Genesis 3:14
“And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:”
KJV
Read in Genesis 3Meaning
The serpent is singled out as cursed and brought low. The judgment answers its attempt to elevate the humans by depicting the deceiver itself in a posture of humiliation.
Read carefully
The verse uses ancient imagery that should not be forced into a zoological explanation of snake anatomy. Its narrative and symbolic force is the serpent's abasement under divine judgment.
Reflection
The voice that promised elevation is itself judged and lowered. Genesis refuses to let deception have the final interpretive word over what has happened.