Genesis 3:17

And to Adam He said: “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat, cursed is the ground because of you; through toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — God addresses Adam immediately after pronouncing judgment on the woman. This occurs at the moment of divine response to the transgression in the garden.

The words — The Hebrew שָמַעְתָּ (sha.ma‘ta) means “you listened,” and אִשְׁתֶּךָ (’ishteka) means “your wife.” These terms highlight the specific act of heeding the woman’s counsel against divine command.

The thread — The curse on the ground connects to Romans 8:20, where creation is subjected to futility, and Genesis 5:29, which names Noah in relation to the labor caused by the ground.

Why it lands — The text states that human disobedience directly brings agricultural hardship and perpetual toil. It demands acknowledgment that human labor is now framed by divine judgment rather than unimpeded provision.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וּלְאָדָ֣םu/l./'a.Damand/ to/ Adam אָמַ֗ר'a.Marhe said כִּֽי־ki-for שָׁמַעְתָּ֮sha.ma'.Tayou listened לְק֣וֹלle./Kolto/ [the] voice of אִשְׁתֶּךָ֒'ish.te./Khawife/ your וַתֹּ֙אכַל֙va./To.khaland/ you ate מִן־min-from הָעֵ֔ץha./'Etzthe/ tree אֲשֶׁ֤ר'a.Sherwhich צִוִּיתִ֙יךָ֙tzi.vi.Ti./khaI commanded/ you לֵאמֹ֔רle./Mor<to>/ saying לֹ֥אlo'not תֹאכַ֖לto.Khalyou must eat מִמֶּ֑נּוּmi.Me./nufrom/ it אֲרוּרָ֤ה'a.ru.Rah[is] cursed הָֽאֲדָמָה֙ha./'a.da.Mahthe/ ground בַּֽעֲבוּרֶ֔ךָba./'a.vu.Re./khafor/ sake of/ you בְּעִצָּבוֹן֙be./'i.tza.Vonin/ pain תֹּֽאכֲלֶ֔נָּהto.kha.Le./nahyou will eat/ it כֹּ֖לkolall יְמֵ֥יye.Mei[the] days of חַיֶּֽיךָ׃chai.Yei./khalife/ your

King James Version

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;

Cross-references

Romans 8:20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but because of the One who subjected it, in hope
Genesis 5:29 And he named him Noah, saying, “May this one comfort us in the labor and toil of our hands caused by the ground that the LORD has cursed.”
Isaiah 24:5 The earth is defiled by its people; they have transgressed the laws; they have overstepped the decrees and broken the everlasting covenant.
Ecclesiastes 2:22 For what does a man get for all the toil and striving with which he labors under the sun?
John 16:33 I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”
Job 14:1 “Man, who is born of woman, is short of days and full of trouble.
Jeremiah 7:23 but this is what I commanded them: Obey Me, and I will be your God, and you will be My people. You must walk in all the ways I have commanded you, so that it may go well with you.
Genesis 2:16 And the LORD God commanded him, “You may eat freely from every tree of the garden,
Psalms 127:2 In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for bread to eat—for He gives sleep to His beloved.
Ecclesiastes 5:17 Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness, with much sorrow, sickness, and anger.

People named

Adam