Genesis 3:16-17 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 3:16

We have here the sentence passed upon the woman for her sin. Two things she is condemned to: a state of sorrow, and a state of subjection, proper punishments of a sin in which she had gratified her pleasure and her pride. I. She is here put into a state of sorrow, one particular of which only is specified, that in bringing forth children; but it includes all those impressions of grief and fear which the mind of that tender sex is most apt to receive, and all the common calamities which they... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 3:17-19

I. God put marks of his displeasure on Adam in three instances:? 1. His habitation is, by this sentence, cursed: Cursed is the ground for thy sake; and the effect of that curse is, Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth unto thee. It is here intimated that his habitation should be changed; he should no longer dwell in a distinguished, blessed, paradise, but should be removed to common ground, and that cursed. The ground, or earth, is here put for the whole visible creation, which, by the sin... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 3:16

Unto the woman he said ,.... The woman receives her sentence next to the serpent, and before the man, because she was first and more deeply in the transgression, and was the means of drawing her husband into it. I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception , or "thy sorrow of thy conception" F1 והרנך עצבונך "tuum dolorem etiam conceptus tui", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "tuum dolorem conceptus tui", Drusius, Noldius, p. 315. No. 1978. , or rather "of thy... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 3:17

And unto Adam he said ,.... Last of all, being the last that sinned, but not to be excused: because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife ; which was not only mean but sinful, since it was opposite to the voice of God, which he ought to have hearkened to God is to be hearkened to and obeyed rather than man, and much rather than a woman; to regard the persuasion of a woman, and neglect the command of God, is a great aggravation of such neglect; see Acts 4:19 . and hast eaten... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 3:16

Unto 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 female. Nothing is better attested than... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 3:17

Unto Adam he said - The man being the last in the transgression is brought up last to receive his sentence: Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife - "thou wast not deceived, she only gave and counseled thee to eat; this thou shouldst have resisted;" and that he did not is the reason of his condemnation. Cursed is the ground for thy sake - from henceforth its fertility shall be greatly impaired; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it - be in continual perplexity concerning the seed... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 3:16

Verse 16 16.Unto the woman he said. In order that the majesty of the judge may shine the more brightly, God uses no long disputation; whence also we may perceive of what avail are all our tergiversations with him. In bringing the serpent forward, Eve thought she had herself escaped. God, disregarding her cavils, condemns her. Let the sinner, therefore, when he comes to the bar of God, cease to contend, lest he should more severely provoke against himself the anger of him whom he has already too... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 3:17

Verse 17 17.And unto Adam he said. In the first place, it is to be observed, that punishment was not inflicted upon the first of our race so as to rest on those two alone, but was extended generally to all their posterity, in order that we might know that the human race was cursed in their person; we next observe, that they were subjected only to temporal punishment, that, from the moderation of the divine anger, they might entertain hope of pardon. God, by adducing the reason why he thus... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 3:8-19

The first judgment scene. I. THE FLIGHT Or THE CRIMINALS . 1. It is the instinct of sinful men to flee from God . "Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God" ( Genesis 3:8 ). So "Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord" ( Jonah 1:3 ). 2. It is God ' s habit to pursue transgressors . As he pursued Adam and Eve in the garden by his voice (verse 9), and Jonah on the deep by a wind ( Jonah 1:4 ), and David by his... read more