Genesis 3:17 kjv

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;

Genesis 3:17 nkjv

Then to Adam He said, "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it': "Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.

Genesis 3:17 niv

To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat from it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life.

Genesis 3:17 esv

And to Adam he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;

Genesis 3:17 nlt

And to the man he said, "Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree
whose fruit I commanded you not to eat,
the ground is cursed because of you.
All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.

Genesis 3 verses

Genesis 3 17 Meaning

Genesis 3:17 conveys God's pronouncement to Adam, detailing the direct consequence of his disobedience upon the natural world and, by extension, upon his human existence. It establishes that the ground itself is cursed "because of him," necessitating a life of arduous toil and struggle for Adam to obtain sustenance, a stark departure from the effortless provision previously enjoyed. This divine judgment intertwines human action with creation's fate, introducing hardship and sorrow into the very act of living and providing.

Genesis 3 17 Context

Genesis 3:17 stands as God's specific judgment on Adam following his disobedience in eating from the forbidden tree, thereby violating the sole explicit divine command. This verse is part of a series of pronouncements immediately after the Fall: first, the serpent's curse (Gen 3:14-15), then the woman's curse, focusing on pain in childbirth and hierarchical struggle (Gen 3:16). Adam's curse marks the culmination, affecting humanity's primary interface with sustenance and the physical world. The chapter details the breaking of paradise's harmonious order, revealing humanity's sin, the loss of innocence, and the imposition of labor and mortality. Historically and culturally, this narrative provides an explanation for the difficulties and hardships of agricultural life in the ancient world, positing that human effort, struggle, and pain are consequences of an ancestral fall from grace, rather than merely inherent conditions. It posits a polemic against beliefs that assume a natural ease of life or arbitrary suffering, asserting instead a moral cause for hardship rooted in humanity's choice.

Genesis 3 17 Word analysis

• And to Adam He said (וּלְאָדָם אָמַר, u-lĕ’adam ’amar): This signifies a direct, personal address, highlighting Adam's primary responsibility as the covenant head and representative of humanity. Despite Eve's prior action, God directly confronts Adam, implying his ultimate accountability for violating God's command.
• Because you have listened (כִּי־שָׁמַעְתָּ, ki-shamata): The particle "because" establishes a clear causal link. The verb shamata (from שָׁמַע, shama') means "to hear" or "to listen," but in this context, it implies "to obey" or "to heed." Adam's sin was not just eating, but first and foremost, choosing to obey his wife's persuasion over God's clear commandment (Gen 2:17).
• to the voice of your wife (לְקוֹל אִשְׁתֶּךָ, lĕqol ’ishteka): Emphasizes that Adam prioritized human counsel over divine instruction, a foundational act of misplaced allegiance. His yielding to her voice was a rebellion against God's authority and implied design.
• and have eaten from the tree (וַתֹּאכַל מִן־הָעֵץ, va-tokal min ha'ets): This points to the physical act of transgression. The prohibition was specific and clearly stated (Gen 2:17). Eating was the overt sign of his prior, internal disobedience of listening to a voice other than God's.
• of which I commanded you, saying (אֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתִיךָ לֵאמֹר, asher tziviteka lemor): Reinforces the direct, explicit, and personal nature of the divine command to Adam. God's instruction was unambiguous.
• 'You shall not eat from it' (לֹא תֹאכַל מִמֶּנּוּ, lo tokal mimmennu): Repetition of the forbidden act underscores the intentionality and direct violation of Adam's sin.
• Cursed is the ground (אֲרוּרָה הָאֲדָמָה, ’arurah ha'adamah): The object of the curse is the ground (הָאֲדָמָה, ha'adamah), not Adam directly. This is significant because ha'adamah is linguistically tied to ha'adam (Adam, man) from which he was formed (Gen 2:7). The creation itself, from which Adam was taken and to which he was to return (Gen 3:19), now shares in the fallen state. This indicates a cosmic effect of human sin.
• because of you (בַּעֲבוּרֶךָ, ba'avureka): Directly links the curse on the ground to Adam's actions, demonstrating divine justice and the interconnectedness of creation and its human steward.
• in painful toil (בְּעִצָּבוֹן, b’itsavon): The word 'itsavon (from עֶצֶב, 'etsev) refers to grief, pain, sorrow, and burdensome labor. This same root was used for Eve's pain in childbearing (Gen 3:16). Thus, both sexes experience their core responsibilities with the painful effects of sin. It describes the state of arduous, struggling, grief-filled effort, contrasting with effortless provision.
• you shall eat of it (תֹּאכַלֶנָּה, tokalenah): Even in the curse, provision of food is maintained, but now through arduous effort.
• all the days of your life (כֹּל יְמֵי חַיֶּיךָ, kol yeme chayeika): This specifies the permanence and totality of the new condition of labor; it is not a temporary affliction but the lifelong reality for humanity after the Fall.

Word-Group Analysis:

• "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree...": This sequence of phrases establishes Adam's compounded sin: an act of relational inversion (prioritizing Eve's voice over God's) coupled with a direct violation of God's explicit command concerning the tree. It highlights both spiritual and physical rebellion.
• "Cursed is the ground because of you; in painful toil you shall eat of it...": This linkage shows that the punishment directly impacts Adam's primary function and source of life. The ground's state becomes a perpetual reminder and mechanism of his judgment. His curse is embedded within the fabric of creation he relies on.
• "...all the days of your life.": This phrase signifies the unremitting, universal, and life-long nature of the judgment, affecting every subsequent generation until the reversal of the curse is complete. It implies humanity's altered state and continuous struggle for existence.

Genesis 3 17 Bonus section

The close relationship between ’adam (man) and ’adamah (ground/earth) highlights a key theological truth: man is fundamentally tied to the creation he inhabits. God did not curse man's soul directly but afflicted his environment and physical existence, thus profoundly impacting his spiritual and social realities. The curse of the ground also means that the very act of living, providing, and stewarding becomes a source of the consequences of sin, compelling man to confront his fallen state daily. This judgment foreshadows a world where suffering is commonplace but also where the potential for God's redemptive work to reverse this suffering becomes evident. Despite the hardship, life continues, emphasizing divine grace even in judgment. The thorns and thistles (mentioned in Gen 3:18) which represent the unproductive output of the ground and increased labor, became potent symbols throughout scripture of the hardship of this world and even Jesus' crown of thorns represents his bearing of the curse on behalf of humanity.

Genesis 3 17 Commentary

Genesis 3:17 details the fundamental shift in humanity's relationship with the created world, resulting from Adam's active disobedience. The curse falls not directly upon Adam in an annihilative sense, but upon the very ground (adamah), the source of his sustenance and intimately linked to his own being. This judgment mandates a life of "painful toil" ('itsavon) for humanity to derive its food, contrasting sharply with the Garden's earlier effortless provision. It is a judgment that acknowledges Adam's representative headship, as his singular choice brought forth this cosmic impact.

The curse signifies more than just physical labor; it introduces friction, frustration, and weariness into human existence, transforming sustenance from a natural delight into a demanding struggle. Yet, importantly, it is not utter destruction or deprivation. God does not abandon Adam to starvation but introduces a new reality where provision is only found through sustained effort amidst the opposition of a cursed earth. This implies a punitive but also disciplinary aspect to the curse, compelling humanity to constant labor that keeps them occupied and away from further direct rebellion against God while also forcing them into reliance upon Him. This foundational curse reverberates throughout Scripture, culminating in Christ's sacrificial death that breaks the power of sin's curse, leading toward a promised new heaven and new earth where the curse is no more (Rev 22:3).