Genesis 3

Gn 3.1Sed et serpēns erat callidior cūnctīs animantibus terrae quae fēcerat Dominus Deus. Quī dīxit ad mulierem: Cūr praecēpit vōbīs Deus ut nōn comederētis dē omnī lignō paradīsī?

But also the serpent was more crafty than all the animate things of the earth which the Lord God had made. It said to the woman: Why has God instructed you that you should not eat from every tree of the park?

Note. callidior … animantibus: comparative with an ablative of comparison, 'more cunning than all the creatures'. In Hebrew there is a pun between 'naked' (arum, 2.25) and 'cunning' (arum). Quī dīxit: relative pronoun beginning a new sentence (= et is dīxit).

Gn 3.2Cui respondit mulier: Dē frūctū lignōrum, quae sunt in paradīsō, vēscimur:

To which the woman answered: From the fruit of the trees, which are in the park, we feed:

Gn 3.3dē frūctū vērō lignī quod est in mediō paradīsī, praecēpit nōbīs Deus nē comederēmus, et nē tangerēmus illud, nē forte moriāmur.

from the fruit, however, of the tree which is in the middle of the park, God instructed us that we should not eat, and that we should not touch it, lest perhaps we die.

Note. nē comederēmus … nē tangerēmus: indirect commands after praecēpit. nē forte moriāmur: a negative purpose clause, 'lest perhaps we die'.

Gn 3.4Dīxit autem serpēns ad mulierem: Nēquāquam morte moriēminī.

The serpent, however, said to the woman: By no means will you die by death.

Note. Nēquāquam morte moriēminī: the serpent echoes and denies God's words of 2.17 (morte moriēris).

Gn 3.5Scit enim Deus quod in quōcumque diē comēderitis ex eō, aperientur oculī vestrī, et eritis sīcut diī, scientēs bonum et malum.

For God knows that on whatever day you (will have) eaten from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods, knowing good and bad.

Note. eritis sīcut diī: 'you will be like gods'; diī is a plural of deus (also dī).

Gn 3.6Vīdit igitur mulier quod bonum esset lignum ad vēscendum, et pulchrum oculīs, aspectūque dēlectābile: et tulit dē frūctū illīus, et comēdit: deditque virō suō, quī comēdit.

The woman therefore saw that the tree was good for eating, and beautiful to the eyes, and delightful in appearance: and she took from its fruit, and ate: and gave to her husband, who ate.

Note. bonum … ad vēscendum, pulchrum oculīs, dēlectābile: the three attractions of the tree, built up in a series. comēdit is perfect here (with a long ē), not present.

Gn 3.7Et apertī sunt oculī ambōrum; cumque cognōvissent sē esse nūdōs, cōnsuērunt folia fīcus, et fēcērunt sibi perizōmata.

And the eyes of both were opened: and when they had recognized that they were naked, they sewed together leaves of the fig, and made for themselves aprons.

Note. cōnsuērunt: perfect of cōnsuō, 'they sewed together' (not cōnsuēscō). perizōmata: a Greek word, 'loincloths, aprons'.

Gn 3.8Et cum audīssent vōcem Dominī Deī deambulantis in paradīsō ad auram post merīdiem, abscondit sē Adam et uxor eius ā faciē Dominī Deī in mediō lignī paradīsī.

And when they had heard the voice of the Lord God walking about in the park at the breeze after midday, Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face of the Lord God in the middle of the trees of the park.

Note. ad auram post merīdiem: 'in the breeze after midday', i.e. the cool of the day. abscondit sē Adam et uxor: a singular verb with a compound subject, the nearer subject (Adam) deciding the number.

Gn 3.9Vocāvitque Dominus Deus Adam, et dīxit eī: Ubi es?

And the Lord God called Adam, and said to him: Where are you?

Gn 3.10Quī ait: Vōcem tuam audīvī in paradīsō, et timuī, eō quod nūdus essem, et abscondī mē.

He said: Your voice I heard in the park, and I feared, for the reason that I was naked, and I hid myself.

Note. eō quod: 'for the reason that, because'; eō is an ablative of cause pointing forward to the quod-clause.

Gn 3.11Cui dīxit: Quis enim indicāvit tibi quod nūdus essēs, nisi quod ex lignō dē quō praecēperam tibi nē comederēs, comēdistī?

To whom he said: Who, then, made known to you that you were naked, unless that from the tree from which I had instructed you that you should not eat, you have eaten?

Note. Quis enim indicāvit tibi …? nisi quod …: 'who told you … unless (it is) that you have eaten …?' The final verb comēdistī comes at the end for emphasis.

Gn 3.12Dīxitque Adam: Mulier, quam dedistī mihi sociam, dedit mihi dē lignō, et comēdī.

And Adam said: The woman, whom you gave to me (as) companion, gave to me from the tree, and I ate.

Gn 3.13Et dīxit Dominus Deus ad mulierem: Quārē hoc fēcistī? Quae respondit: Serpēns dēcēpit mē, et comēdī.

