Genesis 3:18
in Genesis 3Both thorns and thistles it will yield for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
KJV
Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
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This verse in Genesis 3
Commentary
14 notes on this verseThere, too, is that distinction between the serpent who is said to eat the earth and Adam, to whom God said: ' You shall eat in sadness the herbs of the field.' [ Gen 3:18 ] We may note here a certain gradation. When we eat the earth, it seems that we are in a sort of warfare. when we eat the herbs, there is a certain advance. when finally, we eat bread, then our life of trial has reached it terminus.
This site's exposition
cursed is the ground because of you
on Genesis 3:17-18
The curse falls on the ground the man stands on. Spurgeon's sermon on this verse traces it there, glancing off the man onto the soil under his feet. Work stood before this at Genesis 2:15; what is added here is resistance, thorns and thistles, and toil for every meal.
This site's exposition
Both thorns and thistles
Adam's food came from garden trees. Adam Clarke read the plants of the field as the common ground outside the garden, where food would be raised by labor. Ambrose of Milan traced a climb in these verses, from the serpent's dust to herbs and then to bread.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
Since man had shown great disobedience, God cast him forth from his life in paradise. God curbed man's spirit for the future, so that he might not leap farther away. He condemned him to a life of toil and labor, speaking to him in some such fashion as this: "The ease and security that were yours in abundance led you to this great disobedience. They made you forget my commandments. You had nothing to do. That led you to think thoughts too haughty for your own nature.… Therefore, I condemn you to toil and labor, so that while tilling the earth, you may never forget your disobedience and the vileness of your nature."
After all, you are head of your wife, and she has been created for your sake; but you have inverted the proper order: not only have you failed to keep her on the straight and narrow but you have been dragged down with her, and whereas the rest of the body should follow the head, the contrary has in fact occurred, the head following the rest of the body, turning things upside down.
Behold the reminders of the curse: thorns it will bring forth, he says, and thistles so as to give rise to great labor and discomfort, and I will ensure you pass the whole time with pain so that this experience may prove a brake on your getting ideas above your station, and you may instead have a thought to your own makeup and never again bear to be deceived in these matters."You are to eat of the grass of the field. In the sweat of your brow may you eat yourbread." See how after his disobedience everything is imposed on him in an opposite way to his former life style: My intention in bringing you into the world, he is saying, was that you should live your life without pain or toil, difficulty or sweat, and that you should be in a state of enjoyment and prosperity, and not be subject to the needs of the body but be free from all such and have the good fortune to experience complete freedom. Since, however, such indulgence was of no benefit to you, accordingly I curse the ground so that it will not in future yield its harvest as before without tilling and ploughing. Instead I invest you with great labor, toil and difficulty, and with unremitting pain and despair, and I am ensuring that everything you do is achieved only by sweat so that under pressure from these you may have continual guidance in keeping to limits and recognizing your own makeup.
Adam was created pure by God for his service. All these creatures were given to him to serve him. He was destined to be the lord and king of all creatures.
A commentator
Augustine of HippoTWO BOOKS ON GENESIS AGAINST THE MANICHAEANS 2.20.30 · Written before 430.
proposed
What shall we say about the judgment pronounced against the man? Are we perhaps to think that the rich, for whom the necessities of life come easily and who do not labor on the earth, have escaped this punishment? It says, "The earth will be cursed for you in all your works, and you shall eat from it in sadness and groaning all the days of your life. It will bring forth thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the grain of your field. In the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread until you return to the earth from which you were taken, for you are earth, and you will return to the earth." It is certainly clear that no one escapes this sentence. For anyone born in this life has difficulty in discovering the truth because of the corruptible body. For as Solomon says, "The body that is corrupted weighs down the soul, and the earthly habitation presses down the mind that thinks many thoughts." These are the labors and sorrows that man has from the earth. The thorns and thistles are the prickings of torturous questions or thoughts concerned with providing for this life.
6 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers1 voice
To what kind of a crown, I ask you, did Christ Jesus submit for the salvation of both sexes? He who is the head of man and the glory of woman and the husband of the church—what kind of crown? It was made from thorns and thistles. They stood as a symbol of the sins that the soil of the flesh brought forth for us but that the power of the cross removed, blunting every sting of death since the head of the Lord bore its pain. And beside the symbol, we are reminded also of the scornful abuse, the degradation and the vileness of his cruel tormentors.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee,....
