Genesis 3:16 To the woman He said: "I will sharply increase your pain in childbirth; in pain you will bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."

◄ Genesis 3:16 ►

New International Version
To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

New Living Translation
Then he said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.”

English Standard Version
To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.”

Berean Standard Bible
To the woman He said: “I will sharply increase your pain in childbirth; in pain you will bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

King James Bible
Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

New King James Version
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.”

New American Standard Bible
To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you shall deliver children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.”

NASB 1995
To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you.”

NASB 1977
To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you shall bring forth children; Yet your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.”

Legacy Standard Bible
To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply Your pain and conception, In pain you will bear children; Your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you.”

Amplified Bible
To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth; In pain you will give birth to children; Yet your desire and longing will be for your husband, And he will rule [with authority] over you and be responsible for you.”

Christian Standard Bible
He said to the woman: I will intensify your labor pains; you will bear children with painful effort. Your desire will be for your husband, yet he will rule over you.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
He said to the woman: I will intensify your labor pains; you will bear children in anguish. Your desire will be for your husband, yet he will rule over you.

American Standard Version
Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy pain and thy conception; in pain thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

Contemporary English Version
Then the LORD God said to the woman, "You will suffer terribly when you give birth. But you will still desire your husband, and he will rule over you."

English Revised Version
Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
He said to the woman, "I will increase your pain and your labor when you give birth to children. Yet, you will long for your husband, and he will rule you."

Good News Translation
And he said to the woman, "I will increase your trouble in pregnancy and your pain in giving birth. In spite of this, you will still have desire for your husband, yet you will be subject to him."

International Standard Version
He told the woman, "I'll greatly increase the pain of your labor during childbirth. It will be painful for you to bear children, "since your trust is turning toward your husband, and he will dominate you."

Majority Standard Bible
To the woman He said: “I will sharply increase your pain in childbirth; in pain you will bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

NET Bible
To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your labor pains; with pain you will give birth to children. You will want to control your husband, but he will dominate you."

New Heart English Bible
And to the woman he said, "I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth. In pain you will bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."

Webster's Bible Translation
To the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children: and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

World English Bible
To the woman he said, “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth. You will bear children in pain. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

Literal Translations

Literal Standard Version
To the woman He said, “Multiplying I multiply your sorrow and your conception; you will bear children in sorrow, and your desire [is] toward your Man [[or husband]], and He [[or he]] will rule over you.”

Young's Literal Translation
Unto the woman He said, 'Multiplying I multiply thy sorrow and thy conception, in sorrow dost thou bear children, and toward thy husband is thy desire, and he doth rule over thee.'

Smith's Literal Translation
To the woman he said, Multiplying, I will multiply thy pain and thy conception; in pain thou shalt bring forth children; and to thy husband thy desire, and he shall rule over thee.

Catholic Translations

Douay-Rheims Bible
To the woman also he said: I will multiply thy sorrows, and thy conceptions: in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children, and thou shalt be under thy husband's power, and he shall have dominion over thee.

Catholic Public Domain Version
To the woman, he also said: “I will multiply your labors and your conceptions. In pain shall you give birth to sons, and you shall be under your husband’s power, and he shall have dominion over you.”

New American Bible
To the woman he said: I will intensify your toil in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Yet your urge shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.

New Revised Standard Version
To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”

Translations from Aramaic

Lamsa Bible
To the woman he said, I will greatly multiply your pain and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children, and you shall be dependent on your husband, and he shall rule over you.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And he said to the woman, “I shall increase and multiply your diseases and your pregnancies; in sorrow you will bear children, and unto your husband you will turn, and he will be authorized over you.”

OT Translations

JPS Tanakh 1917
Unto the woman He said: 'I will greatly multiply thy pain and thy travail; in pain thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.'

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And to the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy pains and thy groanings; in pain thou shalt bring forth children, and thy submission shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

Additional Translations ...

Audio Bible

Context

The Punishment of Mankind
16To the woman He said: “I will sharply increase your pain in childbirth; in pain you will bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” 17And to Adam He said: “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat, cursed is the ground because of you; through toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.…

Berean Standard Bible · Download

Cross References

1 Timothy 2:11-15
A woman must learn in quietness and full submissiveness. / I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; she is to remain quiet. / For Adam was formed first, and then Eve. ...

Ephesians 5:22-24
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.

1 Peter 3:1-6
Wives, in the same way, submit yourselves to your husbands, so that even if they refuse to believe the word, they will be won over without words by the behavior of their wives / when they see your pure and reverent demeanor. / Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair or gold jewelry or fine clothes, ...

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 11:3
But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.

1 Corinthians 14:34-35
Women are to be silent in the churches. They are not permitted to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. / If they wish to inquire about something, they are to ask their own husbands at home; for it is dishonorable for a woman to speak in the church.

Titus 2:3-5
Older women, likewise, are to be reverent in their behavior, not slanderers or addicted to much wine, but teachers of good. / In this way they can train the young women to love their husbands and children, / to be self-controlled, pure, managers of their households, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be discredited.

