Genesis 2:18 The LORD God also said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper."

◄ Genesis 2:18 ►

New International Version
The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

New Living Translation
Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.”

English Standard Version
Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”

Berean Standard Bible
The LORD God also said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper.”

King James Bible
And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

New King James Version
And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

New American Standard Bible
Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”

NASB 1995
Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”

NASB 1977
Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”

Legacy Standard Bible
Then Yahweh God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”

Amplified Bible
Now the LORD God said, “It is not good (beneficial) for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper [one who balances him—a counterpart who is] suitable and complementary for him.”

Christian Standard Bible
Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper corresponding to him.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper as his complement.”

American Standard Version
And Jehovah God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.

Contemporary English Version
The LORD God said, "It isn't good for the man to live alone. I will make a suitable partner for him."

English Revised Version
And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is right for him."

Good News Translation
Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to live alone. I will make a suitable companion to help him."

International Standard Version
Later, the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make the woman to be an authority corresponding to him."

Majority Standard Bible
The LORD God also said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper.”

NET Bible
The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a companion for him who corresponds to him."

New Heart English Bible
And God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him."

Webster's Bible Translation
And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone: I will make him a help meet for him.

World English Bible
Yahweh God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

Literal Translations

Literal Standard Version
And YHWH God says, “[It is] not good for the man to be alone; I make him a helper as his counterpart.”

Young's Literal Translation
And Jehovah God saith, 'Not good for the man to be alone, I do make to him an helper -- as his counterpart.'

Smith's Literal Translation
And Jehovah God will say, It is not good for man to be alone; I will make for him a help as before him.

Catholic Translations

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the Lord God said: It is not good for man to be alone: let us make him a help like unto himself.

Catholic Public Domain Version
The Lord God also said: “It is not good for the man to be alone. Let us make a helper for him similar to himself.”

New American Bible
The LORD God said: It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suited to him.

New Revised Standard Version
Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.”

Translations from Aramaic

Lamsa Bible
Then the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper who is like him.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And LORD JEHOVAH God said, “It is not good for Adam to be alone. I shall make a helper for him like himself.”

OT Translations

JPS Tanakh 1917
And the LORD God said: 'It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.'

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone, let us make for him a help suitable to him.

Additional Translations ...

Audio Bible

Context

Man and Woman in the Garden
…17but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.” 18The LORD God also said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper.” 19And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and He brought them to the man to see what he would name each one. And whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.…

Berean Standard Bible · Download

Cross References

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. / For if one falls down, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to help him up! / Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? ...

1 Corinthians 11:9
Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.

Ephesians 5:22-33
Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. / For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior. / Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. ...

Proverbs 18:22
He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD.

1 Peter 3:7
Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as a delicate vessel, and with honor as fellow heirs of the gracious gift of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

1 Corinthians 7:2
But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.

Matthew 19:4-6
Jesus answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ / and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? / So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

Mark 10:6-9
However, from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ / ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, / and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. ...

1 Timothy 2:13
For Adam was formed first, and then Eve.

Colossians 3:18-19
Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. / Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.

1 Corinthians 11:11-12
In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. / For just as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.

1 Corinthians 7:10-11
To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. / But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.

Malachi 2:14-16
Yet you ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have broken faith, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. / Has not the LORD made them one, having a portion of the Spirit? And why one? Because He seeks godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. / “For I hate divorce,” says the LORD, the God of Israel. “He who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence,” says the LORD of Hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith.

Ruth 1:9
May the LORD enable each of you to find rest in the home of your new husband.” And she kissed them as they wept aloud

Song of Solomon 4:9-10
You have captured my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your neck. / How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! Your love is much better than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than all spices.

Treasury of Scripture

And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

good.

Genesis 1:31
And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Genesis 3:12
And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

Ruth 3:1
Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?

I will.

Genesis 3:12
And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

1 Corinthians 11:7-12
For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man…

1 Timothy 2:11-13
Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection…

meet for him.

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Genesis 2

1. The first Sabbath.
4. Further details concerning the manner of creation.
8. The planting of the garden of Eden, and its situation;
15. man is placed in it; and the tree of knowledge forbidden.
18. The animals are named by Adam.
21. The making of woman, and the institution of marriage.

Berean Study Bible

The LORD God said
This phrase introduces a direct statement from God, emphasizing His personal involvement and authority in creation. The Hebrew term for "LORD" is "Yahweh," which signifies the covenantal name of God, highlighting His eternal and self-existent nature. "God" is translated from "Elohim," a plural form that underscores the majesty and power of God. This duality of names reflects both His intimate relationship with humanity and His supreme authority over creation.

