Genesis 3:16

KJV1611 – Modern English

To the woman He said, I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth; in pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

אֶֽל־הָאִשָּׁ֣ה אָמַ֗ר הַרְבָּ֤ה אַרְבֶּה֙ עִצְּבוֹנֵ֣ךְ וְהֵֽרֹנֵ֔ךְ בְּעֶ֖צֶב תֵּֽלְדִ֣י בָנִ֑ים וְאֶל־אִישֵׁךְ֙ תְּשׁ֣וּקָתֵ֔ךְ וְה֖וּא יִמְשָׁל־בָּֽךְ׃

Transliteration

To the ʾiššāh ʾāmar: harbāh ʾarbeh ʿiṣṣĕbônēk and hērōnēk; in ʿeṣeb tēlĕdî bānîm; and to ʾîšēk tĕšûqātēk, and he yimšāl-in you.

Grammar Details

• *ʾiššāh*: noun, feminine, singular - woman
• *ʾāmar*: verb, qal perfect, 3rd masculine singular - he said
• *harbāh*: verb, hiphil infinitive absolute - great/greatly/much
• *ʾarbeh*: verb, hiphil imperfect, 1st singular - I will increase/multiply
• *ʿiṣṣĕbônēk*: noun, masculine, singular + 2nd feminine singular suffix - your pain/sorrow
• *hērōnēk*: noun, masculine, singular + 2nd feminine singular suffix - your conception/pregnancy
• *ʿeṣeb*: noun, masculine, singular - pain/labor/hardship
• *tēlĕdî*: verb, qal imperfect, 2nd feminine singular - you will bear/bring forth
• *bānîm*: noun, masculine, plural - children/sons
• *ʾîšēk*: noun, masculine, singular + 2nd feminine singular suffix - your husband
• *tĕšûqātēk*: noun, feminine, singular + 2nd feminine singular suffix - your desire
• *yimšāl*: verb, qal imperfect, 3rd masculine singular - he will rule

Word Meanings

• *harbāh ʾarbeh*: emphatic construction - I will greatly multiply/surely increase
• *ʿiṣṣābôn*: pain/sorrow/toil
• *tĕšûqāh*: desire/longing/craving
• *māšal*: rule/have dominion/govern

Other Translations

• Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

  To the woman He said, 'I will greatly increase your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.'

• King James Version 1769 (Standard 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.

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  Unto the woman{H802} he said,{H559} I will greatly{H7235} multiply{H7235} thy pain{H6093} and thy conception;{H2032} in pain{H6089} thou shalt bring forth{H3205} children;{H1121} and thy desire{H8669} shall be to thy husband,{H376} and he shall rule{H4910} over thee.

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  Unto the woman{H802} he said{H559}{(H8804)}, I will greatly{H7235}{(H8687)} multiply{H7235}{(H8686)} thy sorrow{H6093} and thy conception{H2032}; in sorrow{H6089} thou shalt bring forth{H3205}{(H8799)} children{H1121}; and thy desire{H8669} shall be to thy husband{H376}, and he shall rule{H4910}{(H8799)} over thee.

• Tyndale Bible (1526/1534)

  And vnto the woman he sayd: I will suerly encrease thy sorow ad make the oft with child and with payne shalt thou be deleverd: And thy lustes shall pertayne vnto thy husbond and he shall rule the.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  And vnto the woman he sayde: I will increase thy sorow, whan thou art with childe: with payne shalt thou beare thy childre, and thy lust shal pertayne vnto yi husbande, and he shal rule the.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  Vnto the woman he said, I will greatly increase thy sorowes, and thy conceptions. In sorowe shalt thou bring foorth children, and thy desire shalbe subiect to thine husbande, and he shall rule ouer thee.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  But vnto the woman he sayde: I wyll very much multiplie thy sorowe, and thy griefes of chylde bearyng, In sorowe shalt thou bring foorth children: thy desire shalbe to thy husbande, and he shall haue the rule of thee.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  ¶ 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.

