Genesis 4

1Afterward the man knew Heuah his wife, which conceiued and bare Kain, and said, I haue obteined a man by the Lord. 2And againe she brought foorth his brother Habel, and Habel was a keeper of sheepe, and Kain was a tiller of the ground. 3And in processe of time it came to passe, that Kain brought an oblation vnto the Lord of the fruite of the ground. 4And Habel also him selfe brought of the first fruites of his sheepe, and of the fat of them, and the Lord had respect vnto Habel, and to his offering, 5But vnto Kain and to his offering he had no regarde: wherefore Kain was exceeding wroth, and his countenance fell downe. 6Then ye Lord said vnto Kain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance cast downe? 7If thou do well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sinne lieth at the doore: also vnto thee his desire shalbe subiect, and thou shalt rule ouer him. 8Then Kain spake to Habel his brother. And when they were in the fielde, Kain rose vp against Habel his brother, and slewe him. 9Then the Lord said vnto Kain, Where is Habel thy brother? Who answered, I cannot tell. Am I my brothers keeper? 10Againe he said, What hast thou done? the voyce of thy brothers blood cryeth vnto me from the earth. 11Now therefore thou art cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receiue thy brothers blood from thine hand. 12When thou shalt till the grounde, it shall not henceforth yeelde vnto thee her strength: a vagabond and a runnagate shalt thou be in the earth. 13Then Kain said to the Lord, My punishment is greater, then I can beare. 14Behold, thou hast cast me out this day from the earth, and from thy face shall I be hid, and shalbe a vagabond, and a runnagate in the earth, and whosoeuer findeth me, shall slay me. 15Then the Lord said vnto him, Doubtlesse whosoeuer slayeth Kain, he shalbe punished seue folde. And the Lord set a marke vpon Kain, lest any man finding him should kill him. 16Then Kain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod towarde the Eastside of Eden. 17Kain also knewe his wife, which conceiued and bare Henoch: and he built a citie, and called the name of the citie by ye name of his sonne, Henoch. 18And to Henoch was borne Irad, and Irad begate Mehuiael, and Mehuiael begate Methushael, and Methushael begate Lamech. 19And Lamech tooke him two wiues: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. 20And Adah bare Iabal, who was the father of such as dwell in the tents, and of such as haue cattell. 21And his brothers name was Iubal, who was the father of all that play on the harpe and organes. 22And Zillah also bare Tubal-kain, who wrought cunningly euery craft of brasse and of yron: and the sister of Tubal-kain was Naamah. 23Then Lamech saide vnto his wiues Adah and Zillah, Heare my voyce, ye wiues of Lamech: hearken vnto my speach: for I would slay a man in my wound, and a yong man in mine hurt. 24If Kain shalbe auenged seuen folde, truely Lamech, seuentie times seuen folde. 25And Adam knewe his wife againe, and she bare a sonne, and she called his name Sheth: for God, saide she, hath appointed me another seede for Habel, because Kain slewe him. 26And to ye same Sheth also there was borne a sonne, and he called his name Enosh. Then beganne men to call vpon the name of the Lord.

PUBLIC DOMAIN

Learn More About Geneva Bible

Genesis 4

Cain and Abel

1Now the man #The name Adam is the Hebrew word for “man,” so when the word is used with the article (“the”) as it is here, it can be inferred that the writer (Moses) is referring to Adam as “the man.”Adam knew Eve as his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have obtained a man (baby boy, son) with the help of the Lord.” 2And [later] she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept the flocks [of sheep and goats], but Cain cultivated the ground. 3And in the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground. 4But Abel brought [an offering of] the [finest] firstborn of his flock and the #That is, the fat that covered the entrails of the animals. Later, in the Mosaic Law, the Israelites were forbidden to eat this fat (Lev 7:23), which was reserved as an offering to God, especially for sin (Lev 4:8, 26, 35; 9:10; 16:25).fat portions. And the Lord had respect (regard) for Abel and for his offering; 5but for Cain and his offering He had no respect. So Cain became extremely angry (indignant), and #Lit his countenance fell.he looked annoyed and hostile. 6And the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you so angry? And why do you look annoyed? 7If you do well [believing Me and doing what is acceptable and pleasing to Me], will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well [but ignore My instruction], sin crouches at your door; its desire is for you [to overpower you], but you must master it.” 8Cain talked with Abel his brother [about what God had said]. And when they were [alone, working] in the field, Cain #Lit rose up against.attacked Abel his brother and killed him.

9Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he [lied and] said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” 10The Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s [innocent] blood is crying out to Me from the ground [for justice]. 11And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s [shed] blood from your hand. 12When you cultivate the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength [it will resist producing good crops] for you; you shall be a fugitive and a vagabond [roaming aimlessly] on the earth [in perpetual exile without a home, a degraded outcast].” 13Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14Behold, You have driven me out this day from the face of the land; and from Your face (presence) I will be hidden, and I will be a fugitive and an [aimless] vagabond on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” 15And the Lord said to him, “#Some ancient versions read, “Not so!”Therefore, whoever kills Cain, a sevenfold vengeance [that is, punishment seven times worse] shall be taken on him [by Me].” And the Lord set a [protective] #Many commentators believe this sign not to have been like a brand on the forehead, but something awesome about Cain’s appearance that made people dread and avoid him. In the Talmud, the rabbis suggested several possibilities, including leprosy, boils, or a horn that grew out of Cain. But it was also suggested that Cain was given a pet dog to serve as a protective sign.mark (sign) on Cain, so that no one who found (met) him would kill him.

16So Cain went away from the [manifested] presence of the Lord, and lived in the land of Nod [wandering in exile], east of Eden.

17Cain knew his #The simplest explanation for the origin of Cain’s wife is that she was one of his sisters, whom Scripture does not mention specifically, but implies (5:4). It is also possible that she was a niece or more distant relative descended from the original family, but in any case it is evident that the unrecorded children of Adam and Eve married each other. This was possible because the human gene pool was at its purest with Adam and Eve, so at some point their children could begin families of their own.wife [one of Adam’s descendants] and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch; and Cain built a city and named it Enoch, after the name of his son. 18Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad became the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael became the father of Methushael, and Methushael became the father of Lamech. 19And Lamech took for himself two wives; the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other, Zillah. 20Adah gave birth to Jabal; he became the father of those [nomadic herdsmen] who live in tents and have cattle and raise livestock. 21His brother’s name was Jubal; he became the father of all those [musicians] who play the lyre and flute. 22Zillah gave birth to Tubal-cain, the smith (craftsman) and teacher of every artisan in 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,

Listen to what I say;

For I have killed a man [merely] for wounding me,

And a boy [only] for striking (bruising) me.

24If Cain is avenged sevenfold [as the Lord said he would be],

Then Lamech [will be avenged] #Lamech arrogantly declares to his wives that if someone kills him, he will be entitled to far greater vengeance since he merely retaliated for harm suffered, while Cain’s murder of Abel was by comparison unprovoked.seventy-sevenfold.”

25Adam knew [Eve as] his wife again; and she gave birth to a son, and named him Seth, for [she said], “God has granted another child for me in place of Abel, because Cain killed him.” 26To Seth, also, a son was born, whom he named Enosh (mortal man, mankind). At that [same] time men began to call on the name of the Lord [in worship through prayer, praise, and thanksgiving].

Amplified® Bible

The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631

Learn More About Amplified Bible