Proverbs 31:10-31
A wife of noble character, who can find? She is far more precious than rubies. / The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he lacks nothing of value. / She brings him good and not harm all the days of her life. ...

Song of Solomon 7:10
I belong to my beloved, and his desire is for me.

Isaiah 3:12
Youths oppress My people, and women rule over them. O My people, your guides mislead you; they turn you from your paths.

Isaiah 54:1
“Shout for joy, O barren woman, who bears no children; break forth in song and cry aloud, you who have never travailed; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband,” says the LORD.

Jeremiah 31:22
How long will you wander, O faithless daughter? For the LORD has created a new thing in the land—a woman will shelter a man.”

Micah 4:9-10
Why do you now cry aloud? Is there no king among you? Has your counselor perished so that anguish grips you like a woman in labor? / Writhe in agony, O Daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor. For now you will leave the city and camp in the open fields. You will go to Babylon; there you will be rescued; there the LORD will redeem you from the hand of your enemies!

Hosea 13:13
Labor pains come upon him, but he is an unwise son. When the time arrives, he fails to present himself at the opening of the womb.

1 Samuel 1:6-7
Because the LORD had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival would provoke her viciously to taunt her. / And this went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival taunted her until she wept and would not eat.

Treasury of Scripture

To the woman he said, I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in sorrow you shall bring forth children; and your desire shall be to your husband, and he shall rule over you.

in sorrow.

Genesis 35:16-18
And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour…

1 Samuel 4:19-21
And his daughter in law, Phinehas' wife, was with child, near to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father in law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her…

Psalm 48:6
Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail.

thy desire.

Genesis 4:7
If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

to.

Numbers 30:7,8,13
And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her in the day that he heard it: then her vows shall stand, and her bonds wherewith she bound her soul shall stand…

Esther 1:20
And when the king's decree which he shall make shall be published throughout all his empire, (for it is great,) all the wives shall give to their husbands honour, both to great and small.

1 Corinthians 7:4
The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.

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Genesis 3

1. The serpent deceives Eve.
6. Both she and Adam transgress the divine command, and fall into sin.
8. God arraigns them.
14. The serpent is cursed.
15. The promised seed.
16. The punishment of mankind.
21. Their first clothing.
22. Their expulsion from paradise.

Berean Study Bible

To the woman He said
This phrase introduces God's direct communication to Eve, marking a pivotal moment in the narrative. The Hebrew word for "woman" is "ishah," which signifies her role as a partner to Adam. This address highlights the personal nature of God's judgment and the relational dynamics that will be affected by the Fall.

I will sharply increase
The Hebrew root here is "rabah," meaning to multiply or increase. This indicates a significant change from the original design, emphasizing the consequences of sin. The increase is not just in quantity but in intensity, reflecting the profound impact of disobedience on human experience.

your pain in childbirth
The word "pain" is translated from the Hebrew "itzavon," which encompasses both physical and emotional suffering. This phrase underscores the altered state of human existence post-Fall, where what was meant to be a joyful process is now marred by hardship. It serves as a reminder of the brokenness introduced into the world.

in pain you will bring forth children
Repetition of the concept of pain, using the Hebrew "etzev," reinforces the severity of the consequence. The act of bringing forth life, a divine gift, is now intertwined with suffering, symbolizing the cost of sin and the hope of redemption through future generations.

Your desire will be for your husband
The Hebrew word "teshuqah" for "desire" suggests a longing or turning towards. This phrase has been interpreted to mean a relational dynamic where the woman's desire is directed towards her husband, possibly indicating a shift in relational harmony. It reflects the complexity of human relationships affected by sin.

