Devine Scripture

Genesis 3:13

What does Genesis 3:13 mean?

A plain-English look at Genesis 3:13 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.

What Genesis 3:13 means

God then turns to the woman, asking for her account of what she has done. Her response, "The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat," mirrors Adam's blame-shifting, though she points to the serpent as the primary deceiver. This confession acknowledges her act of eating but attributes it to external deception, highlighting the powerful influence of the tempter while still admitting her own involvement in the transgression.

Genesis 3:13 in context

Genesis 3 — The Fall of Man

Into the garden of the previous chapter comes the serpent, more subtle than any beast of the field. He casts doubt on God's word, then on God's goodness, and at last persuades the woman that the way to be like God is to disobey him. Adam, present and silent, eats with her. Innocence collapses into shame; communion with God gives way to hiding; the man blames the woman, the woman blames the serpent, and creation itself is cursed. Yet at the very moment of judgment a promise is given: the seed of the woman will crush the serpent's head (3:15). It is the gospel in seed form.

  • Temptation
  • Sin and shame
  • The protoevangelium
  • God's mercy in judgment

Parallel translations

WEB

World English Bible · 2000

And Jehovah God said unto the woman, What is this thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

KJV

King James Version · 1611

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.

ASV

American Standard Version · 1901

And Jehovah God said unto the woman, What is this thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

BBE

Bible in Basic English · 1949

And the Lord God said to the woman, What have you done? And the woman said, I was tricked by the deceit of the snake and I took it.

YLT

Young's Literal Translation · 1862

And Jehovah God saith to the woman, `What <FI>is<Fi> this thou hast done?' and the woman saith, `The serpent hath caused me to forget--and I do eat.'

DRA

Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752

And the Lord God said to the woman: Why hast thou done this? And she answered: The serpent deceived me, and I did eat.

DBY

Darby Bible · 1890

And Jehovah Elohim said to the woman, What is this thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent deceived me, and I ate.

Context

This verse depicts God's interrogation of the woman, following Adam's attempt to shift blame. God's question directly challenges her to account for her actions. Her response, blaming the serpent, completes the initial round of human explanations for their sin, setting the stage for God's divine judgments, beginning with the serpent in the very next verse.

v.12And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

v.13This passage

v.14And 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:

Cross references

Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

  • 2 Samuel 12:9

    Wherefore hast thou despised the word of Jehovah, to do that which is evil in his sight? thou hast smitten Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

  • 2 Corinthians 11:3

    But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness, your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity that is toward Christ.

  • John 18:35

    Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done?

  • Genesis 3:4

    And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

  • Genesis 4:10

    And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.

  • 1 Timothy 2:14

    and Adam was not beguiled, but the woman being beguiled hath fallen into transgression:

Sermon ideas from Genesis 3:13

Angles a pastor or small-group leader might preach or teach from this passage, drawn from the chapter's main themes.

  • What Genesis 3:13 teaches us about temptation

  • What Genesis 3:13 teaches us about sin and shame

  • What Genesis 3:13 teaches us about the protoevangelium

  • What Genesis 3:13 teaches us about god's mercy in judgment

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