Genesis 3:14
12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
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.
Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and every beast of the field! On your belly will you go, and dust you will eat, all the days of your life.
- KJV
- And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
- WEB
- The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed above all livestock, and above every animal of the field. You shall go on your belly and you shall eat dust all the days of your life.
- ASV
- And Jehovah God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
- DARBY
- And Jehovah Elohim said to the serpent, Because thou hast done this, be thou cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field. On thy belly shalt thou go, and eat dust all the days of thy life.
- BLB
- And YHWH God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, cursed [are] you above all the livestock and above every beast of the field. On your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat, all the days of your life.
- ÅB
- Da sa Gud Herren til slangen: Fordi du gjorde dette, så skal du være forbannet blant alt feet og blant alle de ville dyr. På din buk skal du krype, og støv skal du spise alle ditt livs dager.
- OTB
- Så sa Herren Gud til slangen: «Fordi du har gjort dette, er du forbannet fremfor alt buskap og alle ville dyr! På buken skal du krype, og støv skal du spise alle dine levedager.
- B1930
- Da sa Gud Herren til slangen: Fordi du gjorde dette, så skal du være forbannet blandt alt feet og blandt alle de ville dyr. På din buk skal du krype, og støv skal du ete alle ditt livs dager.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Micah 7:17
They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the LORD our God, and shall fear because of thee.
Read in contextIsaiah 65:25
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.
Read in contextPsalms 72:9
They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.
Read in contextIsaiah 29:4
And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.
Read in contextLeviticus 20:25
Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.
Read in contextGenesis 9:6
Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.
Read in contextDeuteronomy 28:15–20
But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
Read in contextExodus 21:28–32
If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit.
Read in context