Verse Lens · Concise explanation

Genesis 3:14 Explained in Context

Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.

Selected verse

Verse 14. And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions

Quick Meaning

God curses the serpent among animals, assigning humiliating movement and dust-eating imagery.

Read It With

  • Genesis 3:1–24

Read verses 14–15 together. The serpent's judgment moves from its own lowered condition to continuing enmity with the woman and offspring.

Why This Verse Appears Here

God addresses the serpent first, reversing the creature's self-exalting craftiness through curse and humiliation.

Read Genesis 3:14–19 together

Why these verses belong together: The speeches to serpent, woman, and man belong to one differentiated consequence sequence.

Verse 14. And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

Verse 15. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Verse 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.

Verse 17. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

Verse 18. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

Verse 19. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

What Remains True

Cunning that exalts itself can end in humiliation rather than the advantage it promises.

How It Can Shape Life

  • Do not imitate manipulative speech that seeks influence by distorting another's generosity or motives.

Continue in Context

The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.

Read Genesis 3:1–24 — Mistrust, Disobedience, and Exile Fracture the Garden
Sources used for this Verse Lens

How certain is this explanation? strong

These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.

Biblical text

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society

USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.

Supports: Reader-facing Scripture wording, verse numbering, paragraph data, and supplied-word markup.

Exact location: Pinned eBible/CrossWire standardized 1769 KJV corpus, Genesis 3:1–24

Open source ↗

hebrew text morphology and lemma data

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project

Open Scriptures, Version 2.2 released 2021; repository inspected 2026

Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, clause structure, wordplay, and verse boundaries.

Exact location: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, wlc/Gen.xml, Genesis 3:1–24

Open source ↗

Translation and textual notes

NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes

Biblical Studies Press

Biblical Studies Press, Digital edition accessed 2026

Supports: Material translation and grammatical questions involving craftiness, death, knowledge, offspring, strike/crush, desire, rule, toil, dust, and tree of life.

Exact location: NET Bible, Genesis 3:1–24 translator and study notes

Open NET Genesis 3 ↗
Open the complete thought-unit research record
Open a verse without taking it out of context.

Try Genesis 12:3, Gen 12:3, or Ge 12:3.

Choose book, chapter, and verse