I heard the sound of thee in the garden, and I was afraid: as in verse 8 it may be necessary to say “I heard the sound of your footsteps in the garden” or “I heard you walking in the garden.” Hearing God’s sound and being naked had caused Adam to be afraid, and as a consequence he had hidden himself.

Note that Revised Standard Version, but not New Revised Standard Version, uses thee when referring to God. Some languages require an honorific pronoun when addressing God. However, thee should not be taken to mean that an honorific is required in the language of translation, unless, of course, it is natural and expected.

I was naked: according to verse 7 Adam in verse 10 is no longer totally naked. Therefore the term for naked used here should, if possible, indicate this. Some languages have terms for varying degrees of nakedness. Some languages make this kind of distinction by saying, for example, “I was naked up” or “I was chest naked,” meaning that his loins were covered, but the rest of him was exposed.

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 .