Genesis 2:17

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

'but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will surely die.'

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וּמֵעֵ֗ץ הַדַּ֙עַת֙ ט֣וֹב וָרָ֔ע לֹ֥א תֹאכַ֖ל מִמֶּ֑נּוּ כִּ֗י בְּי֛וֹם אֲכָלְךָ֥ מִמֶּ֖נּוּ מ֥וֹת תָּמֽוּת׃

Transliteration

But-from-ʿēṣ haddaʿaṯ ṭôḇ wārāʿ lōʾ ṯōʾḵal mimmenû kî bəyôm ʾăḵālḵā mimmenû môṯ tāmûṯ

Grammar Details

• *ʿēṣ*: noun, masculine, singular construct - tree of
• *haddaʿaṯ*: definite article + noun, feminine, singular construct - the knowledge of
• *ṭôḇ*: adjective, masculine, singular - good
• *wārāʿ*: conjunction + adjective, masculine, singular - and evil
• *lōʾ*: negative particle - not
• *ṯōʾḵal*: Qal imperfect, 2nd singular masculine - you shall eat
• *mimmenû*: preposition + 3rd person masculine singular suffix - from it
• *kî*: conjunction - for/because
• *bəyôm*: preposition + noun, masculine, singular construct - in the day of
• *ʾăḵālḵā*: Qal infinitive construct + 2nd person masculine singular suffix - your eating
• *môṯ tāmûṯ*: Qal infinitive absolute + Qal imperfect, 2nd singular masculine - dying you shall die

Word Meanings

• *haddaʿaṯ ṭôḇ wārāʿ*: the knowledge of good and evil
• *ṯōʾḵal*: you shall eat/you may eat
• *bəyôm*: in the day/when
• *ʾăḵālḵā*: your eating/when you eat
• *môṯ tāmûṯ*: you shall surely die/you will certainly die [emphatic construction]

Other Translations

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  But of the tree of the knowled of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

• KJV1611 – Modern English

  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat: for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die.

• King James Version 1611 (Original)

  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

• Tyndale Bible (1526/1534)

  But of the tre of knowlege of good and badd se that thou eate not: for even ye same daye thou eatest of it thou shalt surely dye.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  But of ye tre of knowlege of good and euell, shalt thou not eate. For loke in what daye so euer thou eatest therof, thou shalt dye the death.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  But of the tree of knowledge of good and euill, thou shalt not eate of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt die the death.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  But as touching the tree of knowlege of good and euyll thou shalt not eate of it: For in what daye so euer thou eatest therof, thou shalt dye the death.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat of it you will surely die."

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  and of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou dost not eat of it, for in the day of thine eating of it -- dying thou dost die.'

• American Standard Version (1901)

  but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  But of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you may not take; for on the day when you take of it, death will certainly come to you.

• World English Bible (2000)

  but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it; for in the day that you eat of it you will surely die."

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will surely die.”

