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Only the Holy Spirit can guide you to the Truth John 16:7ff)! I end with a few of Paul's words to Timothy... Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. -NIV

Thanks you so much for that, how true!

I asked this of salvation a couple of times, but got no answers.

I thought the following translation was a bit too Marianic:

"I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed (offspring) and hers; He (she) will crush your head while you strike at his (her) heel." - Genesis 3:15
I can't find that exact wording of Gen 3:15 in a parallel Bible, does it come from a Catholic translation?

Do you know if the Catholics have their own translation, which seems to subsitute Mary for Jesus?

Do you know if the Catholics have their own translation, which seems to subsitute Mary for Jesus?

It seems to change with the season. Fish on Friday, pray to Mary, Latin to English in the liturgy, etal.

In your Genesis quote, it is better to include the whole thought. God placed "enmity" between the woman (Eve) and the serpent. Very few women like snakes!

But, the reference about her seed ONLY points to Jesus, our Savior.

...as Charles Spurgeon wrote on serpents...Let your tears fall because of sin; but, at the same time, let the eye of faith steadily behold the Son of man lifted up, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, that those who are bitten by the old serpent may look unto Jesus and live. Our sinnership is that emptiness into which the Lord pours his mercy.

I thought the following translation was a bit too Marianic.

I'll give the Genesis 3:15 question a shot, I've looked at it a bit.

We find "he" "she" and "it" in various translations. It seems the Greek is "he," the Hebrew either he or it. The Early Fathers and via the Vulgate look at this verse as referring to the Incarnation; i.e., not Mary or Jesus but Mary/Jesus and use "she," other translations used by Catholics, for example the RSV, use "he".

So, for Catholics, either translation. Further, Bishop Challoner in his revision of the Douay (c. 1750) states, "The sense [of these two readings] is the same: for it is by her seed, Jesus Christ, that the woman crushes the serpent's head."

So one may use he or use she while the proper understanding of the verse keeps in mind that it refers to the Incarnation. This verse is not to separate or put in opposition one part or the other of the Incarnation - mother or child.

This would be a problem, IMHO, only if one exemplifies the article of this thread in that: "With the Reformation the integrity of Christianity is broken and its formerly coherent elements are now set in opposition. The Gospel versus the Law. Faith versus Works. Scripture versus Tradition. Authority versus Individuality. Faith versus Reason. Christ versus Mary."

thanks for the question...

This is from the RSV -- the version that the Navarre commentary that I post on the Daily Readings thread comes from.

Genesis 3

1	Now the serpent was more subtle than any other wild creature that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God say, `You shall not eat of any tree of the garden'?"
2	And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden;
3	but God said, `You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'"
4	But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not die.
5	For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
6	So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, and he ate.
7	Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons.
8	And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
9	But the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?"
10	And he said, "I heard the sound of thee in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself."
11	He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?"
12	The man said, "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate."
13	Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent beguiled me, and I ate."
14	The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all cattle, and above all wild animals; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
15	I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."
16	To the woman he said, "I will greatly multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet 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 toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
18	thorns and thistles it shall bring forth to you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.
19	In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return."
20	The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
21	And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins, and clothed them.
22	Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing 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" --
23	therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken.
24	He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

Douay Rheims Bible that annalex posts from daily. (With explanations)

Chapter 3

The serpent's craft. The fall of our first parents. Their punishment. The promise of a Redeemer.

[1] Now the serpent was more subtle than any of the beasts of the earth which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman: Why hath God commanded you, that you should not eat of every tree of paradise? [2] And the woman answered him, saying: Of the fruit of the trees that are in paradise we do eat: [3] But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of paradise, God hath commanded us that we should not eat; and that we should not touch it, lest perhaps we die. [4] And the serpent said to the woman: No, you shall not die the death. [5] For God doth know that in what day soever you shall eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened: and you shall be as Gods, knowing good and evil.

[6] And the woman saw that the tree was good to eat, and fair to the eyes, and delightful to behold: and she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave to her husband who did eat. [7] And the eyes of them both were opened: and when they perceived themselves to be naked, they sewed together fig leaves, and made themselves aprons. [8] And when they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in paradise at the afternoon air, Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face of the Lord God, amidst the trees of paradise. [9] And the Lord God called Adam, and said to him: Where art thou? [10] And he said: I heard thy voice in paradise; and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.

[7] And the eyes: Not that they were blind before, (for the woman saw that the tree was fair to the eyes, ver. 6.) nor yet that their eyes were opened to any more perfect knowledge of good; but only to the unhappy experience of having lost the good of original grace and innocence, and incurred the dreadful evil of sin. From whence followed a shame of their being naked; which they minded not before; because being now stript of original grace, they quickly began to be subject to the shameful rebellions of the flesh.

[11] And he said to him: And who hath told thee that thou wast naked, but that thou hast eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat? [12] And Adam said: The woman, whom thou gavest me to be my companion, gave me of the tree, and I did eat. [13] And the Lord God said to the woman: Why hast thou done this? And she answered: The serpent deceived me, and I did eat. [14] And the Lord God said to the serpent: 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. [15] I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.

[15] She shall crush: Ipsa, the woman; so divers of the fathers read this place, conformably to the Latin: others read it ipsum, viz., the seed. The sense is the same: for it is by her seed, Jesus Christ, that the woman crushes the serpent's head.

[16] To the woman also he said: I will multiply thy sorrows, and thy conceptions: in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children, and thou shalt be under thy husband's power, and he shall have dominion over thee. [17] And to Adam he said: Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat, cursed is the earth in thy work; with labour and toil shalt thou eat thereof all the days of thy life. [18] Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herbs of the earth. [19] In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return to the earth, out of which thou wast taken: for dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt return. [20] And Adam called the name of his wife Eve: because she was the mother of all the living.

[21] And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife, garments of skins, and clothed them. [22] And he said: Behold Adam is become as one of us, knowing good and evil: now, therefore, lest perhaps he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever. [23] And the Lord God sent him out of the paradise of pleasure, to till the earth from which he was taken. [24] And he cast out Adam; and placed before the paradise of pleasure Cherubims, and a flaming sword, turning every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

[22] Behold Adam: This was spoken by way of reproaching him with his pride, in affecting a knowledge that might make him like to God.

The Revised NAB has an inclusive and non-gender translation which I dislike. They and their

Yep, they have made the scriptures all about mary, and then get offended when we point it out...