Genesis 3:16 the effects of sin -
Genesis 3:16 - KJB - "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."
ESV 2011 edition, NASB 1995 (Jehovah Witness NWT, - "To the woman he said, I will SURELY MULTIPLY YOUR PAIN IN CHILDBEARING; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be FOR your husband, and he shall rule over you."
NIV 2011 edition - "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."
Holman Standard 2003-2009 - "He said to the woman: I will intensify YOUR LABOR PAINS, and you will BEAR CHILDREN in anguish. Your desire will be FOR your husband, yet he will dominate you."
The Ever Changing ESVs
Genesis 3:16 KJB - 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.
ESV 2001, 2007 and 2011 editions - To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply YOUR PAIN IN CHILDBEARING; in pain you shall bring forth children, Your desire shall be FOR your husband, and he shall rule over you.”
(I have hard copies of all three of these, and that is how they all read)
ESV 2016 edition - 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.”
Footnotes:
a Genesis 3:16 Or shall be toward (see 4:7)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016).
(You can see the ESV 2016 edition - 4th edition in just 16 years - online here)
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+3%3A16&version=ESV
Two Problems in this One Verse
There are two major problems with many new versions regarding how they have translated this verse. The difference between "I will greatly multiply thy sorrow AND THY CONCEPTION" versus "I will surely multiply your PAIN IN CHILDBEARING"
The second one is the difference between "thy desire shall be TO thy husband" versus "your desire will be FOR your husband.", OR as in the case of the ESV 2016 edition - "your desire shall be CONTRARY TO your husband." I will take up the first one here.
The first error in many modern versions has to do with the word "conception". This word obviously has to do with the act of becoming pregnant, not the actual giving of birth which occurs 9 months after conception. The word is found only three times in the Old Testament and it comes from the verb "to conceive" # 2029 hah-rah, as found in Genesis 4:1 "And Adam knew his wife; and SHE CONCEIVED, and bare Cain..." and in Genesis 16:4,5 "when she saw that SHE HAD CONCEIVED".
The noun form is found again in Ruth 4:13 where we read: "the LORD gave her (Ruth) CONCEPTION". And the third time is in Hosea 9:11 "As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird, from the birth, and from the womb and from THE CONCEPTION." and here in Gen. 3:16.
"I will greatly multiply thy sorrow AND THY CONCEPTION."
"I will greatly multiply thy pain AND THY CONCEPTION" is the reading found in the Great Bible 1540, the Geneva Bible 1587 - "I will greatly increase thy sorowes, AND THY CONCEPTIONS.", Webster's translation 1833, The Wellbeloved Scriptures 1862, the Smith Bible 1876, the Revised Version 1885 -"I will greatly multiply thy pain AND THY CONCEPTION", the Sharpe Bible 1883, the ASV 1901 - "I will greatly multiply thy pain AND THY CONCEPTION", Young's 1898 "Multiplying I multiply thy sorrow and thy CONCEPTION", The Ancient Hebrew Bible 1907, Lamsa's translation of the Syriac Peshitta 1936 "I will greatly multiply thy pain AND THY CONCEPTION", the 1936 Hebrew Publishing Company Bible, the NKJV 1984, The Word of Yah Bible 1993, the Third Millennium Bible 1998, The Koster Scriptures 1998 - "I will increase your sorrow AND YOUR CONCEPTION", The Yah Sacred Scriptures 2001, Green's literal 2005, The Hebraic Transliteration Scripture 2010, the English Jubilee Bible 2010, The Work of God's Children Illustrated Bible 2011, The Bond Slave Version 2012, The Biblos Bible 2013, The Hebrew Roots Bible 2015, and the 2014 Natural Israelite Bible - "I will greatly multiply your sorrow AND YOUR CONCEPTION."
The Jewish Family Bible 1864 - “Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy pregnancy; in pain thou shalt bear children; and thy longing shall be TO thy husband, and he shall have dominion over thee.”
https://archive.org/stream/jewishschoolfami01beni#page/n11
The Ancient Hebrew Bible 1907 - “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.”
https://archive.org/stream/ancienthebrewlit01yyypuoft#page/6
The Jewish Publication Society Old Testament 1917 - “..thy desire shall be TO thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.”
https://biblehub.com/jps/genesis/3.htm
The Hebrew Transliteration Bible 2010 - “I will greatly multiply your SORROW AND CONCEPTION; in sorrow you shall bring forth children; and your desire shall be TO your husband, and he shall rule over you.”
https://www.messianic-torah-truth-seeker.org/Scriptures/Tenakh/Beresheet/Beresheet03.htm
The Jewish Virtual Library Tanach [full text] 1994 - “thy desire shall be TO thy husband”
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/bereishit-genesis-chapter-3
The Complete Tanach 2004 - “To the woman He said, "I shall surely increase your sorrow and your pregnancy; in pain you shall bear children. And TO your husband will be your desire, and he will rule over you."
https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/8167
And this online Interlinear Hebrew Old Testament
http://studybible.info/IHOT/Genesis%203:16
Other Translations that are similar in meaning to the KJB
Wycliffe 1395 (modern spelling) I shall multiply thy wretchedness AND THY CONCEIVINGS"
Tyndale 1534 and Matthew's Bible 1549 (modern spelling) - I will surely increase thy sorrow, AND MAKE THEE OFTEN WITH CHILD."
