New International Version
Genesis 3:16
16To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
Genesis 3:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)To the woman he said, "I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you."
- New King James Version (NKJV)To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)Then he said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.”
Context of Genesis 3:16
14So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” 17To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. 18It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.
Read all of Genesis 3Genesis 3:16 word by word
אֶֽל־הָאִשָּׁ֣ה אָמַ֗ר הַרְבָּ֤ה אַרְבֶּה֙ עִצְּבוֹנֵ֣ךְ וְהֵֽרֹנֵ֔ךְ בְּעֶ֖צֶב תֵּֽלְדִ֣י בָנִ֑ים וְאֶל־אִישֵׁךְ֙ תְּשׁ֣וּקָתֵ֔ךְ וְה֖וּא יִמְשָׁל־בָּֽךְ׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Unto the womanאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · womanH802
- he saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- I will greatlyרָבָהrâbâh · to multiplyH7235
- thy sorrowעִצָּבוֹן‛itstsâbôn · toilH6093
- and thy conceptionהֵרָיוֹןhêrôn hêrâyôn · conceptionH2032
- in sorrowעֶ֫צֶב‛etseb · toilH6089
- thou shalt bring forthיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
- childrenבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- and thy desireתְּשׁוּקָהteshûqâh · desireH8669
- to thy husbandאִישׁ'îysh · man: husbandH376
- and he shall ruleמָשַׁלmâshal · to ruleH4910
Cross-references for Genesis 3:16
- Genesis 35:16Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty.
- 1 Samuel 4:19His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near the time of delivery. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth, but was overcome by her labor pains.
- Psalms 48:6Trembling seized them there, pain like that of a woman in labor.
- Isaiah 13:8Terror will seize them, pain and anguish will grip them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at each other, their faces aflame.
- Isaiah 21:3At this my body is racked with pain, pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor; I am staggered by what I hear, I am bewildered by what I see.
- Isaiah 26:17As a pregnant woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, so were we in your presence, Lord.
- Isaiah 53:11After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
- Jeremiah 4:31I hear a cry as of a woman in labor, a groan as of one bearing her first child— the cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath, stretching out her hands and saying, “Alas! I am fainting; my life is given over to murderers.”
- Jeremiah 6:24We have heard reports about them, and our hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped us, pain like that of a woman in labor.
- Jeremiah 13:21What will you say when the Lord sets over you those you cultivated as your special allies? Will not pain grip you like that of a woman in labor?
- Jeremiah 22:23You who live in ‘Lebanon,’ who are nestled in cedar buildings, how you will groan when pangs come upon you, pain like that of a woman in labor!
- Jeremiah 49:24Damascus has become feeble, she has turned to flee and panic has gripped her; anguish and pain have seized her, pain like that of a woman in labor.
- Micah 4:9Why do you now cry aloud— have you no king? Has your ruler perished, that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor?
- John 16:21A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:3While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
- 1 Timothy 2:15But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.
Commentaries on Genesis 3:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16Unto the woman he said - She being second in the transgression is brought up the second to receive her condemnation, and to hear her punishment: I will greatly multiply, or multiplying I will multiply; i.e., I will multiply thy sorrows, and multiply those sorrows by other sorrows, and this during conception and pregnancy, and particularly so in parturition or child-bearing. And this curse has fallen in a heavier degree on the woman than on any other…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. 16The judgment affects the woman's special role in childbearing and her relationship with her husband. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you: The marriage relationship now includes conflict instead of only security and happiness. New life in Jesus can restore a man and woman's marriage relationship (Ephesians 5:18–32; compare Matthew 20:25–28).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow--She was doomed as a wife and mother to suffer pain of body and distress of mind. From being the help meet of man and the partner of his affections [Ge 2:18, 23], her condition would henceforth be that of humble subjection.Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 3:16
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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