proper designation for the Supreme Deity. The most common name for the Deity is “God,” a translation of the original Elohim. One of the titles for God is “Lord,” a translation of Adonai. There is another name which is understood as God’s special or proper name, that is, the four Hebrew letters equivalent to the English letters YHWH (Exodus 3:14 and Isaiah 42:8). This name has not been pronounced by the Jewish people because of reverence for the great sacredness of the divine name. This edition consistently translates this name as “Lord.” The only exception to this translation of “YHWH” is when it occurs in immediate proximity to the word “Lord,” that is, Adonai. In that case it is regularly translated “God” in order to avoid confusion.

For many years YHWH has been transliterated as Yahweh, however there is no complete certainty about this pronunciation. While “Yah” can be verified separately, the rest of the name cannot.

Names in the New Testament: The Greek versions of Hebrew names found in the New Testament, such as

“Zacharias,” are usually given in their original Hebrew forms, as in “Zechariah” for “Zacharias.” Exceptions occur when the person is very commonly known by another name in English versions of the Bible. One of the most notable of such names is “James.” An accurate translation would render this name “Jacob.” Unfortunately, many would find it confusing to suddenly change the name “James” to “Jacob.” There are other special cases where we do not follow the pattern outlined above, and these are often noted. The name “Jesus” itself is a special case, based on the Greek, from an abbreviated form of “Joshua.” In fact, in two cases in the New Testament the Greek name refers instead to the famous Joshua of the Old Testament (Acts 7:45; Heb 4:8).

Greek Text: Consideration was given to the latest available manuscripts with a view to determining the best Greek text. In most instances the 28th edition of the Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece was followed. For Acts and the General Epistles, the Editio Critica Maior (ECM) was followed in most instances. However, the apparatuses provided by both editions are intended to enable scholars to make informed decisions about readings, and sometimes alternate readings with better support to those chosen by the editors were preferred.

Greek Tenses: A careful distinction has been made in the treatment of the Greek aorist tense (usually translated as the English past, “He did”) and the Greek imperfect tense (normally rendered either as English past progressive, “He was doing”; or, if inceptive, as “He began to do” or “He started to do”; or else if customary past, as “He used to do”). “Began” is italicized if it is added to translate an imperfect tense, in order to distinguish it from the Greek verb for “begin.” In some contexts the difference between the Greek imperfect and the English past is conveyed better by the choice of vocabulary or by other words in the context, and in such cases the Greek imperfect may be rendered as a simple past tense (e.g., “had an illness for many years” would be preferable to “was having an illness for many years” and the first option would be common in English).

Not all aorist tenses have been rendered as English pasts (“He did”), because some of them are clearly to be rendered as English perfects (“He has done”), or even as past perfects (“He had done”), judging from the context in which they occur. Such aorists have been rendered as perfects or past perfects in this translation.

As for the distinction between aorist and present imperatives, these have usually been rendered as imperatives in the customary way, rather than attempting any fine distinction such as “Begin to do!” (for the aorist imperative), or, “Continually do!” (for the present imperative).

As for the sequence of tenses, care was taken to follow English rules rather than Greek in translating Greek

presents, imperfects and aorists. For example where English says, “We knew that he was doing,” Greek puts it, “We knew that he does”; similarly, “We knew that he had done” is the English for “We knew that he did.” Likewise, the English, “When he had come, they met him,” is represented in Greek by, “When he came, they met him.” In all cases a consistent transition has been made from the

Greek tense in the subordinate clause to the appropriate tense in English.

In the rendering of negative questions introduced by the Greek particle me- (which always expects the answer “No”) the wording has been altered from a mere, “Will he not do this?” to a more accurate, “He will not do this, will he?”

EXPLANATION OF GENERAL FORMAT

Notes and Cross References are placed on the same page as their Bible text and listed under verse numbers to which they refer. Superior numbers refer to literal renderings, alternate translations, or explanations. Superior letters refer to cross references. Cross references in italics are parallel passages.

Paragraphs are designated by bold face verse numbers or letters.

Quotation Marks are used in the text in accordance with modern English usage.

Capitalized Words are used to provide helpful information. Personal pronouns are capitalized when pertaining to Deity. The word “Law” is capitalized when pertaining to Mosaic Law.

Italics are used in the text to indicate words that are not found in the original Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek but are implied by it, or are sometimes necessary for correct English. Italics are used in the marginal notes to signify alternate readings for the text. Roman text in these marginal alternate readings is the same as italics in the Bible text. There are also special cases of italics referring to words that actually are in the original text. Italic “began” mentioned in Greek Tenses is one example, where “began” communicates the grammatical tense of a verb. Another is italic possessive pronouns for Greek articles (“the” in Greek) used as possessive pronouns, a common feature in the Greek language. “His good pleasure,” liter-

ally: “the good pleasure” in Phil 2:13 is an example. The purpose of the italic in this case is to inform the reader that the expected Greek word (the Greek possessive pronoun) is not found in the original text, but is represented by another word (the article) in the original text.

