Genesis 4
4
1Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten#4.1 Heb qanah, get a man with the help of the Lord.” 2And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground. 3In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4#Heb 11.4. and Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. 6The 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 is couching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
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1 Jn 3.12. Cain said to Abel his brother, “Let us go out to the field.”#4.8 Sam Gk Syr Compare Vg: Heb lacks Let us go out to the field And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him. 9Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?” 10And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. 11And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. 12When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength; you shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” 13Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14Behold, thou hast driven me this day away from the ground; and from thy face I shall be hidden; and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will slay me.” 15Then the Lord said to him, “Not so!#4.15 Gk Syr Vg: Heb Therefore If any one slays Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who came upon him should kill him. 16Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod,#4.16 That is Wandering east of Eden.
17Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch; and he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch. 18To Enoch was born Irad; and Irad was the father of Me-huja-el, and Me-huja-el the father of Me-thusha-el, and Me-thusha-el the father of Lamech. 19And Lamech took two wives; the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. 20Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have cattle. 21His brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. 22Zillah bore Tubal-cain; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.
23Lamech said to his wives:
“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
you wives of Lamech, hearken to what I say:
I have slain a man for wounding me,
a young man for striking me.
24If Cain is avenged sevenfold,
truly Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”
25And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another child instead of Abel, for Cain slew him.” 26To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time men began to call upon the name of the Lord.
Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America
Genesis 4
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
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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.”
© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012