Gen 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. ASV; KJV

Gen 2:17  but of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil you may not eat, for in the day that you eat of it, dying you shall die. LITV

Gen 2:17  but you shall not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. For in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. MKJV

Gen 2:17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die." NASB

Gen 2:17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."  NKJB

Gen 2:17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die." RSV

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                                              COMMENTARY

Did Adam & Eve not know the difference between good & evil? If not, why were they forbidden to eat from the tree? And, since the tree contained the knowledge of both good and evil, why was the result of eating from it evil [the fall] and not good?

The answer to the last question is that it was evil because it constituted rebellion against God. 

  Now, contrary to what Covenant Theologians claim, the "promise of the covenant" [there really was no "covenant" in the garden] i.e. obedience to God’s command... was not life but rather, it was DEATH! God did not say "if you do not eat of the tree you will gain or earn life". Adam already had life. He & Eve were sinless so they were free from the curse of death. He said "in the day you eat you will DIE!" The sanction was a Threat, not a 'promise'.

Genesis

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