It is not good
This marks the first time in the creation narrative that something is described as "not good." The Hebrew word for "good" is "tov," which has been used repeatedly in Genesis 1 to describe the perfection of creation. Here, the absence of "good" indicates an incomplete aspect of creation, underscoring the importance of companionship and community in God's design for humanity.

for the man
The term "man" is translated from the Hebrew "adam," which can refer to both the individual, Adam, and humanity in general. This dual meaning suggests that the statement has implications not only for Adam but for all of humankind, emphasizing the universal need for relationships and community.

to be alone
The Hebrew word for "alone" is "bad," which conveys a sense of isolation or separation. This highlights the inherent social nature of human beings, created in the image of a relational God. The statement underscores the importance of companionship and the divine intention for humans to live in community and partnership.

I will make
This phrase indicates God's proactive role in addressing the situation. The Hebrew verb "asah" means "to make" or "to do," reflecting God's creative power and intentionality. It underscores that the solution to man's solitude is not an afterthought but a deliberate act of divine will.

a helper
The word "helper" is translated from the Hebrew "ezer," which denotes assistance and support. Importantly, "ezer" is often used in the Old Testament to describe God as a helper to Israel, indicating that this role is one of strength and partnership, not inferiority. It suggests a complementary relationship where both parties contribute to the well-being of the other.

suitable for him
The phrase "suitable for him" is derived from the Hebrew "kenegdo," which means "corresponding to" or "facing him." This implies equality and compatibility, suggesting that the helper is a counterpart who complements and completes the man. It emphasizes the idea of partnership and mutual support in fulfilling God's purposes for humanity.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(18) It is not good . . . --In these words we have the Divine appointment of marriage, and also the declaration that the female is subsequent in order of production to the male, and formed from him. In Genesis 1:27; Genesis 5:2, the creation of male and female is represented as having been simultaneous. She is described as "a help meet for him:" Heb., a help as his front, his reflected image, or, as the Syriac translates it, a helper similar to him. The happiness of marriage is based, not upon the woman being just the same thing as the man, but upon her being one in whom he sees his image and counterpart.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 18. - In anticipation of the ensuing narrative of the temptation and the fall, the historian, having depicted man's settlement in Eden, advances to complete his dramatis personae by the introduction upon the scene of the animals and woman. In the preliminary creation record (7-27) it is simply stated that God created man, male and female; there is a complete absence of details as to the Divine modus operandi in the execution of these, his last and greatest works. It is one object, among others, of the second portion of the history to supply those details. With regard to man (Adam), an account of his formation, at once minute and exhaustive, has been given in the preceding verses (7-17); now, with like attention to antecedent and concomitant circumstances and events, the sacred penman adds a description of the time, reason, manner, and result of the formation of woman. And the Lord God said, It is not good for man to be alone. While the animals were produced either in swarms (as the fishes) or in pairs (as the birds and beasts), man was created as an individual; his partner, by a subsequent operation of creative power, being produced from himself. With the wild phantasies and gross speculations of some theosophists, as to whether, prior to the creation of Eve, Adam was androgynic (Bohme), or simply vir in potentia, out of which state he passed the moment the woman stood by his side (Ziegler), a devout exegesis is not required to intermeddle. Neither is it needful to wonder how God should pronounce that to be not good which he had previously (Genesis 1:31) affirmed was good. The Divine judgment of which the preceding chapter speaks was expressed at the completion of man's creation; this, while that creation was in progress. For the new-made man to have been left without a partner would, in the estimation of Jehovah Elohim, have been for him a condition of being which, if not necessarily bad in itself, yet, considering his intellectual and social nature, "would eventually have passed over from the negative not good, or a manifest want, into the positive not good, or a hurtful impropriety"' (Lange). "It was not good for man to be alone; not, as certain foolish Rabbis conceited, lest he should imagine himself to be the lord of the world, or as though no man could live without a woman, which is contrary to Scripture; but in respect of

(1) mutual society and comfort,

(2) the propagation of the race,

(3) the increase and generation of the Church of God, and . . .

Parallel Commentaries ...

Hebrew

The LORD
יְהוָ֣ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

God
אֱלֹהִ֔ים (’ĕ·lō·hîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

also said,
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“[It is] not
לֹא־ (lō-)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

good
ט֛וֹב (ṭō·wḇ)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 2896: Pleasant, agreeable, good

for the man
הָֽאָדָ֖ם (hā·’ā·ḏām)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 120: Ruddy, a human being

to be
הֱי֥וֹת (hĕ·yō·wṯ)
Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

alone.
לְבַדּ֑וֹ (lə·ḇad·dōw)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 905: Separation, a part of the body, branch of a, tree, bar for, carrying, chief of

I will make
אֶֽעֱשֶׂהּ־ (’e·‘ĕ·śeh-)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 6213: To do, make

for him
לּ֥וֹ‪‬ (lōw)
Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's Hebrew

a suitable
כְּנֶגְדּֽוֹ׃ (kə·neḡ·dōw)
Preposition-k | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5048: A front, part opposite, a counterpart, mate, over against, before

helper.”
עֵ֖זֶר (‘ê·zer)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5828: A help, helper

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OT Law: Genesis 2:18 Yahweh God said It is not good (Gen. Ge Gn)