Genesis 4

CHAPTER 4

1Forsooth Adam knew Eve his wife, which conceived, and childed Cain, and said, I have gotten a man by God.

2And again she childed his brother Abel. Forsooth Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain was an earth-tiller.

3Soothly it was done after many days, that Cain offered gifts to the Lord of the fruits of the earth#4:3 Not the first fruits, or the best, or it would have been so stated.;

4and Abel offered of the first engendered of his flock, and of the fatness of those [or them]. And the Lord beheld to Abel and to the gifts of him;

5soothly he beheld not to Cain and to his gifts. And Cain was wroth greatly, and his cheer felled down.

6And the Lord said to him, Why art thou wroth, and why felled down thy face?

7Whether not if thou shalt do well, thou shalt receive well; but if thou doest evil, thy sin shall be present anon in the gates? but the desire thereof, that is, of sin, shall be under thee, and thou shalt be lord thereof.

8And Cain said to Abel, his brother, Go we out. And when they were in the field, Cain rose against his brother Abel, and killed him.

9And the Lord said to Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? Which answered, I know not; whether I am the keeper of my brother?

10And God said to Cain, What hast thou done? the voice of the blood of thy brother crieth to me from [the] earth.

11Now therefore thou shalt be cursed on [the] earth, that opened his mouth, and received of thine hand the blood of thy brother.

12When thou shalt work the earth, it shall not give his fruits to thee; thou shalt be unstable of dwelling, and fleeing about on [the] earth, in all the days of thy life.

13And Cain said to the Lord, My wickedness is more than that I deserve forgiveness;

14lo! today thou castest me out from the face of the earth; and I shall be hid from thy face, and I shall be unstable of dwelling, and fleeing about in earth; therefore each man that shall find me shall slay me.

15And the Lord said to him, It shall not be done so, but each man that shall slay Cain shall be punished sevenfold. And the Lord set a sign in Cain, that each man that should find him should not slay him.

16And Cain went out from the face of the Lord, and dwelled fleeing about in [the] earth, at the east coast of Eden, that is, of earthly paradise.

17Forsooth Cain knew his wife, which conceived, and childed Enoch; and Cain builded a city, and called the name thereof of the name of his son, Enoch.

18Forsooth Enoch begat Irad; and Irad begat Mehujael; and Mehujael begat Methusael; and Methusael begat Lamech;

19that took two wives, the name to the one wife was Adah, and the name to the other was Zillah.

20And Adah begat Jabal, that was the father of dwellers in tents, and of shepherds;

21and the name of his brother was Jubal; he was the father of the singers in harp and organ.

22And Zillah begat Tubalcain, that was an hammer-beater, and [a] smith on all works of brass and of iron; forsooth the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.

23And Lamech said to his wives, Adah and Zillah, Ye wives of Lamech, hear my voice, and hearken to my words; for I have slain a man by my wounding, and a young waxing man by my violent beating;

24vengeance shall be given seven-fold of Cain, forsooth of Lamech seventy times seven times.

25Also yet Adam knew his wife, and she childed a son, and called his name Seth#4:25 The name sounds like the Hebrew for ‘has given’., and said, God hath put [or set] to me another seed for Abel, whom Cain killed.

26But also a son was born to Seth, which son he called Enos; this began to call inwardly the name of the Lord.

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Genesis 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.”

8 # 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

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