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
Thorns also and thistles, etc. - Instead of producing nourishing grain and useful vegetables, noxious weeds shall be peculiarly prolific, injure the ground, choke the good seed, and mock the hopes of the husbandman; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field - thou shalt no longer have the privilege of this garden of delights, but must go to the common champaign country, and feed on such herbs as thou canst find, till by labor and industry thou hast raised others more suitable to thee and more comfortable.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2299: “Thorns and Thistles” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
THIS was not the penalty which might have been pronounced upon Adam. This curse does not fall directly on him— it glances obliquely and falls upon the ground whereon he stands—"Cursed is the ground for your sake." It is not from materialism that a curse comes upon the spirit of man, but it is from the erring spirit that the curse falls upon the material creation.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
unto Adam he said--made to gain his livelihood by tilling the ground; but what before his fall he did with ease and pleasure, was not to be accomplished after it without painful and persevering exertion.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2299: “Thorns and Thistles” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
THIS was not the penalty which might have been pronounced upon Adam. This curse does not fall directly on him— it glances obliquely and falls upon the ground whereon he stands—"Cursed is the ground for your sake." It is not from materialism that a curse comes upon the spirit of man, but it is from the erring spirit that the curse falls upon the material creation. Let us notice this and learn from it the infinite mercy of God, in that, while the curse falls upon the serpent distinctly, and his head is bruised, yet upon Adam it comes, as I have said, obliquely. "Cursed is the ground for your sake." "Thorns, also, and thistles shall it bring forth to you." God, in His justice, never goes beyond justice even in pronouncing His severest sentence, but here, in this life, He tempers His justice with great patience and long-suffering, "Not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." Another thing is very noticeable, that though the ground was now to bear thorns and thistles to Adam, yet he was to be above ground and alive to till it. Had the sentence been carried out to the fullest, a yawning grave would have opened at his feet and there would have been no more of Adam—but he was permitted, still, to live. Now, whenever thorns and thistles spring up about your path, do not murmur. "Why does a living man complain?" When a felon lies in the dungeon and the sentence of death has been passed upon him, if his life is spared, he may be quite content to live on bread and water for the rest of his days. Thank God that you are not in Hell! Thank God that life is still prolonged to you! You are on praying ground and pleading terms with God, even though that ground may bring forth thorns and thistles to you. "He has not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities." We are still spared.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְק֥וֹץ | vekotz | and thorn[s] | H6975 → | |
| וְדַרְדַּ֖ר | vedardar | and thistle[s] | H1863 → | |
| תַּצְמִ֣יחַֽ | tatzmiach | <it> will cause to sprout | H6779 → | 33 times |
| לָ֑ךְ | lakh | for <the> you | ||
| וְאָכַלְתָּ֖ | veakhalta | and you will eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עֵ֥שֶׂב | ʾesev | [the] vegetation of | H6212 → | 33 times |
| הַשָּׂדֶֽה׃ | hasadeh | the field | H7704 → | 334 times |
וְק֥וֹץand thorn[s]
vekotzH6975 →
וְדַרְדַּ֖רand thistle[s]
vedardarH1863 →
תַּצְמִ֣יחַֽ<it> will cause to sprout
tatzmiachH6779 →33 times
לָ֑ךְfor <the> you
lakh
וְאָכַלְתָּ֖and you will eat
veakhaltaH398 →810 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עֵ֥שֶׂב[the] vegetation of
ʾesevH6212 →33 times
הַשָּׂדֶֽה׃the field
hasadehH7704 →334 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 4:3For this is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your unplowed ground, and do not sow among the thorns.
it leads to
- Hosea 10:12
Sow for yourselves righteousness and reap the fruit of loving devotion; break up your unplowed ground. For it is time to seek the LORD until He comes and sends righteousness upon you like rain.
- Luke 8:14
The seeds that fell among the thorns are those who hear, but as they go on their way, they are choked by the worries, riches, and pleasures of this life, and their fruit does…
- Luke 8:7
Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the seedlings.
- Galatians 6:7–8
Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.
- Matthew 13:7
Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the seedlings.
- Hosea 10:12
Through
Matthew 13:7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the seedlings.
it leads to
- Mark 4:18–19
Others are like the seeds sown among the thorns. They hear the word,
- Jeremiah 4:3–4
For this is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your unplowed ground, and do not sow among the thorns.
- Mark 4:18–19
Through
Job 5:5The hungry consume his harvest, taking it even from the thorns, and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
it leads to
- Lamentations 2:16
All your enemies open their mouths against you. They hiss and gnash their teeth, saying, “We have swallowed her up. This is the day for which we have waited. We have lived to see…
- Lamentations 2:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies41
On this chapter
Show the next 6 titles
- Eden
- Eve: The Mother of All Living
- Fire
- God Dwelling with His People, from Eden to the New Jerusalem
- Heaven
- The New Jerusalem
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- The Words Shama and Hypakoe
- Satan
- The Names of Satan
- Satan Across the Testaments
- The Scarlet Thread
- The Seed Promise
Show the next 6 titles
Show the next 6 titles
About Genesis
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, On Paradise, 15.76-77; Augustine of Hippo, TWO BOOKS ON GENESIS AGAINST THE MANICHAEANS 2.20.30; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2299: Thorns and Thistles; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2299: “Thorns and Thistles” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, BAPTISMAL INSTRUCTION 2.4-5; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 17.18; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 17.40-41; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Pseudo-Macarius, FIFTY SPIRITUAL HOMILIES 11.5 and Tertullian, ON THE CROWN 14.3.