Passage

Genesis 3.17-19

Book: Genesis · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"15. and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 16. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy pain and thy conception; in pain thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee."

"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 toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18. thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19. in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."

"20. And the man called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. 21. And Jehovah God made for Adam and for his wife coats of skins, and clothed them." (Genesis 3:15-21, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"15. I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.” 16. To the woman he said, “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth. In pain you will bear children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”"

"17. To Adam he said, “Because you have listened to your wife’s voice, and ate from the tree, about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ the ground is cursed for your sake. You will eat from it with much labor all the days of your life. 18. It will yield thorns and thistles to you; and you will eat the herb of the field. 19. By the sweat of your face will you eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”"

"20. The man called his wife Eve because she would be the mother of all the living. 21. Yahweh God made coats of animal skins for Adam and for his wife, and clothed them." (Genesis 3:15-21, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"15. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 16. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. ^{to thy: or, subject to thy husband}"

"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; 18. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; ^{bring: Heb. cause to bud} 19. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."

"20. And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. ^{Eve: Heb. Chavah: that is Living} 21. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them." (Genesis 3:15-21, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"15. and enmity I put between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; he doth bruise thee, the head, and thou dost bruise him, the heel.' 16. Unto the woman He said, 'Multiplying I multiply thy sorrow and thy conception, in sorrow dost thou bear children, and toward thy husband [is] thy desire, and he doth rule over thee.'"

"17. And to the man He said, 'Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and dost eat of the tree concerning which I have charged thee, saying, Thou dost not eat of it, cursed [is] the ground on thine account; in sorrow thou dost eat of it all days of thy life, 18. and thorn and bramble it doth bring forth to thee, and thou hast eaten the herb of the field; 19. by the sweat of thy face thou dost eat bread till thy return unto the ground, for out of it hast thou been taken, for dust thou [art], and unto dust thou turnest back.'"

"20. And the man calleth his wife's name Eve: for she hath been mother of all living. 21. And Jehovah God doth make to the man and to his wife coats of skin, and doth clothe them." (Genesis 3:15-21, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: Moses (traditional authorship) / narrator
Audience: Israelite congregation post-Exodus
Location: various ANE settings (Eden → Mesopotamia → Canaan → Egypt)
Time period: events c. creation-c. 1800 BC; composed c. 1446-1406 BC

Theological reading

Key words

H2416 - chay, chay (Strong's H2416). Also appears in: Genesis 1.21, Genesis 1.24-28, Genesis 1.28.
H7725 - shuv, shuv (Strong's H7725). Also appears in: Genesis 3, Genesis 15.16, Genesis 16.7-13.

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.