God’s Word Translation
Genesis 3:19
19By the sweat of your brow, you will produce food to eat until you return to the ground, because you were taken from it. You are dust, and you will return to dust.”
Genesis 3:19 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return."
- New King James Version (NKJV)In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”
Context of Genesis 3:19
17Then he said to the man, “You listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree, although I commanded you, ‘You must never eat its fruit.’ The ground is cursed because of you. Through hard work you will eat ⌞food that comes⌟ from it every day of your life. 18The ground will grow thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat wild plants. By the sweat of your brow, you will produce food to eat until you return to the ground, because you were taken from it. You are dust, and you will return to dust.” 20Adam named his wife Eve [Life] because she became the mother of every living person. 21The Lord God made clothes from animal skins for the man and his wife and dressed them.
Read all of Genesis 3Genesis 3:19 word by word
בְּזֵעַ֤ת אַפֶּ֙יךָ֙ תֹּ֣אכַל לֶ֔חֶם עַ֤ד שֽׁוּבְךָ֙ אֶל־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה כִּ֥י מִמֶּ֖נָּה לֻקָּ֑חְתָּ כִּֽי־עָפָ֣ר אַ֔תָּה וְאֶל־עָפָ֖ר תָּשֽׁוּב׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- In the sweatזֵעָהzê‛âh · sweatH2188
- of thy faceאַף'aph · faceH639
- shalt thou eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
- breadלֶ֫חֶםlechem · food: breadH3899
- tillעַד‛ad · tillH5704
- thou returnשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
- unto the groundאֲדָמָה'ădâmâh · land: soilH127
- for out of it wast thou takenלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
- for dustעָפָר‛âphâr · dustH6083
- thouאַתָּ֫ה'attâh 'attâ 'ath 'attîy 'attem 'atten 'attênâh 'attênnâh · you(m.s.)H859
Cross-references for Genesis 3:19
- Ecclesiastes 1:3What do people gain from all their hard work under the sun?
- Ephesians 4:28Thieves must quit stealing and, instead, they must work hard. They should do something good with their hands so that they’ll have something to share with those in need.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:9You remember, brothers and sisters, our work and what we did to earn a living. We worked night and day so that we could bring you the Good News of God without being a burden to any of you.
- 2 Thessalonians 3:10While we were with you, we gave you the order: “Whoever doesn’t want to work shouldn’t be allowed to eat.”
- Job 1:21He said, “Naked I came from my mother, and naked I will return. The Lord has given, and the Lord has taken away! May the name of the Lord be praised.”
- Psalms 90:3You turn mortals back into dust and say, “Return, descendants of Adam.”
- Psalms 104:29You hide your face, and they are terrified. You take away their breath, and they die and return to dust.
- Ecclesiastes 5:15They came from their mother’s womb naked. They will leave as naked as they came. They won’t even be able to take a handful of their earnings with them from all their hard work.
- Genesis 2:7Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the earth and blew the breath of life into his nostrils. The man became a living being.
- Genesis 18:27Abraham asked, “Consider now, if I may be so bold as to ask you, although I’m ⌞only⌟ dust and ashes,
- Genesis 23:4“I’m a stranger with no permanent home. Let me have some of your property for a tomb so that I can bury my dead wife.”
- Job 17:13If I look for the grave as my home and make my bed in the darkness,
- Job 19:26Even after my skin has been stripped off my body, I will see God in my own flesh.
- Job 21:26Together they lie down in the dust, and worms cover them.
- Job 34:15all living beings would die together, and humanity would return to dust.
- Psalms 22:15My strength is dried up like pieces of broken pottery. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You lay me down in the dust of death.
Commentaries on Genesis 3:19
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 19In the sweat of thy face - Though the whole body may be thrown into a profuse sweat, if hard labor be long continued, yet the face or forehead is the first part whence this sweat begins to issue; this is occasioned by the blood being strongly propelled to the brain, partly through stooping, but principally by the strong action of the muscles; in consequence of this the blood vessels about the head become turgid through the great flux of blood, the fibres…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8-21Verses 8-21 - XVI. The Judgment 15. שׁוּף shûp “bruise, wound.” ͂ (= ͂ ?) tērein ̓́ ektribein Job 9:17, ͂ katapatein Psalm 139:11, ́ suntribein Romans 16:20. 16. תשׁוּקה teshûqâh “desire, inclination.” ́ apostrofee ̓́ epistrophē Genesis 3:8-13; the sentence pronounced upon each, Genesis 3:14-19; and certain particulars following thereupon, Genesis 3:20-21. Genesis 3:8-9 The voice, we conceive, is the thunder of the approach of God and his call to Adam…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-19Verses 16-19 The woman, for her sin, is condemned to a state of sorrow, and of subjection; proper punishments of that sin, in which she had sought to gratify the desire of her eye, and of the flesh, and her pride. Sin brought sorrow into the world; that made the world a vale of tears. No wonder our sorrows are multiplied, when our sins are so. He shall rule over thee, is but God's command, Wives, be subject to your own husbands. If man had not sinned, he…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17-19God emphasized his first command not to eat the fruit by mentioning eating several times in 3:17–19. The judgment made it harder for humans to get food. This matched their sin of eating what God had forbidden. cursed is the ground: The man's relationship with the ground (see study note on 2:7) became hostile as judgment affected his main role (2:5, 15). He must work hard to cultivate the ground, but with less success than before. Human sin impacts all of…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 17-1917-19. unto Adam he said--made to gain his livelihood by tilling the ground; but what before his fall he did with ease and pleasure, was not to be accomplished after it without painful and persevering exertion.Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 3:19
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Genesis 3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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