Genesis 3:16
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.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
This page isn't yet indexed by search engines.
The verse highlights that the woman's "desire" will be for her husband, which signifies not just romantic longing, but a deeper submission to his will and authority. This "desire" is presented as a consequence of the fall, subtly shifting the relational dynamics from partnership to a more controlled, husband-led structure.
This verse is part of God's judgment following Adam and Eve's disobedience. After confronting the serpent, God turns to address the woman's role in the fall, detailing the consequences of her choice on her life as a wife and mother. The pronouncements here set the stage for the ongoing struggles humanity would face due to sin, directly impacting the relationship between husband and wife, and the experience of childbirth.
The pain of childbirth is a universal experience. But did you know it's directly linked to the Fall?
God's words to Eve in Genesis 3:16 were not a new invention of pain, but an amplification of it. Before the Fall, childbirth likely involved the joys and challenges of bringing new life, but without the intense, often dangerous suffering that became a hallmark of human experience afterward.
A Painful Reality
The relationship between husband and wife was profoundly altered by the Fall. Discover how sin twisted intimacy into a struggle for control.
God's judgment on Eve also reshaped the dynamics of marriage. The loving partnership God intended was fractured by sin, leading to a painful shift in desire and authority.
The Twist in the Relationship
Understand the original words
itsabown · Hebrew Noun
The state of suffering, distress, or anguish. In the Bible, it is often associated with the consequences of the fall, reflecting the frustration and toil inherent in human existence under sin.
teshuqah · Hebrew Noun
A strong craving, longing, or tendency. In this context, it refers to the complex interpersonal dynamics and relational consequences introduced by the fall, impacting the union of marriage.
mashal · Hebrew Verb
To exercise authority, dominion, or control over. While originally intended as a stewardship role, the fall corrupted this exercise, turning it into a source of friction and imbalance in human relationships.
This passage directly references the Genesis account of creation and the fall, discussing the roles of men and women and explaining that the woman was deceived, not the man, echoing the consequences described in Genesis 3.
1 Corinthians 11:3-10This passage discusses headship and authority, drawing parallels to the order established in Genesis, where the man is the head of the woman, and referencing the creation order that originates in Genesis.
Galatians 3:28This verse offers a powerful counterpoint to the curse of subjection in Genesis 3:16, proclaiming that in Christ, there is no male or female, thereby abrogating the former distinction of status that arose from the Fall.
Colossians 3:18-19Similar to Genesis 3:16, these verses instruct wives to submit to their husbands and husbands to love their wives, reflecting the post-Fall relational dynamics and the need for Christ-like love to overcome the curse.
gillGenesis 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."
Unto the woman he said,.... The woman receives her sentence next to the serpent, and before the man, because she was first and more deeply in the transgression, and was the means of drawing her husband into it. I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception, or "thy sorrow of thy conc…
wesleyGenesis 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."
3:16 We have here the sentence past upon the woman; she is condemned to a state of sorrow and a state of subjection: proper punishments of a sin in which she had gratified her pleasure and her pride. She is here put into a state of sorrow; one particular of which only is instanced in, that i…
The verse highlights that the woman's "desire" will be for her husband, which signifies not just romantic longing, but a deeper submission to his will and authority. This "desire" is presented as a consequence of the fall, subtly shifting the relational dynamics from partnership to a more controlled, husband-led structure.
This verse is part of God's judgment following Adam and Eve's disobedience. After confronting the serpent, God turns to address the woman's role in the fall, detailing the consequences of her choice on her life as a wife and mother. The pronouncements here set the stage for the ongoing struggles humanity would face due to sin, directly impacting the relationship between husband and wife, and the experience of childbirth.
This verse is part of God's judgment following Adam and Eve's disobedience. After confronting the serpent, God turns to address the woman's role in the fall, detailing the consequences of her choice on her life as a wife and mother. The pronouncements here set the stage for the ongoing struggles humanity would face due to sin, directly impacting the relationship between husband and wife, and the experience of childbirth.
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Ask a follow-up
Ask Sola things like:
Live chat about Genesis 3:16 is available in the Sola app.
"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.”" — The verse highlights that the woman's "desire" will be for her husband, which signifies not just romantic longing, but a deeper submission to his will and authority. This "desire" is presented as a c…