And the Lord God said to the woman: Why have you done this? She answered: The serpent deceived me, and I ate.

Gn 3.14Et ait Dominus Deus ad serpentem: "Quia fēcistī hoc, maledictus es inter omnia animantia, et bestiās terrae: super pectus tuum gradiēris, et terram comedēs cūnctīs diēbus vītae tuae.

And the Lord God said to the serpent: Because you have done this, cursed are you among all the animate things, and wild animals of the earth: over your breast you will step, and earth you will eat on all the days of your life.

Note. maledictus es: 'you are cursed'. super pectus tuum gradiēris: future of the deponent gradior, 'you will go upon your breast'. cūnctīs diēbus: ablative of time.

Gn 3.15Inimīcitiās pōnam inter tē et mulierem, et sēmen tuum et sēmen illīus: ipsa conteret caput tuum, et tū īnsidiāberis calcāneō eius."

Hostilities I will place between you and the woman, and your seed and her seed: she will crush your head, and you will lie in wait for her heel.

Note. ipsa conteret caput tuum: the Clementine text reads ipsa ('she'); the Hebrew has a word meaning 'it' or 'he' (the offspring). The feminine reading was important in later Christian interpretation, where it was referred to Mary. calcāneō: dative after īnsidiāberis.

Gn 3.16Mulierī quoque dīxit: Multiplicābō aerumnās tuās, et conceptūs tuōs: in dolōre pariēs fīliōs, et sub virī potestāte eris, et ipse dominābitur tuī.

To the woman also he said: I will multiply your troubles, and your conceptions: in pain you will give birth to sons, and under the power of a husband you will be, and he will be master of you.

Note. pariēs: future of pariō ('give birth'), not the noun pariēs ('wall'). dominābitur tuī: dominor with the genitive, a late construction.

Gn 3.17Adae vērō dīxit: Quia audīstī vōcem uxōris tuae, et comēdistī dē lignō, ex quō praecēperam tibi nē comederēs, maledicta terra in opere tuō: in labōribus comedēs ex eā cūnctīs diēbus vītae tuae.

To Adam, however, he said: Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree from which I had instructed you that you should not eat, cursed (is) the earth in your work: in toils you will eat from it on all the days of your life.

Note. maledicta terra: understand est. in opere tuō: 'because of your doing'. in labōribus: 'with toil', in + ablative of manner.

Gn 3.18Spīnās et tribulōs germinābit tibi, et comedēs herbam terrae.

Thorns and thistles it will sprout for you, and you will eat the grass of the earth.

Gn 3.19In sūdōre vultūs tuī vēscēris pāne, dōnec revertāris in terram dē quā sūmptus es: quia pulvis es et in pulverem revertēris.

In the sweat of your face you will feed on bread, until you turn back into the earth from which you were taken: since dust you are and into dust you will turn back.

Note. In sūdōre vultūs tuī: 'in the sweat of your face'. revertāris: subjunctive after dōnec ('until'). pulvis es …: the words later used on Ash Wednesday (Memento, homo, quia pulvis es).

Gn 3.20Et vocāvit Adam nōmen uxōris suae, Heva: eō quod māter esset cūnctōrum vīventium.

And Adam called the name of his wife Heva: for the reason that she was the mother of all the living.

Note. Heva: the Hebrew name Hawwah sounds like the word for 'living'; hence the explanation māter cūnctōrum vīventium.

Gn 3.21Fēcit quoque Dominus Deus Adae et uxōrī eius tunicās pelliceās, et induit eōs:

The Lord God also made for Adam and his wife tunics of skin, and put them on them:

Gn 3.22et ait: Ecce Adam quasi ūnus ex nōbīs factus est, sciēns bonum et malum: nunc ergō nē forte mittat manum suam, et sūmat etiam dē lignō vītae, et comedat, et vīvat in aeternum.

and he said: See, Adam has been made like one of us, knowing good and bad: now therefore, lest perhaps he send out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live into eternity.

Note. Ecce Adam … factus est: God speaks again in the plural ('one of us'). nē forte mittat: the main clause is left unsaid, 'now (we must act) lest he reach out'.

Gn 3.23Et ēmīsit eum Dominus Deus dē paradīsō voluptātis, ut operārētur terram dē quā sūmptus est.

And the Lord God sent him out from the park of pleasure, so that he might work the earth from which he was taken.

Gn 3.24Ēiēcitque Adam: et collocāvit ante paradīsum voluptātis cherubim, et flammeum gladium, atque versātilem, ad custōdiendam viam lignī vītae.

And he threw out Adam: and placed before the park of pleasure cherubim, and a flaming sword, and turning, for guarding the way of the tree of life.

Note. cherubim: a Hebrew plural, 'cherubs', heavenly guardians. flammeum gladium atque versātilem: 'a flaming and turning sword', two adjectives split around the noun.