Genesis 2:9
New International Version
The LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

New Living Translation
The LORD God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

English Standard Version
And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Berean Standard Bible
Out of the ground the LORD God gave growth to every tree that is pleasing to the eye and good for food. And in the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

King James Bible
And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

New King James Version
And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

New American Standard Bible
Out of the ground the LORD God caused every tree to grow that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

NASB 1995
Out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

NASB 1977
And out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Legacy Standard Bible
And out of the ground Yahweh God caused to grow every tree that is desirable in appearance and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Amplified Bible
And [in that garden] the LORD God caused to grow from the ground every tree that is desirable and pleasing to the sight and good (suitable, pleasant) for food; the tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the [experiential] knowledge (recognition) of [the difference between] good and evil.

Christian Standard Bible
The LORD God caused to grow out of the ground every tree pleasing in appearance and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden, as well as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The LORD God caused to grow out of the ground every tree pleasing in appearance and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden, as well as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

American Standard Version
And out of the ground made Jehovah God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And LORD JEHOVAH God made to grow from the Earth every tree that is desirable to see and good to eat, and the tree of life in the middle of Paradise, and the tree of knowledge of the good and of the evil.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And God made to spring up also out of the earth every tree beautiful to the eye and good for food, and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of learning the knowledge of good and evil.

Contemporary English Version
The LORD God filled the garden with all kinds of beautiful trees and fruit trees. Two other trees were in the middle of the garden. One of these gave life--the other gave the wisdom to know the difference between right and wrong.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the Lord God brought forth of the ground all manner of trees, fair to behold, and pleasant to eat of: the tree of life also in the midst of paradise: and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

English Revised Version
And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The LORD God made all the trees grow out of the ground. These trees were nice to look at, and their fruit was good to eat. The tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil grew in the middle of the garden.

Good News Translation
He made all kinds of beautiful trees grow there and produce good fruit. In the middle of the garden stood the tree that gives life and the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad.

International Standard Version
The LORD God caused every tree that is both beautiful and suitable for food to spring up out of the ground. The tree of life was also in the middle of the garden, along with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

JPS Tanakh 1917
And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Literal Standard Version
and YHWH God causes to sprout from the ground every tree desirable for appearance, and good for food, and the Tree of Life in the midst of the garden, and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Majority Standard Bible
Out of the ground the LORD God gave growth to every tree that is pleasing to the eye and good for food. And in the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

New American Bible
Out of the ground the LORD God made grow every tree that was delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

NET Bible
The LORD God made all kinds of trees grow from the soil, every tree that was pleasing to look at and good for food. (Now the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil were in the middle of the orchard.)

New Revised Standard Version
Out of the ground the LORD God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

New Heart English Bible
And out of the ground God made every tree to grow that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the middle of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Webster's Bible Translation
And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

World English Bible
Out of the ground Yahweh God made every tree to grow that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Young's Literal Translation
and Jehovah God causeth to sprout from the ground every tree desirable for appearance, and good for food, and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Man and Woman in the Garden
8And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, where He placed the man He had formed. 9Out of the ground the LORD God gave growth to every tree that is pleasing to the eye and good for food. And in the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it branched into four headwaters:…

Cross References
Revelation 2:7
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to eat from the tree of life in the Paradise of God.

Revelation 22:2
down the middle of the main street of the city. On either side of the river stood a tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding a fresh crop for each month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

Revelation 22:14
Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by its gates.

Genesis 3:22
Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. And now, lest he reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever..."

Genesis 3:24
So He drove out the man and stationed cherubim on the east side of the Garden of Eden, along with a whirling sword of flame to guard the way to the tree of life.

Proverbs 3:18
She is a tree of life to those who embrace her, and those who lay hold of her are blessed.

Ezekiel 31:8
The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it; the cypresses could not compare with its branches, nor the plane trees match its boughs. No tree in the garden of God could compare with its beauty.


Treasury of Scripture

And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the middle of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

every.

Ezekiel 31:8,9,16,18
The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chesnut trees were not like his branches; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty…

tree of life.

Genesis 3:22
And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

Proverbs 3:18
She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.

Proverbs 11:30
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

tree of knowledge.

Genesis 2:17
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Genesis 3:3,22
But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die…

Deuteronomy 6:25
And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.

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Genesis 2
1. The first Sabbath.
4. Further details concerning the manner of creation.
8. The planting of the garden of Eden, and its situation;
15. man is placed in it; and the tree of knowledge forbidden.
18. The animals are named by Adam.
21. The making of woman, and the institution of marriage.














(9) Every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food.--It has often been noticed that while the ancients do not seem to have had much taste for the beauty of the landscape, they greatly admired large and umbrageous trees. This feeling seems like a reminiscence of the joy of our first parents when they found themselves in a happy garden, surrounded by trees, the beauty of which is even more commended than the fact placed second, that they supplied wholesome and nutritious food. Two trees in the centre of the garden had marvellous qualities; for "the tree of life" ad the power of so renewing man's physical energies that his body, though formed of the dust of the ground, and therefore naturally mortal, would, by its continual use, live on for ever. The other, "the tree of knowledge of good and evil," must have acquired this name after the fall. As long as Adam and Eve were in their original innocence they had no knowledge of evil, nor could any mere mental development bestow it upon them. They must either feel it in themselves, or see it in others, before they could know it. We conclude, then, that this was the tree to which God's command, that they should not eat of it (comp. Genesis 3:3), was attached; and only by the breach of that command would man attain to this higher knowledge, with all the solemn responsibilities attached to it. Besides this each tree had a symbolic meaning, and especially the tree of life (Revelation 2:7; Revelation 22:2). The Chaldean legends have preserved the memory of this latter tree, and depict it as the Asclepias acida, whence the soma juice is prepared.

