Verse (Click for Chapter) 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.” Berean Literal Bible To the woman He said, “I will surely multiply your pain and your childbearing; in pain you will bear children. And toward your husband your desire will be, 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.” Berean Annotated 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. 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." 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. Majority Text Translations Majority Standard BibleTo 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.” 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 VersionTo 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.” Berean Literal Bible To the woman He said, “I will surely multiply your pain and your childbearing; in pain you will bear children. And toward your husband your desire will be, and 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 BibleTo 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 BibleTo 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 1917Unto 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 Mankind16To 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.… Cross References To the woman He said: 1 Corinthians 11:8-9 For man did not come from woman, but woman from man. / Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 1 Timothy 2:13-14 For Adam was formed first, and then Eve. / And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman who was deceived and fell into transgression. 1 Peter 3:5-6 For this is how the holy women of the past adorned themselves. They put their hope in God and were submissive to their husbands, / just as Sarah obeyed Abraham and called him lord. And you are her children if you do what is right and refuse to give way to fear. “I will sharply increase your pain in childbirth; Isaiah 13:8 Terror, pain, and anguish will seize them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look at one another, their faces flushed with fear. John 16:21 A woman has pain in childbirth because her time has come; but when she brings forth her child, she forgets her anguish because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. 1 Samuel 4:19-20 Now Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and about to give birth. When she heard the news of the capture of God’s ark and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband, she collapsed and gave birth, for her labor pains overtook her. / As she was dying, the women attending to her said, “Do not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son!” But she did not respond or pay any heed. in pain you will bring forth children. 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 Timothy 2:15 Women, however, will be saved through childbearing, if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control. Your desire will be for your husband, Genesis 4:7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you refuse to do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires you, but you must master it.” Songs 7:10 I belong to my beloved, and his desire is for me. 1 Corinthians 7:3-4 The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. / The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife. and he will rule over you.” 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. Colossians 3:18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 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 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. … 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. Jump to Previous Bear Birth Childbearing Childbirth Children Conception Desire Forth Greatly Husband Increase Master Multiply Multiplying Pain Pains Rule Sorrow TravailJump to Next Bear Birth Childbearing Childbirth Children Conception Desire Forth Greatly Husband Increase Master Multiply Multiplying Pain Pains Rule Sorrow TravailGenesis 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. To the woman He said: This phrase introduces God's direct address to Eve following the Fall. It signifies the beginning of the consequences for disobedience. The personal nature of God's communication highlights the relational aspect of the punishment, emphasizing accountability and the personal nature of sin. 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.” Persons / Places / Events 1. GodThe Creator who pronounces judgment on the woman after the Fall. 2. The Woman (Eve) The first woman, who is addressed directly by God in this verse. 3. The Fall The event in which Adam and Eve disobeyed God, leading to the introduction of sin into the world. Teaching Points The Consequences of SinGenesis 3:16 highlights the immediate consequences of sin, affecting both personal relationships and physical experiences. It serves as a reminder of the gravity of disobedience to God. The Role of Pain in Childbirth The increase in pain during childbirth is a direct result of the Fall. This can be seen as a symbol of the broader suffering that sin brings into the world. Marital Dynamics The phrase "Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you" introduces a tension in marital relationships that was not present before the Fall. This tension is something that believers are called to navigate with grace and understanding, seeking to restore God's original design through Christ. Redemption and Restoration While Genesis 3:16 outlines the consequences of sin, the rest of Scripture points to the redemption and restoration available through Jesus Christ. Believers are called to live in light of this redemption, seeking to reflect God's love and order in their relationships. Bible Study Questions and Answers 1. What is the meaning of Genesis 3:16?2. How does Genesis 3:16 illustrate consequences of disobedience for women today? 3. What does "your desire will be for your husband" imply about marital roles? 4. How can Genesis 3:16 inform our understanding of gender roles in the church? 5. In what ways can women find hope despite the curse in Genesis 3:16? 6. How does Genesis 3:16 connect to Ephesians 5:22-33 on marital relationships? 7. How does Genesis 3:16 reflect on the role of women in Christian theology? 8. Why does Genesis 3:16 emphasize pain in childbirth as a consequence of sin? 9. What is the significance of "your desire will be for your husband" in Genesis 3:16? 10. What are the top 10 Lessons from Genesis 3? 11. How can a loving God allow suffering? 12. What does "desire for your husband" mean in Genesis? 13. What does the Bible say about brain injury? 14. Why punish all humanity for a single act of disobedience (Genesis 3:16–19)? What Does Genesis 3:16 Mean “I will sharply increase your pain in childbirth”• The first consequence falls on the most intimate sphere of a woman’s life—motherhood. God Himself announces a real, bodily intensification of pain, not merely an emotional or symbolic one (Genesis 35:16-17; John 16:21). • Pain becomes a perpetual reminder of humanity’s fall, yet it is yoked to the privilege of bringing new life into the world (Psalm 127:3-5). • Even here grace is present: life continues, and God allows future generations despite sin (Genesis 4:1-2). “in pain you will bring forth children” • The repetition underscores inevitability. Eve—and every mother after her—will experience real suffering during delivery. • Creation itself now groans under the curse (Romans 8:22), and childbirth pain stands as a vivid illustration of that groaning. • God’s plan of redemption will eventually come through this very process, culminating in the birth of the promised Seed (Genesis 3:15; Galatians 4:4-5). “Your desire will be for your husband” • The word “desire” points to a new tension in marriage. What was once perfectly harmonious now carries the potential for misplaced longing or even rivalry (compare Genesis 4:7, where sin’s “desire” is to control). • Yet desire can also carry affectionate overtones (Songs 7:10), reminding us marriage remains a good gift despite the curse. • God’s design calls for wives to align that desire with respectful partnership (Ephesians 5:33b; 1 Peter 3:1-2). “and he will rule over you” • Headship enters the post-fall world marked by strain rather than mutual joy. The husband’s leadership, once unforced, can now become heavy-handed or resented. • Scripture later clarifies the intended shape of this rule: sacrificial, Christ-like love (Ephesians 5:23-25) rather than domination (Colossians 3:19). • Order in the home remains God’s good structure (1 Corinthians 11:3; 1 Timothy 2:12-14), but only flourishes when both husband and wife walk in the Spirit. summary Genesis 3:16 describes real, historical consequences flowing from humanity’s first sin. Childbirth pain, marital tension, and distorted leadership were not original to Eden but arose as part of God’s just response. Even so, each line hints at ongoing grace: life continues, marriage endures, and through these very pains God will bring the Redeemer. Living under Christ’s lordship, husbands and wives can experience restoration, turning the curse’s sharp edges into opportunities for sacrificial love and gospel hope. (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.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 Toאֶֽל־ (’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 Links Genesis 3:16 NIVGenesis 3:16 NLT Genesis 3:16 ESV Genesis 3:16 NASB Genesis 3:16 KJV Genesis 3:16 BibleApps.com Genesis 3:16 Biblia Paralela Genesis 3:16 Chinese Bible Genesis 3:16 French Bible Genesis 3:16 Catholic Bible OT Law: Genesis 3:16 To the woman he said I will (Gen. 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