Genesis 3

The devil tempted the woman by the serpent verse 1 the woman is seduced and trespasseth as also the man verse 6 whereof they have an immediate comprehension 7 upon both their confession God pronounceth sentence upon the serpent the woman , and the man with insert promises of the savior 8 Adam called his wife Heavy 20 God gets them both apparel , mocks them, debars them from tree of life and banished them out of paradise.

1. Now the serpent was more subtle then the beasts of the field which the Lord God had made [this creature being very subtle the devil abuse here thereby to seduce man from God his creator from whom he himself together with all his evil angels was fallen away before John 8:44 2Peter 2.4 Jude verse 6 for which reason he is likewise called a serpent and the serpent 2 Corinthians 11:3 Revelations 20.2] and he said [that is the devil space through her using a most subtle and deceitful way of the reasoning the words of this text and the sequel plainly show] to be woman is it that God also say ye shall not eat of every tree of this garden ? [the devil plays with God’s command and labors by ambiguity to question the same or to obscure it and so to render it of no effect.]

2. And the woman said to the serpent of the fruit of the trees of this garden we shall eat [that is we are freely permitted to eat.]

3. But of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden God hath said ye shall not eat of that or touch of the same [viz. to eat thereof] that ye die not [otherwise that peradventure ye die not ; conceiving that Eva began to waver her already.]

4. Then said the serpent of the woman ye shall not [a bold shameless and palpable lie of the devil for which he is justly called a liar and the father of lies John 8:44] die the death [Heb. dying die others read these words ye shall not surely die.]

5. But God knows that on the day ye shall eat thereof then shall your eyes be opened and ye shall be as God [or as Gods] knowing the good and the evil [the word knowing hath a double sense viz. to get and comprehend wisdom whereby one may attain to glory and happiness or to find and fill misery whereby one becomes wretched and forlorn the former sense Satan promiseth deceitfully knowing well enough that only the latter was to ensue of necessity.]

6. And the woman saw that the same tree was good for food that it was pleasure for the eyes yea a tree that was desirable [otherwise to be wished or longed for] to give understanding [or for to get understanding] and she took of its fruit and she did eat and she gave also to her husband with her [or being with or by here] and he did eat [viz. being enticed to it by the woman as appeareth below verse 17.]

7. Then the eyes of them both were opened [understand here not so much the eyes of the body whereby they saw their nakedness and the eyes of the mind whereby the came to discover their sin and the punishments which thereby they had brought upon themselves and posterity being sufficiently convinced thereof of their consciences] and they perceived that they were naked and they plighted fig-tree leaves together and themselves aprons [otherwise covering to hide their nakedness.]

8. And they heard the voice of the Lord God [or the sound of &c.] walking in the garden art the wind of the day [that is to say as some expound it in the cool and windy part of the morning or evening or at the blowing of a certain wind on a set time of the day whereby the voice of the Lord was conveyed to Adam] then Adam hid himself and the wife before the face of the Lord God in the midst of a trees of the garden.

9. And the Lord God called Adam and said unto him where thou art?

10. And he said I heard thy voice in the garden and I was afraid for I am naked therefore I hid me.

11. And he said who had made known to thee that thou art naked? Hast thou eaten of that tree of which I enjoined thee and that shouldst not eat thereof?

12. Then said Adam: The woman thou gavest by me [otherwise didst put by me that is she whom thou didst give and put to be by or with me] the same hath given me of that tree [that is of the fruit of the tree as above likewise verse 6] and I have eaten.

13. And the Lord said unto the woman what is this that thou hast hath done? [Or what hast thou done that? Or why hast done that?] And the woman said the serpent did deceive me and I did eat.

14. Then said the Lord God to the serpent [as having been the devil’s instrument by reason of which this whole curse doth corporally reach the serpent itself and spiritually the devil yet the serpent is not questioned or examined here as Adam and Eve were before the devil being without excuse] because thou hast done this thou art [or be thou as chapter 4.11] curse above all the cattle and above all the beast of the field upon thy belly shalt thou go and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.

15. And I shall put enmity between thee and between this woman [this sentence is principally denounced against the devil as the chiefest cause of man’s fall] and between thy seed [understand hereby all the children of the devil John 8:44] and between her seed [this seed is properly the Lord Jesus Christ alone the only begotten son of God who was to be born in the fullness of time of a woman being a virgin by the operation of the holy ghost for to dispossess the devil through the merit of his death and the power of his spirit and all this force and to tread him under his and his churches feet see Psalms 110:1 and John 12:31 Romans 16:20 Hebrews 2:14 and 1 John 3:8 this is the first gospel promise of life put in opposition to the first preceding denunciation of death] that same shall thy head and thy shalt bruise its heels [that is the devil and his seed shall persecute Christ and his church but never be able to extirpate or destroy them.]

16. To the woman he [viz. God] said I shall much multiply [Heb. multiplying multiply] the pain namely of thy bearing with pain shall that bring forth children [Heb. sons this word is much used in the scripture to signify children that is both sons and daughters so Exodus 22:24 Psalms 128:6] and thy desire shall be to thy husband [that is thou shalt be obliged to bend to thy husband s will and seek for protection under him and to be ruled by him] and he shall have dominion over thee [that is he shall power to command thee which shall be troublesome now for thy flesh whereas the fall it was not but delightful.]

17. And to Adam he said because thou hast hearkened [see the annotate above on verse 6] after the voice of thy wife and eaten of that tree whereof I commanded thee saying thou shalt not eat thereof be the earth therefore accused for thy sake [see Romans 8:19, 20, 21] and with pain shalt thou eat thereof the days of thy life [that is thou shalt not sustain the days of thy self with a great deal of toil and trouble upon the earth.]

18. Also it shall bring there forth the thorns and thistles and thou shalt eat the herb of the field [or the growth field which thou shalt be put to find without this garden whose fits thou shalt be debarred of.]

19. In the sweat of thy countenance thou shalt eat bread [that is get food and nourishment thus the word bread is taken for all manner of food and sustenance below chapter 18.5 and 28.20] until thou return to the earth [until thou die] because thou art taken out of it for thou art dust unto dust and thou shalt return.

20. And Adam called the name of his wife Hevah [Heb. Chavah] for being the mother of all living [the Heb. hath it in the singular number that is of all man or of every human person.]

21. And the Lord God made coat to Adam and his wife of skins and appareled them.

22. Then said the Lord behold the man has become one of us knowing the good and the evil [God doth here expropriate unto men his arrogance of conceiting that he should be like God whereas now on the contrary he had brought himself and all the posterity into the gratest misery and baseness] now then that he may not put forth his hand and take likewise to the tree of life and eat and live forever [God would not suffer men to make use of the token of life having forfeited the same by his transgression.]

23. Therefore the Lord God dismists him out of the Garden of Eden for to husband the ground out of which he was taken.

24. And he drove the men out and put Cherubim’s [understand hereby angels called thus and known by this name Israelites seeing the ark of the covenant within the holy of holies was covered with two Cherubim’s in the human shape with wings spread abroad Exodus 25:16 1 Kings 6:23 2 Chronicles 3:10] towards the east of the garden of Eden and fiery blade of a sword [whether it was fiery indeed or had the resemblance of a mounting flame] turning itself [or wavering shaking to and fro] for to guard of the tree of life.