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.
Parallel translations
- WEB 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; and she gave some to her husband with her, and he ate it, too.
- KJV And 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.
- BSB When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.
- NKJV So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
- NLT The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.
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 woman takes and eats the fruit and gives some to her husband, who also eats. This is the fall, humanity's first act of disobedience against God.
Overview
Seeing the tree as good, pleasing, and desirable for wisdom, the woman takes the fruit, eats, and gives it to her husband who is with her, and he eats too. This deliberate choice to disobey God is the fall, through which sin and death enter the human race (Romans 5:12). The pattern of desire leading to sin is later echoed by James (James 1:14-15), and the ruin of the first Adam sets the stage for the redemption won by the last Adam, Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- 1 Jn 2:16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, isn’t the Father’s, but is the world’s.
- Jas 1:14–15But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed.
- 1 Tim 2:14Adam wasn’t deceived, but the woman, being deceived, has fallen into disobedience;
- 2 Sam 11:2At evening, David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. From the roof, he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to look at.
- Josh 7:21When I saw among the plunder a beautiful Babylonian robe, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, then I coveted them and took them. Behold, they are hidden in the ground in the middle of my tent, with the silver under it.”
- Rom 5:12–19Therefore as sin entered into the world through one man, and death through sin; and so death passed to all men, because all sinned.
- Gen 6:2God’s sons saw that men’s daughters were beautiful, and they took any that they wanted for themselves as wives.
- Ezek 24:16Son of man, behold, I will take away from you the desire of your eyes with a stroke: yet you shall neither mourn nor weep, neither shall your tears run down.
- Ezek 24:25You, son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their heart, their sons and their daughters,
- Hos 6:7But they, like Adam, have broken the covenant. They were unfaithful to me, there.
- Gen 3:12The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
- Gen 3:17To Adam he said, “Because you have listened to your wife’s voice, and ate 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.
- Ezek 24:21Speak to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pities; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind shall fall by the sword.
- Gen 39:7After these things, his master’s wife set her eyes on Joseph; and she said, “Lie with me.”
- Job 31:1“I made a covenant with my eyes, how then should I look lustfully at a young woman?
- Judg 16:1–2Samson went to Gaza, and saw there a prostitute, and went in to her.
- Matt 5:28but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.
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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 3:6 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
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