Small Caps in the New Testament are used in the text to indicate Old Testament quotations or references to Old Testament texts. Variations of Old Testament wording are found in New Testament citations depending on whether the New Testament writer translated from a Hebrew text, used existing Greek or Aramaic translations, or paraphrased the material. It should be noted that modern rules for the indication of direct quotation were not used in biblical times, and the ancient writer would use exact quotations or references to quotation without any specific indication of them.

Asterisks are used to mark verbs that are historical presents in the Greek grammar and have been translated with an English past tense in order to conform to modern usage. The translators recognized that in some contexts the present tense seems more unexpected and unjustified to the English reader than a past tense would have been. But Greek authors frequently used the present tense for the sake of heightened vividness, thereby transporting their readers in imagination to the actual scene at the time of occurrence. However, the translators felt that it would be wise to change these historical presents to English past tenses.

ABBREVIATIONS AND SPECIAL MARKINGS

Aram = Aramaic

DSS = Dead Sea Scrolls

Gr = Greek

Heb = Hebrew

Lat = Latin

LXX = Greek translation of O.T. (Septuagint)

MT = Masoretic Text

Lit = A literal translation (formal equivalent)

Or = An alternate translation justified by the original language

Ancient versions = O.T. manuscripts that are not Hebrew

[[ ]] = In text, double brackets indicate words very likely not in the original manuscripts

[ ] = In text, brackets indicate words probably not in the original manuscripts

[ ] = In notes, brackets indicate references to a name, place, or thing similar to, but not identical with that in the text

cf. = compare

ff = following verses

mg = Refers to a marginal reading on another verse

ms, mss = manuscript, manuscript

v, vv = verse(s)

THE OLD TESTAMENT

THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, CALLED

GENESIS

Introduction to Genesis • The first eleven chapters of Genesis trace events such as creation, the fall, the flood, and the establishing of the nations. The accounts of four great people complete the book in chapters 12–50: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Genesis comes from the Greek word geneseos, meaning “origin, source, generation, or beginning.”

Author • Although Genesis does not directly name its author, Jesus and the writers of Scripture clearly believed that Moses was the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible, often referred to in the New Testament as “the Law”; see Mark 10:3–5; Luke 24:44).

Occasion • Genesis spans more time than any other book in the Bible. In fact, it covers more years than all of the remaining sixty-five books of the Bible put together (approximately twenty-four hundred years). The total duration is from the time of creation to the time when the Israelites arrive in Egypt and grow into a nation (about 1800 BC). The date of Genesis is sometime after the Exodus, during the fifteenth century BC.

The Creation

1A In the beginning God B created the heavens and the earth.

2And the earth was a 1,A formless and desolate emptiness, and B darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

3Then A God said, “ 1 Let there be light”; and there was light.

4God saw that the light was good; and God A separated the light from the darkness.

5 A God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

6Then God said, “Let there be an A expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”

7God made the 1 expanse, and separated the waters that were below the expanse from the waters A that were above the expanse; and it was so.

8God called the expanse “heaven.” And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

9Then God said, “ A Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let B the dry land appear”; and it was so.

10And God called the dry land “earth,” and the A gathering of the waters He called “seas”; and God saw that it was good.

11Then God said, “Let the earth sprout A vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit according to their kind with seed in them”; and it was so.

12The earth produced vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed

in them, according to their kind; and God saw that it was good.

13And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.

14Then God said, “Let there be A lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and they shall serve as B signs and for seasons, and for days and years;

15and they shall serve as lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so.

16God made the two great lights, the A greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also.

17 A God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,

18and to A govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.

19And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

20Then God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.”

21And God created A the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind; and God saw that it was good.

22God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”

23And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

1:1–2:25 The initial recipients of this story are the Israelites of Moses’ day. Because it is written to the people of God, Genesis is much more of a declaration than a defense. These chapters are not intended to give an account of the creation that would answer all of the scientific problems and phenomena. Rather, an air of mystery permeates these two chapters, and within that mystery is the fact that God created this world and it exists within His control.

1:1 The word God, a rendering from the Hebrew word Elohim, is a plural noun. This implies that God is plural, even as God is singular. 1:16 The moon is called the “lesser light” and the sun is called the “greater light” for a reason. Among Israel’s pagan contemporaries, the sun and moon were designations for deities. Even today in astrology people use stars and planets for guidance, but here they are simply referred to as lights. The sun and moon were appointed to regulate the fundamental rhythms of human life by defining day and night and the seasons of the year.

