Genesis 3:4
You Will Not Die Genesis 3:4 Excerpt You is second person plural in Hebrew, referring to the woman and the man. The construction of this phrase is literally “dying you [plural] will not die,” which may be translated in English “It is not really so that you will die,” or “Certainly, you won’t die,” or “Of course not; you won’t die.” See 2.16–17 for a similar construction. In this case again it wil l be natural in some languages to begin the speech with the word “No!” Two examples of this are, “No! You-two will not die,” and “No! That’s not true. You-two won’t ….” In one rendering the snake’s denial of the truth of what God has said is expressed as “ God is telling a lie. You won’t die.” Reyburn, William David, and Euan McG. Fry. A Handbook on Genesis . New York: United Bible Societies , 1998. Print. UBS Handbook Series .