Genesis 4

Cain Murders Abel

1Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.” 2Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now #Luke 11:50, 51Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit #Num. 18:12of the ground to the Lord. 4Abel also brought of #Num. 18:17the firstborn of his flock and of #Lev. 3:16their fat. And the Lord respected #Heb. 11:4Abel and his offering, 5but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.

6So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”

8Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and #Matt. 23:35; Luke 11:51; (1 John 3:12–15); Jude 11killed him.

9Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?”

He said, #John 8:44“I do not know. Am I #1 Cor. 8:11–13my brother’s keeper?”

10And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood #Num. 35:33; Deut. 21:1–9; Heb. 12:24; Rev. 6:9, 10cries out to Me from the ground. 11So now #Gen. 3:14; Deut. 11:28; 28:15–20; Gal. 3:10you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.”

13And Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear! 14Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; #Ps. 51:11I shall be #Deut. 31:18; Is. 1:15hidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen that #Gen. 9:6; Num. 35:19, 21, 27anyone who finds me will kill me.”

15And the Lord said to him, “Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him #Gen. 4:24; Ps. 79:12sevenfold.” And the Lord set a #Gen. 9:6; Ezek. 9:4, 6mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.

The Family of Cain

16Then Cain #2 Kin. 13:23; 24:20; Jer. 23:39; 52:3went out from the #Jon. 1:3presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden. 17And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Ē´noch. And he built a city, #Ps. 49:11and called the name of the city after the name of his son—Ē´noch. 18To Ē´noch was born Irad; and Irad begot Mehujael, and Mehujael begot Methushael, and Methushael begot Lamech.

19Then Lamech took for himself #Gen. 2:24; 16:3; 1 Tim. 3:2two wives: the name of one was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah. 20And Adah bore Jabal. He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. 21His brother’s name was Jubal. He was the father of all those who play the harp and flute. 22And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.

23Then Lamech said to his wives:

“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;

Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech!

For I have killed a man for wounding me,

Even a young man for hurting me.

24#Gen. 4:15If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold,

Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”

A New Son

25And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and #Gen. 5:3named him Seth, “For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.” 26And as for Seth, #Gen. 5:6to him also a son was born; and he named him Ē´nosh. Then men began #Gen. 12:8; 26:25; 1 Kin. 18:24; Ps. 116:17; Joel 2:32; Zeph. 3:9; 1 Cor. 1:2to call on the name of the Lord.

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Genesis 4

Cain murders Abel

1Adam#4.1 Adam: See the note at 3.20. and Eve had a son. Then Eve said, “I'll name him Cain because I got#4.1 Cain…got: In Hebrew “Cain” sounds like “got”. him with the help of the LORD.” 2Later she had another son and named him Abel.

Abel became a sheep farmer, but Cain farmed the land. 3One day, Cain gave part of his harvest to the LORD, 4and Abel also gave an offering to the LORD. He killed the firstborn lamb from one of his sheep and gave the LORD the best parts of it. The LORD was pleased with Abel and his offering,#He 11.4. 5but not with Cain and his offering. This made Cain so angry that he could not hide his feelings.

6The LORD said to Cain:

What's wrong with you? Why do you have such an angry look on your face? 7If you had done the right thing, you would be smiling.#4.7 you would be smiling: Or “I would have accepted your offering.” But you did the wrong thing, and now sin is waiting to attack you like a lion. Sin wants to destroy you, but don't let it!

8Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let's go for a walk.”#4.8 Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let's…walk.”: Most ancient translations; Hebrew “Cain spoke to his brother Abel.” And when they were out in a field, Cain killed him.#Mt 23.35; Lk 11.51; 1 Jn 3.12.

9Afterwards the LORD asked Cain, “Where is Abel?”

“How should I know?” he answered. “Am I supposed to look after my brother?”

10Then the LORD said:#He 12.24.

Why have you done this terrible thing? You killed your own brother, and his blood flowed on to the ground. Now his blood is calling out for me to punish you. 11And so, I'll put you under a curse. Because you killed Abel and made his blood run out on the ground, you will never be able to farm the land again. 12If you try to farm the land, it won't produce anything for you. From now on, you'll be without a home, and you'll spend the rest of your life wandering from place to place.

13“This punishment is too hard!” Cain said. 14“You're making me leave my home and live far from you.#4.14 live…you: At this time it was believed that the Lord was with his people only in their own land. I will have to wander about without a home, and anyone could kill me.”

15“No!”#4.15 No: Three ancient translations; Hebrew “Very well!” the LORD answered. “Anyone who kills you will be punished seven times worse than I am punishing you.” So the LORD put a mark on Cain to warn everyone not to kill him. 16But Cain had to go far from the LORD and live in the Land of Wandering,#4.16 Wandering: The Hebrew text has “Nod”, which means “wandering”. which is east of Eden.

Descendants of Adam before the flood

More and more people

17Later, Cain and his wife had a son named Enoch. At the time Cain was building a town, and so he named it Enoch after his son. 18Then Enoch had a son named Irad, who had a son named Mehujael, who had a son named Methushael, who had a son named Lamech.

19Lamech married Adah, then Zillah. 20-21Lamech and Adah had two sons, Jabal and Jubal. Their son Jabal was the first to live in tents and raise sheep and goats. Jubal was the first to play harps and flutes.

22Lamech and Zillah had a son named Tubal Cain who made tools out of bronze and iron. They also had a daughter, whose name was Naamah.

23One day, Lamech said to his two wives, “A young man wounded me, and I killed him. 24Anyone who tries to get even with me will be punished ten times more than anyone who tries to get even with Cain.”

25Adam and his wife had another son. They named him Seth, because they said, “God has given#4.25 Seth…given: In Hebrew “Seth” sounds like “given”. us a son to take the place of Abel, who was killed by his brother Cain.” 26Later, Seth had a son and named him Enosh.

About this time people started worshipping the LORD.#4.26 worshipping the LORD: Or “worshipping in the name of the LORD.”

Learn More About Contemporary English Version (Anglicised) 2012