God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there He put the man He had formed.
In the garden, God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. He commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” God brought all the animals to the man to see what he would name them, but for Adam, no suitable helper was found.
So God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; while he was sleeping, He took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. God made a woman from the rib He had taken out of the man, and He brought her to the man.
Genesis 3: The Fall
The Temptation and Fall of Man:
The serpent, more crafty than any of the wild animals, asked the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
The woman replied, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'”
The serpent said, “You will not certainly die. For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
The woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom. She took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
Their eyes were opened, and they realized they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Consequences of the Fall:
God found them and questioned them. The man blamed the woman, and the woman blamed the serpent.
God cursed the serpent to crawl on its belly and eat dust all the days of its life.
God told the woman she would experience pain in childbirth and desire her husband, who would rule over her.
God told the man the ground would be cursed because of him, producing thorns and thistles, and he would eat by the sweat of his brow until he returned to the ground, for he was dust, and to dust he would return.
Expulsion from Eden:
God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”
So God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. He placed cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
