Genesis 3:17

And 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;

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Adam	וּלְאָדָ֣ם ul.'a.Dam	H121	Adam the name of the first man · conjunction + preposition + proper noun, a man's name
said	אָמַ֗ר 'a.Mar	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
hearkened	שָׁמַעְתָּ֮ sha.ma'.Ta	H8085	to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · verb, qal perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
voice	לְק֣וֹל le.Kol	H6963	a voice or sound · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
wife	אִשְׁתֶּךָ֒ 'ish.te.Kha	H802	a woman · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
eaten	וַתֹּ֙אכַל֙ va.To.khal	H398	to eat (literally or figuratively) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular
tree	הָעֵ֔ץ ha.'Etz	H6086	a tree (from its firmness) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
which	אֲשֶׁ֤ר 'a.Sher	H834	who · relative particle
thee	צִוִּיתִ֙יךָ֙ tzi.vi.Ti.kha	H6680	(intensively) to constitute · verb, piel perfect, 1st person common singular + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
saying	לֵאמֹ֔ר le.Mor	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
eat	תֹאכַ֖ל to.Khal	H398	to eat (literally or figuratively) · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular
cursed	אֲרוּרָ֤ה 'a.ru.Rah	H779	to execrate · verb, qal passive participle, feminine singular absolute
ground	הָֽאֲדָמָה֙ ha.'a.da.Mah	H127	soil (from its general redness) · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
sorrow	בְּעִצָּבוֹן֙ be.'i.tza.Von	H6093	worrisomeness · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
eat	תֹּֽאכֲלֶ֔נָּה to.kha.Le.nah	H398	to eat (literally or figuratively) · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
all	כֹּ֖ל kol	H3605	properly · noun, common masculine singular construct
days	יְמֵ֥י ye.Mei	H3117	a day (as the warm hours) · noun, common masculine plural construct
life	חַיֶּֽיךָ chai.Yei.kha	H2416	alive · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Romans 8:20-22 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
Genesis 5:29 And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the L…
Isaiah 24:5-6 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlast…
Ecclesiastes 2:22-23 For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun?
John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have ov…
Job 14:1 Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.
Jeremiah 7:23-24 But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that…
Genesis 2:16-17 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 3:17-19

We have here the sentence passed upon Adam, which is prefaced with a recital of his crime: Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, Gen 3:17. He excused the fault, by laying it on his wife: She gave it me. But God does not admit the excuse. She could but tempt him, she could not force him; though it was her fault to persuade him to eat, it was his fault to hearken to her. Thus men's frivolous pleas will, in the day of God's judgment, not only be overruled, but turned against them, and made the grounds of their sentence. Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee. Observe, I. God put marks of his displeasure on Adam in three instances: - 1. His habitation is, by this sentence, cur…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 3:17

unto Adam he said--made to gain his livelihood by tilling the ground; but what before his fall he did with ease and pleasure, was not to be accomplished after it without painful and persevering exertion.

Adam Clarke on Genesis 3:17

Unto Adam he said - The man being the last in the transgression is brought up last to receive his sentence: Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife - "thou wast not deceived, she only gave and counseled thee to eat; this thou shouldst have resisted;" and that he did not is the reason of his condemnation. Cursed is the ground for thy sake - from henceforth its fertility shall be greatly impaired; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it - be in continual perplexity concerning the seed time and the harvest, the cold and the heat, the wet and the dry. How often are all the fruits of man's toll destroyed by blasting, by mildew, by insects, wet weather, land floods, etc.! Anxiety and careful…

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John Gill on Genesis 3:17

And unto Adam he said,.... Last of all, being the last that sinned, but not to be excused: because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife; which was not only mean but sinful, since it was opposite to the voice of God, which he ought to have hearkened to God is to be hearkened to and obeyed rather than man, and much rather than a woman; to regard the persuasion of a woman, and neglect the command of God, is a great aggravation of such neglect; see Acts 4:19. and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee; saying, thou shall not eat of it; that is, had eat of the fruit of the tree which God had plainly pointed unto him, and concerning which he had given a clear and an express c…

The Church Fathers

(Verse 17.) Cursed is the ground because of your actions. The works here do not refer to cultivating the land, as many think, but rather sins are signified. As it is written in Hebrew: And Aquila does not disagree, saying: Cursed is the soil because of you. And Theodotion: Cursed is the earth because of your transgression.
— Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis

After He had decreed concerning Eve and repentance failed to spring up in Adam, He then turned to him as well in punishment, saying, " Because you listened to the voice of your wife and were wheedled into eating of the Tree from which I told you not to eat, cursed is the earth because of you. " [ Gen. 3:17 ]
— Ephrem the Syrian,

After all, you are head of your wife, and she has been created for your sake; but you have inverted the proper order: not only have you failed to keep her on the straight and narrow but you have been dragged down with her, and whereas the rest of the body should follow the head, the contrary has in fact occurred, the head following the rest of the body, turning things upside down.
— John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 17.18

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Adam — Red, a Babylonian word, the generic name for man, having the same meaning in the Hebrew and the Assyrian languages. It was the name given to the first man, whose creation, fall, and subsequent…
Devil — (Gr. diabolos), a slanderer, the arch-enemy of man’s spiritual interest (Job 1:6; Rev. 2:10; Zech. 3:1). He is called also “the accuser of the brethen” (Rev. 12:10). In Lev. 17:7 the word “devil” is…
Gilead — Hill of testimony, (Gen. 31:21), a mountainous region east of Jordan. From its mountainous character it is called “the mount of Gilead” (Gen. 31:25). It is called also “the land of Gilead” (Num.…
Serpent — (Heb. nahash; Gr. ophis), frequently noticed in Scripture. More than forty species are found in Syria and Arabia. The poisonous character of the serpent is alluded to in Jacob’s blessing on Dan (Gen.…
Tree of the knowledge of good and evil — Stood in the midst of the garden of Eden, beside the tree of life (Gen. 2, 3). Adam and Eve were forbidden to take of the fruit which grew upon it. But they disobeyed the divine injunction, and so…
Afflictions · Consequent upon the fall — Consequent upon the fall
Afflictions And Adversities · .Consequent upon the fall — .Consequent upon the fall
Agriculture Or Husbandry · Rendered laborious by the curse on the earth — Rendered laborious by the curse on the earth
Curse · .Against Adam and Eve — .Against Adam and Eve
Earth · Cursed of God — Cursed of God
Fall Of Man · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning

Genesis 3:17

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 3:17-19

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 3:17

Adam Clarke on Genesis 3:17

John Gill on Genesis 3:17

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Genesis 3:17

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 3:17-19

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 3:17

Adam Clarke on Genesis 3:17

John Gill on Genesis 3:17

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Genesis 3:17

Keil & Delitzsch on Genesis 3:16-19

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Genesis 3:17-19

Rashi on Genesis 3:16