Referenced Verses

• Jas 1:15 : 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.
• Rom 6:23 : 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
• Gen 3:19 : 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread until you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you will return.
• Ezek 18:4 : 4 Behold, all lives are mine; the life of the father and the life of the son belong to me. The person who sins is the one who will die.
• Col 2:13 : 13 And when you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ, forgiving us all our trespasses.
• 1 Tim 5:6 : 6 But the one who lives indulgently, even while living, is dead.
• Rev 20:14 : 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.
• Rev 21:8 : 8 But as for the cowardly, the unbelieving, the detestable, murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.
• Rom 8:2 : 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death.
• 1 Cor 15:22 : 22 For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
• 1 Cor 15:56 : 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
• Gal 3:10 : 10 For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.'
• Eph 2:1-6 : 1 And you were dead in your transgressions and sins. 2 In which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 Among them we all also once lived in the desires of our flesh, carrying out the inclinations of the flesh and of the mind, and we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, 5 made us alive together with Christ, even when we were dead in our transgressions—by grace you have been saved. 6 And He raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
• Gen 3:17 : 17 To Adam He said, 'Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, "You must not eat from it," cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.'
• Ezek 3:18-20 : 18 If I say to a wicked person, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out to warn him to turn from his wicked ways to save his life, that wicked person will die in his sin, but I will hold you accountable for his blood. 19 But if you warn the wicked person and he does not turn from his wickedness or his wicked way, he will die in his sin, but you will have saved yourself. 20 Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and does wrong, and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die. Since you did not warn him, he will die in his sin. His righteous acts will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for his blood.
• Ezek 18:32 : 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!
• Ezek 33:8 : 8 When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.
• Ezek 33:14 : 14 And if I say to the wicked person, 'You will surely die,' but they turn from their sin and do what is just and right—
• Rom 1:32 : 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things are worthy of death, they not only continue to do these things but also approve of those who practice them.
• Rom 5:12-21 : 12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, so death spread to all people, because all sinned. 13 For sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin in the likeness of Adam's transgression, who is a type of the One who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died because of the trespass of one man, how much more has the grace of God and the gift that comes by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflowed to many. 16 And the gift is not like the result of the one man’s sin. For judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the free gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. 18 So then, just as through one trespass condemnation came to all people, so also through one act of righteousness justification that brings life came to all people. 19 For just as through the disobedience of one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of one man the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law was brought in so that the trespass might increase; but where sin increased, grace increased all the more. 21 So that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
• Rom 6:16 : 16 Do you not know that if you offer yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
• Gen 2:9 : 9 The LORD God caused every tree that is beautiful in appearance and good for food to grow out of the ground, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
• Gen 3:1-4 : 1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, 'Did God really say, you shall not eat from any tree in the garden?' 2 The woman said to the serpent, 'We may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden.' 3 'But of the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'' 4 But the serpent said to the woman, 'You will surely not die.'
• Gen 3:11 : 11 He said, 'Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?'
• Gen 20:7 : 7 Now return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you can be sure that you and all who belong to you will die.'
• Num 26:65 : 65 For the Lord had said of them, 'They will surely die in the wilderness.' Not one of them survived except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.
• Deut 27:26 : 26 Cursed is anyone who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out. Then all the people shall say, 'Amen.'
• Deut 30:15 : 15 See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.
• Deut 30:19 : 19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore, choose life, so that you and your descendants may live,
• 1 Sam 14:39 : 39 As surely as the Lord, who saves Israel, lives—even if it is my son Jonathan—he must die.' But no one among the people said a word.
• 1 Sam 14:44 : 44 Saul said, 'May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if you do not surely die, Jonathan.'
• 1 Sam 20:31 : 31 As long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now send someone to bring him to me, for he must die!'
• 1 Sam 22:16 : 16 The king said, 'You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and your whole family.'
• 1 Kgs 2:37 : 37 'For on the day you leave and cross the Kidron Valley, you can be sure that you will certainly die. Your blood will be on your own head.'
• 1 Kgs 2:42 : 42 the king summoned Shimei and said to him, 'Did I not make you swear by the LORD and warn you, “On the day you leave and go anywhere, you can be certain you will die”? And you said to me, “What you say is good; I will obey.”
• Eph 5:14 : 14 Therefore it says, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."
• Rom 7:10-13 : 10 I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. 11 For sin, seizing the opportunity provided by the commandment, deceived me and through the commandment put me to death. 12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good. 13 Did what is good then become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, in order to be recognized as sin, used what is good to bring about my death, so that sin might become utterly sinful through the commandment.
• 1 John 5:16 : 16 If anyone sees a brother or sister committing a sin that does not lead to death, they should pray, and God will give life to them—those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death; I am not saying that one should pray about that.
• Rev 2:11 : 11 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be harmed by the second death.
• Rev 20:6 : 6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.
• Ezek 18:13 : 13 He lends at interest and takes a profit. Will such a person live? He will not! Because he has committed all these abominations, he will surely be put to death, and his blood will be on his own head.
• Jer 26:8 : 8 And when Jeremiah finished speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak to all the people, the priests, the prophets, and all the people seized him, saying, 'You shall surely die!'