Genesis 3:16-17 in three Bible translations:
New American Standard Bible
16 To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you."
17 Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat from it'; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life.
King James Bible
16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
ESV
16 To the woman he said, I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”
17 And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
The words "pain", "toil" and "sorrow" are all different translations of `itstsabown עִצָּבוֺן
(Strong's H6093).
The NASB chooses to use "pain" in verse 16, but then switches to "toil" in verse 17.
The ESV is at least more consistent. It uses "pain" for both verses. If pain is used to imply a sense of hard work on the part of the man, then it should mean the same for the woman in childbirth. But normally we would not think of working as painful.
The KJV uses the same word in both verses, which makes sense since both verses have the same Hebrew word.
What happens when a woman believes that God has ordained pain, and not just pain, but pain multiplied in childbirth? Could she have a view that childbirth is something she cannot bear? Would she try to avoid the pain at all costs? Why not try to avoid childbirth altogether? And why go through childbirth without drugs since it's an experience that is unbearably painful?
And what happens when a woman reads the KJV Bible and accepts it at face value that childbirth would be sorrowful?
Why do most women experience incredible pain in childbirth? They come into the process with preconceived ideas. They expect pain. They fear it. Fear begets tension. Tension in childbirth = pain. It's not easy to relax. It's not easy to allow one's body to go through the process of childbirth and accept that what's happening is what God has designed the woman's body to do, naturally.
Should there be a difference in the way a believer reacts to the challenges of life from the unbeliever? Absolutely. We have the Word of God. They are words of life. If we believe in the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture, we need to believe that the Bible speaks to every area of life, including childbearing. Fear in childbirth is the result of a lack of knowledge. Or maybe incorrect knowledge. Or denial of God's perfect plan for His creation.
Lord God, may we submit ourselves totally to your will. May we not fear what you have ordained. May we, as women, embrace our calling as mothers and that first step towards motherhood, childbirth.
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