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.
You will have to work hard and sweat just to get food to eat, until the day you die and return to the ground. You were made from dust, and when you die, you will become dust again.
God is telling Adam that because of his disobedience, life will now be filled with hard work and will end in death, reminding him that humans are made from dust and will return to dust.
📚 Historical Context
This verse is part of God's judgment on Adam and Eve after they disobeyed Him by eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Before this moment, work was pleasant and death was not part of human experience. This pronouncement introduces the reality of toilsome labor and mortality into the human condition as consequences of sin.
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