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  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."

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  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.'

• American Standard Version (1901)

  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.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  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.

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  To 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.

• World English Bible (2000)

  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."

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  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.”

Referenced Verses

• 1 Cor 14:34 : 34 Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says.
• 1 Cor 11:3 : 3 But I want you to 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 Tim 2:15 : 15 Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.
• 1 Tim 2:11-12 : 11 Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. 12 But I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man, but to be silent.
• Titus 2:5 : 5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.
• Gen 4:7 : 7 If you do well, shall you not be accepted? and if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And unto you shall be his desire, and you shall rule over him.
• John 16:21 : 21 A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come: but as soon as she has delivered the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a man has been born into the world.
• Eph 5:22-24 : 22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is also the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body. 24 Therefore just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
• Col 3:18 : 18 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
• 1 Thess 5:3 : 3 For when they say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
• 1 Pet 3:1-6 : 1 In the same way, you wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that if any do not obey the word, they may also be won without a word by the conduct of their wives; 2 While they observe your pure conduct with reverence. 3 Let your beauty not be the outward adornment of braiding hair, wearing gold, or putting on apparel; 4 But let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. 5 For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands: 6 Just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any fear.
• 1 Cor 7:4 : 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.
• Gen 35:16-18 : 16 And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was only a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel was in labor, and she had hard labor. 17 And it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said to her, Do not fear; you shall have this son also. 18 And it came to pass, as her soul was departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.
• Jer 6:24 : 24 We have heard the report, our hands grow weak; anguish has taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in labor.
• Jer 13:21 : 21 What will you say when he shall punish you? For you have taught them to be captains, and as chief over you: shall sorrows not take hold of you, as a woman in labor?
• Jer 22:23 : 23 O inhabitant of Lebanon, who makes your nest in the cedars, how gracious shall you be when pangs come upon you, the pain as of a woman in labor!
• Jer 49:24 : 24 Damascus has become feeble, and turns herself to flee, and fear has seized her: anguish and sorrows have taken her like a woman in labor.
• Mic 4:9-9 : 9 Now why do you cry out aloud? Is there no king in you? Has your counselor perished? For pangs have taken you like a woman in labor. 10 Be in pain and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor. For now you shall go forth out of the city, and you shall dwell in the field, and you shall go even to Babylon; there you shall be delivered; there the LORD shall redeem you from the hand of your enemies.
• Num 30:13 : 13 Every vow and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void.
• 1 Sam 4:19-21 : 19 And his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was with child, near giving birth, and when she heard the news that the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and gave birth, for her pains came upon her. 20 And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said to her, Fear not; for you have borne a son. But she did not answer, nor did she regard it. 21 And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory has departed from Israel, because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.
• Esth 1:20 : 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 honor, both to great and small.
• Ps 48:6 : 6 Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in labor.
• Isa 21:3 : 3 Therefore my loins are filled with pain; pangs have seized me, like the pangs of a woman in labor. I was bent over when I heard it; I was dismayed when I saw it.
• Isa 26:17-18 : 17 Like a woman with child, who draws near the time of her delivery, is in pain and cries out in her pangs; so have we been in Your sight, O LORD. 18 We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have, as it were, brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth, nor have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
• Isa 53:11 : 11 He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge, my righteous servant shall justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
• Jer 4:31 : 31 For I have heard a voice as of a woman in labor, and the anguish as of her that brings forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewails herself, that spreads her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.
• Isa 13:8 : 8 And they will be afraid: pangs and sorrows will take hold of them; they will be in pain as a woman in labor: they will be amazed at one another; their faces will be like flames.
• Num 30:7-8 : 7 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 with which she bound her soul shall stand. 8 But if her husband disallowed her on the day that he heard it, then he shall make her vow which she vowed, and that which she uttered with her lips, with which she bound her soul, of no effect, and the LORD shall forgive her.