Darby's Translation of 1890 has essentially the same meaning with “I will greatly increase thy travail AND THY PREGNANCY."
The Jewish Publication Society 1917 translation has: "‘I will greatly multiply thy pain AND THY TRAVAIL."
God's First Truth 1999 - "And unto the woman he said: I will surely increase your sorrow, AND MAKE YOU OFTEN WITH CHILD."
The Jewish Family Bible 1864, The Complete Tanach 2004 - "I shall surely increase your sorrow AND YOUR PREGNANCY."
Online Interlinear 2010 (André de Mol) - "I am increasing grief of you AND PREGNANCY of you"
Orthodox Jewish Bible 2011 - “I will greatly multiply thy itzavon (labor] pain) AND THY CHILDBEARING.”
The Catholic Connection
The previous Douay Rheims 1610 and the 1950 Douay both followed the literal Hebrew text and read as does the King James Bible - "To the woman also he said: I will multiply thy sorrows, and thy CONCEPTIONS: in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children".
But the 1968 Jerusalem bible, the St. Joseph New American Bible 1970 and the New Jerusalem bible 1985 have all changed this to now read: "I will intensify the PANGS OF YOUR CHILDBEARING."
However the Catholic versions are not done yet. Now in 2009 the Catholic Public Domain Version (The Sacred Scriptures) has come out, and it goes back to the Hebrew reading of - "I will multiply your labors AND YOUR CONCEPTIONS."
The NASB, ESV say: "I will greatly multiply your PAIN IN CHILDBIRTH" and the NIV has: "your PAINS IN CHILDBEARING." Childbirth is the time the child is born from the womb, not the 9 months before when it was conceived.
Dan Wallace and company's NET version is of interest. It says: "I will greatly increase your labor pains; WITH PAIN YOU WILL GIVE BIRTH TO CHILDREN.”
HOWEVER, in his footnote he actually says this: (Caps mine) “HEBREW - "YOUR PAIN AND YOUR CONCEPTION", suggesting to some interpreters that having a lot of children was a result of the judgment.” And then he has this unbelievably DULL and (may I say) STUPID comment - “Conception,” if the correct meaning of the noun, must be figurative here since there is no pain in conception”.
Dan Wallace and company, because they are Bible correctors and unbelievers in the inerrancy of ANY Bible in ANY language, become blind to simple truth and completely miss what the passage is actually talking about. If you mess with the Book, God will mess with your mind.
I think most of the commentaries have missed the true meaning of this phrase as found in the Hebrew and the KJB; they look at what it says, can't figure it out and so paraphrase it to what they THINK it means rather than what it actually says. Take a look at most commentaries and you will see they change the text of the KJB, correct it one way or another and then tell you what they think it means.
I ask you to stop before continuing this article. What does "I will greatly multiply thy sorrow AND THY CONCEPTION" mean? What does the text SAY? It's not that hard to figure out.
Let the Bible determine your theology rather than your theology to interpret the Bible. In the previous verse God told the serpent, the devil, that He would put enmity between "thy seed and her seed". Satan has his seed, his children, and he has sown them in this fallen world.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 13:25 and 38 that the Son of Man sows His good seed which are the children of the kingdom and the enemy sows his own which are the children of the wicked one.
In John 8:44 the Lord Jesus says to the Pharisees: "Ye are of your father the devil."
Paul calls Elymas the sorcerer "thou child of the devil" and I John 3:10 and 12 tells us of the children of the devil and that Cain "was of that wicked one, and slew his brother."
If Eve had not sinned against God and Adam had not followed her, there would not have been the fall of man. All the seed of future generations would have been a godly seed. But one of the disastrous results of the fall is that Satan can now sow his seed among men. That is why God says I will greatly multiply thy conception.
Two families are now being born into this world, the children of God and the children of the devil and the first son conceived and later born to Eve was Cain, a child of the devil. And there have been multitudes born into this world since that fateful day, both children of God and children of the devil.
The King James Bible is always right.
Genesis 3:16 KJB - "Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and they conception, in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; AND THY DESIRE SHALL BE TO THY HUSBAND, and he shall rule over thee."
ESV 2001, 2007 and 2011 editions - To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply YOUR PAIN IN CHILDBEARING; in pain you shall bring forth children, Your desire shall be FOR your husband, and he shall rule over you.”
ESV 2016 edition - 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.”
NKJV - "...YOUR DESIRE SHALL BE FOR YOUR HUSBAND, and he shall rule over you."
