Ge 3:14 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.

15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel."

16 To the woman He said: "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you."

17 Then to Adam He said, "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it': "Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.

18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field.

19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return."


In chapter 1, Moses shows his Israelite readers God as Creator. In chapter 2, he shows God as Provider. Here in these verses, he shows God as Judge. Here, we see the Judge in action. He is seen issuing sentences.

The serpent which was viewed highly and was the object of worship among pagan nations is depicted as being cursed more than any other beast on earth.

The animal kingdom was drastically affected but the cattle is mentioned specifically to show that even the cattle, which was also a beast that the pagans worshiped and held highly, was also cursed.

Moses shows the folly of worshiping these beasts.

Satan, the spirit behind the serpent, was also cursed. He destroyed Man, and so, tit for tat, it is through Man that he will be destroyed. The seed in verse 15 is ultimately a prophecy about the coming Messiah who will fatally wound Satan.

The woman will have pain, sorrow and labor in bearing children. He manipulated her husband but her husband will rule over her.
There will be marital conflict.

The expression "Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you" refers to marital struggle.  

In Genesis 4:7, we read these words: "If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."

Sin is seen here as a crouching beast ready to pounce on Cain to dominate him. But Cain must rule over it. It is a picture of conflict and struggle.

Adam brought sin on the entire human race by eating the forbidden fruit, now they will suffer in order to eat. Meaningful work becomes hard labor. Man rebelled against God, he did not cooperate with God, and so now, the ground will refuse to cooperate with him. There will be frustrations and disappointments in working for a living.

This is Moses highlighting a stipulation in the Mosaic covenant. If the Israelites keep the covenant and obey it, the ground will be blessed and bear plenty for them. If they disobeyed it, the land of milk and honey will become barren.

Last of all, there will be death. Adam and Eve wanted to be like God in a sinful way, but they are brought down to their level. They will return to dust.