And the woman said to the serpent: said introduces a response and may be better translated “replied, answered.” And since the woman’s reply in fact denies what the snake is suggesting, in some languages it will be natural to begin the reply with “No! ….”

We may eat: in languages in which the plural pronouns have various kinds of inclusion and exclusion, We should express “I [the woman speaking] and someone else [excluding the serpent].” The sense is “We are permitted to eat,” “God said we could eat,” “God allows us to eat.” Of the fruit of the trees of the garden means “fruit of any tree” (Good News Translation), “fruit of every tree,” or “fruit of all the trees.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .