4 And the serpent H5175 said H559 unto the woman, H802 Ye shall not surely H4191 die: H4191
Ye G5210 are G2075 of G1537 your father G3962 the devil, G1228 and G2532 the lusts G1939 of your G5216 father G3962 ye will G2309 do. G4160 He G1565 was G2258 a murderer G443 from G575 the beginning, G746 and G2532 abode G2476 not G3756 in G1722 the truth, G225 because G3754 there is G2076 no G3756 truth G225 in G1722 him. G846 When G3752 he speaketh G2980 a lie, G5579 he speaketh G2980 of G1537 his own: G2398 for G3754 he is G2076 a liar, G5583 and G2532 the father G3962 of it. G846
And it come to pass, when he heareth H8085 the words H1697 of this curse, H423 that he bless H1288 himself in his heart, H3824 saying, H559 I shall have peace, H7965 though H3588 I walk H3212 in the imagination H8307 of mine heart, H3820 to add H5595 drunkenness H7302 to thirst: H6771
Now therefore thus saith H559 the LORD, H3068 Thou shalt not come down H3381 from that bed H4296 on which thou art gone up, H5927 but shalt surely H4191 die. H4191 And Elijah H452 departed. H3212
And they said H559 unto him, There came H5927 a man H376 up H5927 to meet H7125 us, and said H559 unto us, Go, H3212 turn again H7725 unto the king H4428 that sent H7971 you, and say H1696 unto him, Thus saith H559 the LORD, H3068 Is it not because there is not a God H430 in Israel, H3478 that thou sendest H7971 to enquire H1875 of Baalzebub H1176 the god H430 of Ekron? H6138 therefore thou shalt not come down H3381 from that bed H4296 on which thou art gone up, H5927 but shalt surely H4191 die. H4191
And he said H1696 unto him, Thus saith H559 the LORD, H3068 Forasmuch as thou hast sent H7971 messengers H4397 to enquire H1875 of Baalzebub H1176 the god H430 of Ekron, H6138 is it not because there is no God H430 in Israel H3478 to enquire H1875 of his word? H1697 therefore thou shalt not come down H3381 off that bed H4296 on which thou art gone up, H5927 but shalt surely H4191 die. H4191
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Genesis 3
Commentary on Genesis 3 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 3
The story of this chapter is perhaps as sad a story (all things considered) as any we have in all the Bible. In the foregoing chapters we have had the pleasant view of the holiness and happiness of our first parents, the grace and favour of God, and the peace and beauty of the whole creation, all good, very good; but here the scene is altered. We have here an account of the sin and misery of our first parents, the wrath and curse of God against them, the peace of the creation disturbed, and its beauty stained and sullied, all bad, very bad. "How has the gold become dim, and the most fine gold changed!' O that our hearts were deeply affected with this record! For we are all nearly concerned in it; let it not be to us as a tale that is told. The general contents of this chapter we have (Rom. 5:12), "By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.' More particularly, we have here,
And were it not for the gracious intimations here given of redemption by the promised seed, they, and all their degenerate guilty race, would have been left to endless despair.
Gen 3:1-5
We have here an account of the temptation with which Satan assaulted our first parents, to draw them into sin, and which proved fatal to them. Here observe,
Gen 3:6-8
Here we see what Eve's parley with the tempter ended in. Satan, at length, gains his point, and the strong-hold is taken by his wiles. God tried the obedience of our first parents by forbidding them the tree of knowledge, and Satan does, as it were, join issue with God, and in that very thing undertakes to seduce them into a transgression; and here we find how he prevailed, God permitting it for wise and holy ends.
Gen 3:9-10
We have here the arraignment of these deserters before the righteous Judge of heaven and earth, who, though he is not tied to observe formalities, yet proceeds against them with all possible fairness, that he may be justified when he speaks. Observe here,
Gen 3:11-13
We have here the offenders found guilty by their own confession, and yet endeavouring to excuse and extenuate their fault. They could not confess and justify what they had done, but they confess and palliate it. Observe,
Gen 3:14-15
The prisoners being found guilty by their own confession, besides the personal and infallible knowledge of the Judge, and nothing material being offered in arrest of judgment, God immediately proceeds to pass sentence; and, in these verses, he begins (where the sin began) with the serpent. God did not examine the serpent, nor ask him what he had done nor why he did it; but immediately sentenced him,
Gen 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.
Gen 3:17-19
We have here the sentence passed upon Adam, which is prefaced with a recital of his crime: Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, v. 17. He excused the fault, by laying it on his wife: She gave it me. But God does not admit the excuse. She could but tempt him, she could not force him; though it was her fault to persuade him to eat, it was his fault to hearken to her. Thus men's frivolous pleas will, in the day of God's judgment, not only be overruled, but turned against them, and made the grounds of their sentence. Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee. Observe,
Gen 3:20
God having named the man, and called him Adam, which signifies red earth, Adam, in further token of dominion, named the woman, and called her Eve, that is, life. Adam bears the name of the dying body, Eve that of the living soul. The reason of the name is here given (some think, by Moses the historian, others, by Adam himself): Because she was (that is, was to be) the mother of all living. He had before called her Ishah-woman, as a wife; here he calls her Evah-life, as a mother. Now,
Gen 3:21
We have here a further instance of God's care concerning our first parents, notwithstanding their sin. Though he corrects his disobedient children, and put them under the marks of his displeasure, yet he does not disinherit them, but, like a tender father, provides the herb of the field for their food and coats of skins for their clothing. Thus the father provided for the returning prodigal, Lu. 15:22, 23. If the Lord had been pleased to kill them, he would not have done this for them. Observe,
Gen 3:22-24
Sentence being passed upon the offenders, we have here execution, in part, done upon them immediately. Observe here,