What does "thy desire shall be TO thy husband" mean? There are basically three conflicting views usually presented. Some say that the wife will have a sexual desire towards her husband or more generally a desire FOR a husband. Others say that a woman will desire to lord it over her husband.
Finally there is what I believe to be the correct view and that is that the woman's desire will be subject to her husband. Remember when she saw the fruit of the tree was "desired" to make one wise and she took of the fruit? She followed her own desires, wishes and will instead of placing herself under the protection of her husband and the authority of God's word.
"Thy desire shall be TO thy husband, and he shall rule over thee" is reading of the Bishops' Bible 1568, Webster's Bible 1833, The Bill Bible 1671, The Wellbeloved Scriptures 1862, the Smith Bible 1876, The Sharpe Bible 1883, The Revised Version 1885, Darby's 1890, the ASV 1901 - "and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.", The Ancient Hebrew Bible 1907, both the 1917 JPS - "and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.", and 1936 Jewish Publication Society translations, The Word of Yah Bible 1993, the KJV 21st Century Bible 1994, The Yah Sacred Scriptures 2001, the Jubilee Bible 2010, The Hebraic Transliteration Scripture 2010, The Bond Slave Version 2012, The Far Above All Translation 2014.
The Geneva Bible 1587 says: "thy desire shall be SUBJECT TO thine husband, and he shall rule over thee".
Wycliffe 1395 - "and thou SCHALT BE VNDUR POWER OF of the hosebonde, and he schal be lord of thee."
Tyndale 1534 and Coverdale 1535 - "And thy lustes shall pertayne vnto thy husbond and he shall rule the."
The Boothroyd Bible 1853 - "and TO thy husband SHALL BE THY SUBJECTION, and he shall rule over thee."
Brenton translation 1851 says: "and thy submission shall be TO thy husband, and he shall rule over thee."
The Lexham English Bible 2012 is correct with - "And to your husband shall be your desire. And he shall rule over you.”
Complete Apostle's Bible 2005 - "and your submission shall be TO your husband, and he shall rule over you."
The New Brenton Translation 2012 - "and your SUBMISSION SHALL BE TO YOUR HUSBAND, and he shall rule over you."
The Biblos Bible 2013 -"your desire shall be UNTO your husband, and he shall rule over you."
However the NKJV, NASBs, Holman, ESV early editions and NIV unite with the liberal RSV and NRSV and say: "Your desire will be FOR your husband."
The Common English Bible (a critical text version) 2012 has "YOU WILL DESIRE your husband, but he will rule over you.”
Names of God Bible 2011 (another critical text) - "Yet, YOU WILL LONG FOR your husband, and he will rule you.”
The Living Bible 1971 - "yet even so, you shall welcome your husband’s affections, and he shall be your master.”
The Voice 2012 - (another critical text version) "You will desire your husband; but rather than a companion, He will be the dominant partner.
Just a little change, but this change confuses the issue and allows them to read the idea of "desiring to have a husband" into the passage, and does away with the idea of being subject unto her husband.
In fact the New English Bible says: "YOUR URGE WILL BE FOR your husband", the Catholic St. Joseph NAB 1970 says: "YOU WILL LEARN FOR your husband" and the Catholic New Jerusalem bible 1985 has "YOUR YEARNING WILL BE FOR your husband, and he will dominate you."
When you combine this reading of the NKJV with the other one they have changed in Genesis 2:18 from "an help MEET FOR him" to "a helper COMPARABLE TO him" you begin to see the direction these perversions are taking.
Genesis 3:16 KJB - “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.”
NKJV “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.”
John Gill - “and thy desire shall be to thy husband, this is to be understood of her being solely at the will and pleasure of her husband; that whatever she desired should be referred to him, whether she should have her desire or not, or the thing she desired; it should be liable to be controlled by his will, which must determine it, and to which she must be subject, as follows: and he shall rule over thee.”
John Calvin on Genesis 3:16 - “Thy desire shall be unto thy husband," is of the same force as if he had said that she should not be free and at her own command, but subject to the authority of her husband and dependent upon his will; or as if he had said, 'Thou shalt desire nothing but what thy husband wishes.' … Thus the woman, who had perversely exceeded her proper bounds, is forced back to her own position.”
Jamieson, Faussett and Brown - “her condition would henceforth be that of humble subjection."
Adam Clarke commentary - “Thy desire shall be to thy husband - 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.”
Matthew Henry - "She is here put into a state of subjection. The whole sex, which by creation was equal with man, is, for sin, made inferior, and forbidden to usurp authority, 1 Tim. 2:11, 12. The wife particularly is hereby put under the dominion of her husband, of which see an instance in that law, Num. 30:6-8, where the husband is empowered, if he please, to disannul the vows made by the wife. This sentence amounts only to that command, Wives, be in subjection to your own husbands”
The King James Bible is right, as always. Get used to it.
ALL of grace, believing the Book,
Will Kinney
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