Genesis 3 · Verse 4

Genesis 3:4

And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
Genesis 3:4, King James Version

Genesis 3:4 in other translations

BSB“You will not surely die,” the serpent told her.
WEBThe serpent said to the woman, “You won’t really die,
ASVAnd the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
YLTAnd the serpent saith unto the woman, ‘Dying, ye do not die,
DARBYAnd the serpent said to the woman, Ye will not certainly die;
BBEAnd the snake said, Death will not certainly come to you:
WebsterAnd the serpent said to the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

What does Genesis 3:4 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
4. Ye shall not surely die--He proceeded, not only to assure her of perfect impunity, but to promise great benefits from partaking of it.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 4 Ye shall not surely die - Here the father of lies at once appears; and appears too in flatly contradicting the assertion of God. The tempter, through the nachash, insinuates the impossibility of her dying, as if he had said, God has created thee immortal, thy death therefore is impossible; and God knows this, for as thou livest by the tree of life, so shalt thou get increase of wisdom by the tree of knowledge.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 3:1-5

Satan assaulted our first parents, to draw them to sin, and the temptation proved fatal to them. The tempter was the devil, in the shape and likeness of a serpent. Satan's plan was to draw our first parents to sin, and so to separate between them and their God. Thus the devil was from the beginning a murderer, and the great mischief maker. The person tempted was the woman: it was Satan's policy to enter into talk…

Read the full comment on Genesis 3:1-5 →

Genesis 3:4 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.

וַיֹּ֥אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
הַנָּחָ֖שׁha.na.Chashthe snakeH5175
אֶל\־'el-toH413
הָֽאִשָּׁ֑הha.'i.Shahthe womanH802
לֹֽא\־lo'-notH3808
מ֖וֹתMotcertainly <to die>H4191
תְּמֻתֽוּן\׃te.mu.Tunyou will die !H4191

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

Cross references for Genesis 3:4

  • John 8:44

    Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

  • 2 Corinthians 11:3

    But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

  • 1 Timothy 2:14

    And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.

  • 2 Corinthians 2:11

    Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

  • Genesis 3:13

    And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

  • 2 Kings 1:16

    And he said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to enquire of Baal–zebub the god of Ekron, is it not because there is no God in Israel to enquire of his word? therefore thou shalt not come down off that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.

  • Deuteronomy 29:19

    And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst:

  • 2 Kings 8:10

    And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover: howbeit the Lord hath shewed me that he shall surely die.

  • 2 Kings 1:4

    Now therefore thus saith the Lord, Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed.

  • 2 Kings 1:6

    And they said unto him, There came a man up to meet us, and said unto us, Go, turn again unto the king that sent you, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that thou sendest to enquire of Baal–zebub the god of Ekron? therefore thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.

  • Psalms 10:11

    He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
serpent.
Joh 8:44
Ye.
13; De 29:19; 2Ki 1:4,6,16; 8:10; Ps 10:11; 2Co 2:11; 11:3; 1Ti 2:14

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

Context

  • Genesis 3:3

    But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

  • Genesis 3:4

    And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

  • Genesis 3:5

    For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Read all of Genesis 3

Genesis 3:4 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Entonces la serpiente dijo á la mujer: No moriréis;
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et le serpent dit à la femme: Vous ne mourrez point certainement;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und die Schlange sprach zu dem Weibe: Mit nichten werdet ihr sterben!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Dixit autem serpens ad mulierem: Nequaquam morte moriemini.