Genesis 3:14 - Printer Friendly

ESV: The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.

NIV: So 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.

NASB: Then the Lord God said to the serpent, 'Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all the livestock, And more than any animal of the field; On your belly you shall go, And dust you shall eat All the days of your life;

CSB: So the Lord God said to the serpent: Because you have done this, you are cursed more than any livestock and more than any wild animal. You will move on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life.

NLT: Then the Lord God said to the serpent, 'Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live.

KJV: And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed 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:

NKJV: So the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life.

In the previous two verses, God directly asked Adam and then Eve if they had disobeyed His command and had eaten from the restricted tree. Adam essentially said, "Yes, but the woman gave it to me, and you're the one who gave me the woman." Eve admitted she had been deceived by the serpent and had eaten the fruit.

Now God turns to the serpent, but with a notable difference: He doesn't ask the serpent what he did. He doesn't look for a confession or to engage in debate with the serpent. As discussed previously, this serpent is consistently understood by conservative Bible scholars to be Satan himself. Apparently, Satan either possessed a snake created by God, or he took the form of a snake. As Jesus will say centuries from this moment, Satan is a liar (John 8:44). God chooses not to give the liar a chance to speak in this moment.

Instead, God begins to pronounce a series of curses on the serpent, the man, and the woman. In each case, the curse is for each of them and for the future generations of their offspring. In this verse, God begins His curse on the serpent and on all of his species to follow, as well as on Satan himself. Why curse serpents if the Devil was just using that form or body to commit his evil? Apparently, God intended for the serpent to serve as a reminder to all future generations of humans both of who the Devil is and of God's power over him.

The serpent would be uniquely cursed in comparison to all other animals on earth. That serpent and all of those to follow would crawl on the ground, unable to avoid eating the dust of the earth, from that point forward. Does this mean that all serpents or this particular species of serpent had legs before this time? This is possible, though it's also possible that the change of earth's nature after the fall might be part of this curse, as well.

Genesis 3:8–24 describes the consequences of man's rebellion against God. After falling to temptation, humans are ashamed and foolishly attempt to hide from God. When confronted with their sin, the man and woman confess, but also attempt to shift the blame to others. Adam even blames God. In response, God issues three individual ''curses'' which affect humanity to this day. Mankind can no longer stay in the ''very good'' garden, and is banished. Even so, God continues to provide for His creation.

Genesis 3 tells the story of paradise lost by the willfulness of human sin. Humanity was originally given every perfect thing they could need or want, and virtually no restrictions. Despite that, Adam and Eve needed only a bit of prompting from a talking serpent to disobey their good Creator. Immediately overcome by shame and quickly cursed by God, the painful story of human history begins with their exit from the Garden of Eden.

Genesis 2 ended with the last glimpse of a sinless world. Adam and Eve are perfect in themselves, in their purpose, and in their relationship as husband and wife. Chapter 3 tells the story of that paradise lost; the result of the first willful human sin. The consequences: immediate shame and lifelong separation from their home with God. Chapter 4 will describe the beginning of their lives together, the beginning of the painful story of human history.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.