and he will rule over you
The term "rule" comes from the Hebrew "mashal," implying authority or governance. This phrase has been the subject of much theological discussion, often seen as a distortion of the original partnership intended by God. It highlights the hierarchical structures introduced by the Fall, contrasting with the mutual stewardship depicted in Genesis 1 and 2.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(16) Unto the woman he said.--The woman is not cursed as the serpent was, but punished as next in guilt; and the retribution is twofold. First, God greatly multiplies "her sorrow and her conception," that is, her sorrow generally, but especially in connection with pregnancy, when with anguish and peril of life she wins the joy of bringing a man into the world. But also "thy desire shall be to thy husband." In the sin she had been the prime actor, and the man had yielded her too ready an obedience. Henceforward she was to live in subjection to him; yet not unhappy, because her inferiority was to be tempered by a natural longing for the married state and by love towards her master.--Among the heathen the punishment was made very bitter by the degradation to which woman was reduced; among the Jews the wife, though she never sank so low, was nevertheless purchased of her father, was liable to divorce at the husband's will, and was treated as in all respects his inferior. In Christ the whole penalty, as St. Paul teaches, has been abrogated (Galatians 3:28), and the Christian woman is no more inferior to the man than is the Gentile to the Jew, or the bondman to the free.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 16. - Unto the woman he said. Passing judgment on her first who had sinned first, but cursing neither her nor her husband, as "being candidates for restoration" (Tertullian). The sentence pronounced on Eve was twofold. I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception. A hendiadys for "the sorrow of thy conception" (Gesenius, Bush), though this is not necessary. The womanly and wifely sorrow of Eve was to be intensified, and in particular the pains of parturition were to be multiplied (cf. Jeremiah 31:8). The second idea is more fully explained in the next clause. In sorrow shalt thou bring forth children. Literally, sons, daughters being included. The pains of childbirth are in Scripture emblematic of the severest anguish both of body and mind (cf. Psalm 48:7; Micah 4:9, 10; 1 Thessalonians 5:3; John 16:21; Revelation 12:2). The gospel gives a special promise to mothers (1 Timothy 2:15). "By bringing forth is also meant bringing up after the birth, as in Genesis 50:23" (Ainsworth). And thy desire shall be to thy husband. תְּשׁוּקָה, from שׁוּק to run, to have a vehement longing for a thing, may have the same meaning here as in Song of Solomon 7:10 (Dathe, Rosenmüller, Delitzsch, Keil, Bohlen, Kalisch, Alford); but is better taken as expressive of deferential submissiveness, as in Genesis 4:7 (Luther, Calvin, Le Clerc, Lunge, Macdonald, Speaker's 'Commentary'.) Following the LXX. (ἀποστροφή), Murphy explains it as meaning, "The determination of thy will shall be yielded to thy husband." According to the analogy of the two previous clauses, the precise import of this is expressed in the next, though by many it is regarded as a distinct item in the curse (Kalisch, Alford, Clarke, Wordsworth). And he shall rule over thee. Not merely a prophecy of woman's subjection, but an investiture of man with supremacy over the woman; or rather a confirmation and perpetuation of that authority which had been assigned to the man at the creation. Woman had been given him as an helpmeet (Genesis 2:18), and her relation to the man from the first was constituted one of dependence. It was the reversal of this Divinely-established order that had led to the fall (Genesis 3:17). Henceforth, therefore, woman was to be relegated to, and fixed in, her proper sphere of subordination. On account of her subjection to man's authority a wife is described as the possessed or subjected one of a lord (Genesis 20:3; Deuteronomy 20:22), and a husband as the lord of a woman (Exodus 21:3). Among the Hebrews the condition of the female sex was one of distinct subordination, though not of oppression, and certainly not of slavery, as it too often has been in heathen and Mohammedan countries. Christianity, while placing woman on the same platform with man as regards the blessings of the gospel (Galatians 3:28), explicitly inculcates her subordination to the man in the relationship of marriage (Ephesians 5:22; Colossians 3:18; 1 Peter 3:1)

Parallel Commentaries ...

Hebrew

To
אֶֽל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

the woman
הָאִשָּׁ֣ה (hā·’iš·šāh)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 802: Woman, wife, female

He said:
אָמַ֗ר (’ā·mar)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“I will sharply
הַרְבָּ֤ה (har·bāh)
Verb - Hifil - Infinitive absolute
Strong's 7235: To be or become much, many or great

increase
אַרְבֶּה֙ (’ar·beh)
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 7235: To be or become much, many or great

your pain
עִצְּבוֹנֵ֣ךְ (‘iṣ·ṣə·ḇō·w·nêḵ)
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person feminine singular
Strong's 6093: Worrisomeness, labor, pain

in childbirth;
וְהֵֽרֹנֵ֔ךְ (wə·hê·rō·nêḵ)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct | second person feminine singular
Strong's 2032: Conception, pregnancy

in pain
בְּעֶ֖צֶב (bə·‘e·ṣeḇ)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6089: An earthen vessel, toil, a pang

you will bring forth
תֵּֽלְדִ֣י (tê·lə·ḏî)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person feminine singular
Strong's 3205: To bear young, to beget, medically, to act as midwife, to show lineage

children.
בָנִ֑ים (ḇā·nîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 1121: A son

Your desire
תְּשׁ֣וּקָתֵ֔ךְ (tə·šū·qā·ṯêḵ)
Noun - feminine singular construct | second person feminine singular
Strong's 8669: A longing

[will be] for
וְאֶל־ (wə·’el-)
Conjunctive waw | Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

your husband,
אִישֵׁךְ֙ (’î·šêḵ)
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person feminine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

and he
וְה֖וּא (wə·hū)
Conjunctive waw | Pronoun - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1931: He, self, the same, this, that, as, are

{will} rule
יִמְשָׁל־ (yim·šāl-)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 4910: To rule, have dominion, reign

over you.”
בָּֽךְ׃ (bāḵ)
Preposition | second person feminine singular
Strong's Hebrew

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OT Law: Genesis 3:16 To the woman he said I will (Gen. Ge Gn)