24 A Then God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kind: livestock and crawling things and animals of the earth according to their kind”; and it was so.

25God made the A animals of the earth according to their kind, and the livestock according to their kind, and everything that crawls on the ground according to its kind; and God saw that it was good.

26Then God said, “ 1 Let A Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and 2 let them B rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth.”

27So God created man A in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

28God blessed them; and God said to them, “ A Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

29Then God said, “Behold, A I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;

30and A to every animal of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to everything that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so.

31And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very A good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

2And so the heavens and the earth were completed, and all A their heavenly 1 lights.

2By A the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.

3Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

The Creation of Man and Woman

4 A This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven.

5 A Now no shrub of the field was yet on the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had

Why did God need to rest on the seventh day of creation?

{Q&A}

GENESIS 2:2

The Bible does not say that God needed to rest, as if from exhaustion, but only that God did rest. God does not lack energy or become fatigued from hard work, as we do. But using the seventh day for rest tells us that rest itself is good. God’s rest also helps us understand our own need for a sabbath (Exodus 20:8–11). God gave us the fourth commandment for our own benefit, but God also put a divine seal of approval on observing a day of rest by doing so Himself.

not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground.

6But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground.

7Then the Lord God formed the man of A dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the B man became a living 1 person.

8The Lord God planted a A garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed.

9Out of the ground the Lord God caused every tree to grow that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; A the tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

10Now a A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers.

11The name of the first is Pishon; it flows around the whole land of A Havilah, where there is gold.

12The gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there as well.

13The name of the second river is Gihon; it flows around the whole land of Cush.

14The name of the third river is A Tigris; it flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the B Euphrates.

1:26 The idea that humanity is created in God’s image has far-reaching implications: A relationship can exist between God and humanity, and men and women can reflect God’s nature. As part of that reflection, people rule over nature. The idea of ruling carries with it the connotation of responsible management rather than dictatorial control or exploitation.

1:27 This verse is in the form of poetry. While some translations use the word man, this is a reference to all of humanity, not simply to Adam. God created humanity, both male and female.

1:28 God’s blessing is a central theme in Genesis. Blessed denotes all that fosters human fertility and assists in achieving dominion. Interpreters have generally recognized “Be fruitful, and multiply” as commands to Adam and Eve (and later to Noah; see 9:1) as the heads of the human race, not simply as individuals. That is, God has not charged every human being with begetting children.

1:31 God evaluates only this day’s work as “very good.”

2:4–25 This begins a descriptive account, with humanity as the central theme. This section is not meant to be chronological. Genesis 2:7 is simply an elaboration of 1:27. The two accounts look at a similar series of events from two distinct points of view. The first chapter emphasizes man as one created with authority; Genesis 2 emphasizes man as one under authority.

2:7 The word formed describes the activity of a potter, forming vessels out of clay—ground and water. The fact that God forms man out of dust reflects man’s lowly origin (see also 3:19). The Hebrew word for man (Adam) sounds like, and may be related to, the Hebrew word for ground.

, FALL OF HUMANKIND

GENESIS 3

When God created the world, He created it good. This means it was free of problems, it contained everything necessary, and it lacked nothing. In its nature and structure, it was perfect and it operated perfectly within its design. Adam and Eve were designated as stewards of the earth. They had one very simple role in this perfect, divinely created world: to obey God. God wanted them to care for and populate the earth, and to stay away from one particular tree. God did not command them to stay away from this tree because the tree was intrinsically bad. This tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, was like the rest of creation—perfect and without error. Instead, the issue at stake was whether Adam and Eve would love God and express that love through obedience.

The reality, as Francis Schaeffer clearly states in his book Genesis in Space and Time, was that Adam did not face a choice between good and evil, but a choice of whether or not he would love God and stay within the bounds that God had established. In choosing to eat from the tree, Adam chose to disobey God and to seek a life outside of God. It is in this act of disobedience that Adam chose evil. The heart behind this act is the same heart that is passed to every generation.

The consequence of Adam’s choice was that he and Eve would be separated from union with God, and thus they became spiritually dead and started the process of physical death. These consequences were also passed from generation to generation.

How does this help us understand the world around us? One of the main internal consequences of being separated from God is that humankind loses any and all purpose in life. Only when people are walking in union with God do they find their meaning and purpose in being alive, because God created us to have purpose.

Thus, at every new birth, a quest begins—a search for meaning. As people grow, they seek meaning from money, pleasure, status, religion, mysticism, self-actualization, and anything else from which they think they might find fulfillment. Meaning and purpose are sought after in a metaphysical sense, a material sense, and a religious sense. Yet outside of the redemption found only in Jesus Christ, there is no true fulfillment or ultimate meaning. As men and women seek meaning outside the bounds that God has established, it isn’t that they have lost their desire for spirituality, but that they now want to find it outside of God.

