EOB: Official Site of the Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible (Old and New Testament)

Genesis 3:14

EOB (Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible):

The Lord God said to the snake, “Because you did this, you are cursed more than any other animal. You will crawl on your belly and eat dirt for the rest of your life.”

EOB Footnote:

The MT includes “from all livestock” (Hebrew: mikkol-habehemah) before “and from all wild animals,” which is absent in the LXX manuscripts. This addition specifies that the serpent is cursed separately from domestic animals as well as wild animals, slightly expanding the scope of the curse. The phrase rendered “upon your chest and belly” follows the LXX literally (epi to stethos kai ten koilian), whereas the MT has only “upon your belly” (al-gehoneka). The LXX’s double reference may reflect an interpretive expansion or a variant Hebrew text.

Other Translations:

KJV (King James Version):

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:

WEB (World English Bible):

“The LORD God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, you are cursed above all livestock, and above every animal of the field. You shall go on your belly and you shall eat dust all the days of your life.’”

Benton LXX (Vaticanus):

And the Lord God said to the serpent, Because thou hast done this thou art cursed above all cattle, and above all the brutes of the earth; on thy breast and belly shalt thou go, and shalt eat earth all the days of thy life.

Douai-Rheims (Vulgate):

“Because thou hast done this thing, thou art cursed among all cattle and beasts of the earth: upon thy breast shalt thou go, and earth shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.”

Apostoliki Diakonia (LXX):

The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle and more than every wild animal; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.”

YLT (Young Literal Translation )(MT):

And Jehovah God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life.”

BBE (Bible in Basic English):

“Because you have done this you are cursed more than all cattle, and every beast of the field. You will go on your belly and dust will be your food all the days of your life.”

EOB COMMENTARY:

EOB Commentary:

The Curse Upon the Serpent and the Promise of Victory

This verse marks the beginning of God’s judicial response to the fall, addressing first the serpent as the instrument of humanity’s deception. The Eastern Fathers consistently understood this passage on two levels: the literal curse upon the physical serpent and the deeper spiritual condemnation of the devil who employed it.

Patristic Interpretation: St. John Chrysostom teaches that while the serpent as an animal received a visible curse—crawling upon its belly and eating dust—the true weight of condemnation falls upon Satan, the invisible deceiver who worked through the beast. The serpent becomes a perpetual reminder of the devil’s malice and his ultimate defeat. St. Ephrem the Syrian similarly notes that the serpent’s degradation serves as a constant testimony to humanity of the consequences of yielding to demonic suggestion.

Christological Significance: The Church Fathers see in this curse the first hint of Satan’s coming overthrow. The serpent cast down to the earth and condemned to eat dust prefigures the devil’s ultimate humiliation through Christ’s incarnation, death, and resurrection. The dust which the serpent consumes is understood by some Fathers as symbolic of fallen humanity—those who return to dust—yet this very consumption will be interrupted by the One who tramples upon serpents and scorpions.

Liturgical Connections: The Orthodox Church frequently employs serpent imagery in her hymnography, particularly during Pascha and the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The troparion of Pascha proclaims Christ’s trampling down of death by death, which the Fathers connect to the ancient promise that the serpent would be crushed. During the blessing of waters at Theophany, prayers invoke Christ’s power to crush the heads of dragons lurking in the waters, echoing this primordial curse.

Spiritual Application: For Orthodox spirituality, this verse reminds the faithful that the enemy, though cunning, operates under divine judgment and limitation. The serpent crawling in the dust represents the base nature of demonic temptation—always drawing humanity downward toward earthly and carnal things. The spiritual life involves rising above this dusty realm through prayer, fasting, and participation in the sacramental life, thereby escaping the serpent’s domain. St. Maximus the Confessor would later develop the theme that Christ reverses the serpent’s work by elevating human nature to communion with God, lifting us from the dust to which we had fallen.

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