Genesis 4
4
Cain and Abel
(Hebrews 11:4)
1And Adam had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain.#4:1 Cain sounds like the Hebrew for acquired or brought forth.
“With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man,” she said.
2Later she gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel.
Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, while Cain was a tiller of the soil. 3So in the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruit of the soil as an offering to the Lord, 4while Abel brought the best portions of the firstborn of his flock.
And the Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5but He had no regard for Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell.
6“Why are you angry,” said the Lord to Cain, “and why has your countenance fallen? 7If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you refuse to do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires you,#4:7 Or it desires to control you but you must master it.”
8Then Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out to the field.” #4:8 SP, LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate; Hebrew Then Cain spoke to his brother Abel. And while they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.
9And the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I do not know!” he answered. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
10“What have you done?” replied the Lord. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. 11Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12When you till the ground, it will no longer yield its produce to you. You will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”
13But Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment #4:13 Or guilt or sin is greater than I can bear. 14Behold, this day You have driven me from the face of the earth, and from Your face I will be hidden; I will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
15“Not so!”#4:15 LXX, Vulgate, and Syriac; Hebrew “Very well!” or “Therefore:” replied the Lord. “If anyone slays Cain, then Cain will be avenged sevenfold.” And the Lord placed a mark on Cain, so that no one who found him would kill him.
16So Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod,#4:16 Nod means wandering. east of Eden.
The Descendants of Cain
17And Cain had relations with his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. Then Cain built a city and named it after his son Enoch.
18Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methusael, and Methusael was the father of Lamech. 19And Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah.
20Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and raise livestock. 21And his brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute.
22And Zillah gave birth to Tubal-cain, a forger of every implement of 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 slain a man for wounding me,
a young man for striking me.
24If Cain is avenged sevenfold,
then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”#4:24 Hebrew; LXX can be translated as either seventy times seven or seventy-sevenfold; see also Matthew 18:22.
Seth and Enosh
25And Adam again had relations with his wife, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth,#4:25 Seth probably means granted or appointed. saying, “God has granted me another seed in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.”
26And to Seth also a son was born, and he called him Enosh.
At that time men began to call upon #4:26 Or to proclaim; some translators to invoke or to call themselves by or to profane the name of the Lord.
The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible, BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God's Word has been dedicated to the public domain.
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, 4#He 11.4. and Abel also gave an offering to the Lord. He killed the first-born lamb from one of his sheep and gave the Lord the best parts of it. The Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering, 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 look so angry? 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!
8 #
Ws 10.3; Mt 23.35; Lk 11.51; 1 Jn 3.12. Cain 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 attacked and killed him.
9Afterwards the Lord asked Cain, “Where is Abel?”
“How should I know?” he answered. “Am I supposed to look after my brother?”
10 #
He 12.24. Then the Lord said:
Why have you done this terrible thing? You killed your own brother, and his blood flowed onto 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 it again. 12When 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: It was generally believed that the Lord was with his people only in their own land. I will have to wander about without a home, and just 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.
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 worshiping the Lord.#4.26 worshiping the Lord: Or “worshiping in the name of the Lord.”
Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.