As we look at the world, it becomes clear that people have sought meaning and purpose through war, materialism, power, prestige, and dominance over others; yet none of these things ultimately satisfy. Therefore, the quest continues without any resolution. Humankind has also created all kinds of religions and religious experiences. It is only by looking at the world through the lens of the fall that we can understand why these quests exist and are doomed to fail—and where to look for a solution that will actually work.

EVE

The First Woman and Mother of All People

GENESIS 3:6

It’s sobering to realize that a lifetime of good can be forever marred by a single sin or poor decision, and the consequences can be seemingly immeasurable. In the case of Eve, the consequences of her sin affected the entire world for the rest of time.

As most people know, Eve was the first woman, created by God from a rib from Adam’s side. She and Adam lived in a beautiful garden in perfect harmony with God and with the rest of creation—until she and Adam chose to disobey and eat from the one tree that they were forbidden to eat from in all the garden. Certainly when Eve ate the fruit, she never imagined all the harm that her sin would cause. Yet that is the nature of sin. It looks pleasing and harmless, but the final result is always death. No amount of blaming each other or the serpent, who tempted Eve to eat the fruit, could change the sad consequences that would forever plague Adam and Eve and all their descendants. Forced to leave the garden, their lives—and the lives of all who have come after them—would now be marked by hard work, pain, and sorrow.

RELATED INFORMATION

After Adam and Eve were forced to leave the garden, Eve gave birth to Cain and Abel. Years later, Cain killed Abel out of jealousy, but God gave Eve another son named Seth. Eve likely had other sons and daughters as well (Genesis 5:4).

15Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and tend it.

16The Lord God A commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may freely eat;

17but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for on the day that you eat from it A you will certainly die.”

18Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; A I will make him a helper suitable for him.”

19 A And out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.

20The man gave names to all the livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every animal of the field, but for 1 Adam there was not found A a helper suitable for him.

21So the Lord God caused a A deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place.

22And the Lord God 1 fashioned into a woman A the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.

23Then the man said,

“ A At last this is bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh;

2:18–25 These verses are considered the apex of the first two chapters. Everything up until this point is called “good,” but now the Lord says it is “not good.”

2:20 The word translated “helper suitable” does not mean a servant. It signifies the woman’s essential contribution, not inadequacy.

She shall be called ‘woman,’ Because she was taken out of man.”

24 A For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.

25 A And the man and his wife were both naked, but they were not ashamed.

The Fall of Mankind

3Now A the serpent was more cunning than any animal of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”

2The woman said to the serpent, “ A From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;

3but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’ ”

4 A The serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die!

5“For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and A you will become like God, knowing good and evil.”

6 A 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 desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate.

7Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they A knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves waist coverings.

8Now they heard the sound of A the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

9Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “ A Where are you?”

10He said, “ A I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”

11And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?”

12 A The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me some of the fruit of the tree, and I ate.”

13Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” And the woman said, “ A The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

14Then the Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all the livestock, And more than any animal of the field; On your belly you shall go, And A dust you shall eat All the days of your life;

15 And I will A make enemies Of you and the woman, And of your 1 offspring and her 2 Descendant; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise Him on the heel.”

16To the woman He said,

“I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you shall A deliver children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.”

17Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’;

A Cursed is the ground because of you; With hard labor you shall eat from it

All the days of your life.

18 “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; Yet you shall eat the plants of the field;

19 By the sweat of your face You shall eat bread, Until you A return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”

20Now the man named his wife 1, A Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.

21And the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.

3:1–5:32 This passage reveals how sin enters the world and how sin can be overcome. At the end of Genesis 2, life seems ideal—paradise. Then the events described in this section forever change the world. Fear and shame enter and judgment begins. But the seeds of redemption can be found as well.

3:4–5 The first thing Satan does is deny God’s judgment and cast doubt on God’s command. To make this direct contradiction of God’s word seem reasonable, Satan invents a false motive for God. Thus, the serpent stands in direct conflict with God as He has revealed Himself.

3:9–10 God’s question carries the implied question of why Adam and Eve are there. It is a demand that Adam take personal responsibility for his actions. Adam’s response does not express personal responsibility, but it does acknowledge something important: Life has changed. Shame, fear, and guilt have entered paradise. (Verse 10 is the first time fear is mentioned in the Bible.)

3:15 This is one of the foundational verses of the Bible. Many see this as the first glimpse of the gospel of Jesus.

3:16–19 The woman will experience suffering in having children and in her desire for her husband. Adam will suffer in his attempts to control his domain. The very dust he came from will force him to struggle to survive. Man’s natural or original relationship to the ground—to rule over it—is reversed; instead of submitting to him, it now resists and eventually swallows him.