Verse 9. - And out of the ground made the Lord God (Jehovah Elohim) to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight - literally, lovely to see; i.e. beautiful in form and color - and good for food. In the preparation of man's pristine abode respect was had to ornamentation as well as utility. Every species of vegetation that could minister to his corporeal necessities was provided. Flowers, trees, and shrubs regaled his senses with their fragrance, pleased his eye with their exquisite forms and enchanting colors, and gratified his palate with their luscious fruits. Hence the garden of the Lord became the highest ideal of earthly excellence (Isaiah 51:3). In particular it was distinguished by the presence of two trees, which occupied a central position among its multifarious productions. The tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. That these were not two separate trees, but only one tree distinguished by different names, has been maintained, though with no weightier reason than the statement of Eve in Genesis 3:3. The opinion of Witsius, Luther, Kennicott, and Hengstenberg, that classes of trees, and not individual trees, are meant by the phrases "tree of life" and "tree of knowledge," is precluded by the language of Jehovah Elohim in Genesis 2:17 and Genesis 3:24. As regards their significance, consistency requires that they should both be explained on the same principle. This, accordingly, disposes of the idea that the tree of life (literally, the tree of the lives: cf. ξύλον τῆς ζωῆς, Revelation 2:7; 20:19) is simply a Hebraism for a living tree, as by no sort of ingenuity can the tree of knowledge be transformed into a knowing tree. It likewise militates against the notion that the two trees were styled from the peculiar effects of their fruits, the one conferring physical immortality on Adam's body (Scotus, Aquinas, Fairbairn, Kalisch, Luther), and the other imparting moral and intellectual intuitions to his soul (Josephus, Kalisch). But even if the life-giving properties of the one tree could be demonstrated from Genesis 3:24, proof would still be required with regard to the other, that the mere physical processes of manducation and digestion could be followed by results so immaterial as those of "rousing the slumbering intellect, teaching reason to reflect, and enabling the judgment to distinguish between moral good and moral evil" (Kalisch). Besides, if this was the immediate effect of eating the forbidden fruit, it is difficult to perceive either why it should have been prohibited to our first parents at all, it being "for their good to have their wits sharpened" (Willet); or in what respect they suffered loss through listening to the tempter, and did not rather gain (Rabbi Moses); or wherein, being destitute of both intellectual and moral discernment, they could be regarded as either guilty of transgression or responsible for obedience. Incapacity to know good and evil may be a characteristic of unconscious childhood and unreflecting youth (Deuteronomy 1:39; Isaiah 7:15; Jonah 4:11), or of debilitated age (2 Samuel 19:36), but is not conceivable in the case of one who was created in God's image, invested with world-dominion, and himself constituted the subject of moral government. Unless, therefore, with ancient Gnostics and modern Hegelians, we view the entire story of the probation as an allegorical representation of the necessary intellectual and ethical development of human nature, we must believe that Adam was acquainted with the idea of moral distinctions from the first. Hence the conclusion seems to force itself upon our minds that the first man was possessed of both immortality and knowledge irrespective altogether of the trees, and that the tree character which belonged to these trees was symbolical or sacramental, suggestive of the conditions under which he was placed in Eden. "Arbori autem vitae nomen indidit, non quod vitam homini conferrer, qua jam ante praeditus erat; sod ut symbolum ac memoriale esset vitae divinitus acceptae" (Calvin). For a further exposition of the exact significance of these trees see below on vers. 16,17.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Out
מִן־ (min-)
Preposition
Strong's 4480: A part of, from, out of

of the ground
הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה (hā·’ă·ḏā·māh)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 127: Ground, land

the LORD
יְהוָ֤ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

God
אֱלֹהִים֙ (’ĕ·lō·hîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

gave growth
וַיַּצְמַ֞ח (way·yaṣ·maḥ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6779: To sprout, spring up

to every
כָּל־ (kāl-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

tree
עֵ֛ץ (‘êṣ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6086: Tree, trees, wood

that is pleasing
נֶחְמָ֥ד (neḥ·māḏ)
Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 2530: To desire, take pleasure in

to the eye
לְמַרְאֶ֖ה (lə·mar·’eh)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4758: Sight, appearance, vision

and good
וְט֣וֹב (wə·ṭō·wḇ)
Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 2896: Pleasant, agreeable, good

for food.
לְמַאֲכָ֑ל (lə·ma·’ă·ḵāl)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3978: An eatable

And in the middle
בְּת֣וֹךְ (bə·ṯō·wḵ)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 8432: A bisection, the centre

of the garden
הַגָּ֔ן (hag·gān)
Article | Noun - common singular
Strong's 1588: An enclosure, garden

[were] the tree
וְעֵ֤ץ (wə·‘êṣ)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 6086: Tree, trees, wood

of life
הַֽחַיִּים֙ (ha·ḥay·yîm)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 2416: Alive, raw, fresh, strong, life

and the tree
וְעֵ֕ץ (wə·‘êṣ)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 6086: Tree, trees, wood

of the knowledge
הַדַּ֖עַת (had·da·‘aṯ)
Article | Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 1847: Knowledge

of good
ט֥וֹב (ṭō·wḇ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2896: Pleasant, agreeable, good

and evil.
וָרָֽע׃ (wā·rā‘)
Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 7451: Bad, evil


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OT Law: Genesis 2:9 Out of the ground Yahweh God made (Gen. Ge Gn)
Genesis 2:8
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