* **cursed are you alone** - "you alone are cursed." The word "curse" is first in Hebrew in order to emphasize the contrast between God's blessing on the animals and this curse on the serpent. This is a "curse formula," or the way that curses were expressed. By saying this curse, God made it happen.
* **all the livestock and all the beasts of the field ** - This could be translated as "all domestic animals and all wild animals."
* **It is on your belly that you will go** - "You will move along the ground on your belly." The phrase "upon your belly" comes first in Hebrew in order to emphasize the contrast between the way other animals would move along using their legs with the way the serpent would slither along on its belly. This is also part of the curse formula.
* **it is dust that you will eat** - "you will eat dust" - The word "dust" comes first in Hebrew in order to emphasize the contrast between the plants above the ground that other animals would eat and the dirty food on the ground that the serpent would eat. This is part of the curse formula.
* **hostility between you and the woman** - This means that the serpent and the woman would become enemies.
* **seed** - "offspring." Possible meanings are 1) "descendant" or 2) descendants." This is because the word "seed" can refer to either a particular seed or to a group of seeds.
* **He will bruise…you will bruise his heel** - The words "he" and "his" refer to the woman's descendent. If "seed" was translated as plural, this can be translated as "They will bruise…you will bruise their heel." In this case, consider inserting footnotes to say that the "He" and "his" are singular.
* **bruise** - This could be translated as "crush" or "strike" or "attack."
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