Genesis 3 · Verse 16

Genesis 3:16

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.
Genesis 3:16, King James Version

Genesis 3:16 in other translations

BSBTo 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.”
WEBTo 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.”
ASVUnto 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.
YLTUnto 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.'
DARBYTo the woman he said, I will greatly increase thy travail and thy pregnancy; with pain thou shalt bear children; and to thy husband shall be thy desire, and he shall rule over thee.
BBETo the woman he said, Great will be your pain in childbirth; in sorrow will your children come to birth; still your desire will be for your husband, but he will be your master.
WebsterTo 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.

What does Genesis 3:16 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
16. unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow--She was doomed as a wife and mother to suffer pain of body and distress of mind. From being the help meet of man and the partner of his affections [Ge 2:18, 23], her condition would henceforth be that of humble subjection.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 16 Unto the woman he said - She being second in the transgression is brought up the second to receive her condemnation, and to hear her punishment: I will greatly multiply, or multiplying I will multiply; i.e., I will multiply thy sorrows, and multiply those sorrows by other sorrows, and this during conception and pregnancy, and particularly so in parturition or child-bearing. And this curse has fallen in a heavier degree on the woman than on any other female. Nothing is better attested than this, and yet there is certainly no natural reason why it should be so; it is a part of her punishment, and a part from which even God's mercy will not exempt her. It is added farther, Thy desire shall be to thy husband - thou shalt not be able to shun the great pain and peril of child-bearing, for thy desire, thy appetite, shall be to thy husband; and he shall rule over thee, though at their creation both were formed with equal rights, and the woman had probably as much right to rule as the man; but subjection to the will of her husband is one part of her curse; and so very capricious is this will often, that a sorer punishment no human being can well have, to be at all in a state of liberty, and under the protection of wise and equal laws.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 3:16-19
The woman, for her sin, is condemned to a state of sorrow, and of subjection; proper punishments of that sin, in which she had sought to gratify the desire of her eye, and of the flesh, and her pride. Sin brought sorrow into the world; that made the world a vale of tears. No wonder our sorrows are multiplied, when our sins are so. He shall rule over thee, is but God's command, Wives, be subject to your own husbands. If man had not sinned, he would always have ruled with wisdom and love; if the woman had not sinned, she would always have obeyed with humility and meekness. Adam laid the blame on his wife; but though it was her fault to persuade him to eat the forbidden fruit, it was his fault to hearken to her. Thus men's frivolous pleas will, in the day of God's judgment, be turned against them. God put marks of displeasure on Adam. 1. His habitation is cursed. God gave the earth to the children of men, to be a comfortable dwelling; but it is now cursed for man's sin. Yet Adam is not himself cursed, as the serpent was, but only the ground for his sake. 2. His employments and enjoyments are imbittered to him. Labour is our duty, which we must faithfully perform; it is part of man's sentence, which idleness daringly defies. Uneasiness and weariness with labour are our just punishment, which we must patiently submit to, since they are less than our iniquity deserves. Man's food shall become unpleasant to him. Yet man is not sentenced to eat dust as the serpent, only to eat the herb of the field. 3. His life also is but short; considering how full of trouble his days are, it is in favour to him that they are few. Yet death being dreadful to nature, even when life is unpleasant, that concludes the punishment. Sin brought death into the world: if Adam had not sinned, he had not died. He gave way to temptation, but the Saviour withstood it. And how admirably the satisfaction of our Lord Jesus, by his death and sufferings, answered the sentence passed on our first parents! Did travailing pains come with sin? We read of the travail of Christ's soul, Is 53:11; and the pains of death he was held by, are so called, Ac 2:24. Did subjection came in with sin? Christ was made under the law, Ga 4:4. Did the curse come in with sin? Christ was made a curse for us, he died a cursed death, Ga 3:13. Did thorns come in with sin? He was crowned with thorns for us. Did sweat come in with sin? He sweat for us, as it had been great drops of blood. Did sorrow come in with sin? He was a man of sorrows; his soul was, in his agony, exceeding sorrowful. Did death come in with sin? He became obedient unto death. Thus is the plaster as wide as the wound. Blessed be God for his Son our Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Genesis 3:16 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

אֶֽל\־'el-toH413
הָאִשָּׁ֣הha.'i.Shahthe womanH802
אָמַ֗ר'a.Marhe saidH559
הַרְבָּ֤הhar.Bahcertainly <to increase>H7235
אַרְבֶּה֙'ar.BehI will increaseH7235
עִצְּבוֹנֵ֣ךְi.tze.vo.Nekhpain yourH6093
וְהֵֽרֹנֵ֔ךְve.he.ro.Nekhand pregnancy yourH2032
בְּעֶ֖צֶבbe.'E.tzevwith painH6089
תֵּֽלְדִ֣יte.le.Diyou will bearH3205
בָנִ֑יםva.NimchildrenH1121
וְאֶל\־ve.'el-and [will be] toH413
אִישֵׁךְ֙'i.sheKhhusband yourH376
תְּשׁ֣וּקָתֵ֔ךְte.Shu.ka.Tekhdesire yourH8669
וְה֖וּאve.Hu'and heH1931
יִמְשָׁל\־yim.shol-he will ruleH4910
בָּֽךְ\׃\ \סBakhover <the> you

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Genesis 3:16

  • Titus 2:5

    To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

  • Colossians 3:18

    Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.

  • 1 Corinthians 11:3

    But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

  • 1 Timothy 2:15

    Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.

  • 1 Corinthians 14:34

    Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.

  • Ephesians 5:22-24

    Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

  • 1 Timothy 2:11-12

    Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.

  • 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.

  • John 16:21

    A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.

  • 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.

  • 1 Peter 3:1-6

    Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. …

  • Micah 4:9-10

    Now why dost thou cry out aloud? is there no king in thee? is thy counsellor perished? for pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail. Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
in sorrow.
35:16-18; 1Sa 4:19-21; Ps 48:6; Isa 13:8; 21:3; 26:17,18; 53:11
Jer 4:31; 6:24; 13:21; 22:23; 49:24; Mic 4:9,10; Joh 16:21; 1Th 5:3
1Ti 2:15
thy desire.
4:7
to. or, subject to. rule.
Nu 30:7,8,13; Es 1:20; 1Co 7:4; 11:3; 14:34; Eph 5:22-24; Col 3:18
1Ti 2:11,12; Tit 2:5; 1Pe 3:1-6

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Genesis 3:15

    And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

  • Genesis 3:16

    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.

  • Genesis 3:17

    And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

Read all of Genesis 3

Genesis 3:16 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
A la mujer dijo: Multiplicaré en gran manera tus dolores y tus preñeces; con dolor parirás los hijos; y á tu marido será tu deseo, y él se enseñoreará de ti.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
À la femme il dit: Je rendrai très grandes tes souffrances et ta grossesse; en travail tu enfanteras des enfants, et ton désir sera tourné vers ton mari, et lui dominera sur toi.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Zu dem Weibe sprach er: Ich werde sehr mehren die Mühsal deiner Schwangerschaft, mit Schmerzen sollst du Kinder gebären; und nach deinem Manne wird dein Verlangen sein, er aber wird über dich herrschen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Mulieri quoque dixit: Multiplicabo ærumnas tuas, et conceptus tuos: in dolore paries filios, et sub viri potestate eris, et ipse dominabitur tui.