And the man and his wife were both naked, and they were not ashamed.
Parallel translations
- WEB The man and his wife were both naked, and they were not ashamed.
- KJV And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
- NKJV And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
- NASB And the man and his wife were both naked, but they were not ashamed.
- NLT Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The man and woman are naked yet unashamed. In their innocence before the fall there is full openness and no guilt.
Overview
The couple are naked and feel no shame, picturing the innocence and unbroken fellowship that marked human life before sin. Their lack of shame reflects perfect transparency before God and one another. This state of innocence stands in sharp contrast to the shame and hiding that immediately follow the fall in chapter 3, highlighting all that sin would soon destroy.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Gen 3:7And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed together fig leaves and made coverings for themselves.
- Gen 3:10–11“I heard Your voice in the garden,” he replied, “and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”
- Rom 10:11It is just as the Scripture says: “Anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”
- Jer 17:13O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who abandon You will be put to shame. All who turn away will be written in the dust, for they have abandoned the LORD, the fountain of living water.
- Joel 2:26You will have plenty to eat, until you are satisfied. You will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you. My people will never again be put to shame.
- Isa 54:4Do not be afraid, for you will not be put to shame; do not be intimidated, for you will not be humiliated. For you will forget the shame of your youth and will remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.
- Isa 47:3Your nakedness will be uncovered and your shame will be exposed. I will take vengeance; I will spare no one.”
- Ezek 16:61Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your older and younger sisters. I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of My covenant with you.
- Exod 32:25Moses saw that the people were out of control, for Aaron had let them run wild and become a laughingstock to their enemies.
- Ps 25:3Surely none who wait for You will be put to shame; but those who are faithless without cause will be disgraced.
- Luke 9:26If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
- Mark 8:38If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in His Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
- Isa 44:9All makers of idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Their witnesses fail to see or comprehend, so they are put to shame.
- Ps 31:17O LORD, let me not be ashamed, for I have called on You. Let the wicked be put to shame; let them lie silent in Sheol.
- Jer 6:15Are they ashamed of the abomination they have committed? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they will collapse,” says the LORD.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Lay
The single best free starting point for Genesis 1–11 — clear, visual, and faithful to the literary design.
Pastoral
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Commentaries & study tools
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The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 2:25 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.