Genesis 4

Cain and Abel

1And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain,#4.1 That is, Gotten, or Acquired. and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. 2And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. 4#Heb 11.4. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 6And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door: and unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

8 # Matt 23.35; Luke 11.51; 1 John 3.12. And 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 slew him. 9And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? 10And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. 11And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand. 12When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. 13And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. 15And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. 16And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.

17And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. 18And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehu´ja-el: and Mehu´ja-el begat Methu´sa-el: and Methu´sa-el begat Lamech. 19And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. 20And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. 21And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. 22And Zillah, she also bare Tu´bal–cain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tu´bal–cain was Na´amah.

23And Lamech said unto his wives,

Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;

ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech:

for I have slain a man to my wounding,

and a young man to my hurt.

24If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold,

truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.

25And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth:#4.25 That is, Appointed, or Put. For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. 26And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.

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Genesis 4

Cain Murders Abel

1The man was intimate with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. She said, “I have had a male child with the Lord’s help.”#4:1 Lit the Lord 2She also gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel became a shepherd of flocks, but Cain worked the ground. 3In the course of time Cain presented some of the land’s produce as an offering to the Lord.#Ex 23:19; 34:26; Neh 10:35 4And Abel also presented an offering — some of the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions.#Ex 13:12; Nm 18:17; Pr 3:9 The Lord had regard for Abel and his offering,#Heb 11:4 5but he did not have regard for Cain and his offering. Cain was furious, and he looked despondent.

6Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you furious?#Jnh 4:4 And why do you look despondent? 7If you do what is right, won’t you be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”#Gn 3:16

8Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”#4:8 Sam, LXX, Syr, Vg; MT omits “Let’s go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.#Mt 23:35; Lk 11:51; 1Jn 3:12–15; Jd 11

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

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s guardian?”

10Then he said, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground!#Nm 35:33; Dt 21:1–9; Heb 12:24; Rv 6:9–10 11So now you are cursed, alienated from the ground that opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood you have shed.#4:11 Lit blood from your hand 12If you work the ground, it will never again give you its yield. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”#Dt 28:16–18; Is 26:21

13But Cain answered the Lord, “My punishment#4:13 Or sin is too great to bear! 14Since you are banishing me today from the face of the earth, and I must hide from your presence and become a restless wanderer on the earth, whoever finds me will kill me.”#Nm 35:26–27

15Then the Lord replied to him, “In that case,#4:15 LXX, Syr, Vg read “Not so!” whoever kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” And he placed a mark#Ex 9:4; Ezk 9:4,6; Rv 13:16–17 on Cain so that whoever found him would not kill him. 16Then Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod,#4:16 Lit Wandering east of Eden.

The Line of Cain

17Cain was intimate with his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. Then Cain became the builder of a city, and he named the city Enoch after his son. 18Irad was born to Enoch, Irad fathered Mehujael, Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. 19Lamech took two wives for himself, one named Adah and the other named Zillah. 20Adah bore Jabal; he was the first#4:20 Lit father of the nomadic herdsmen. 21His brother was named Jubal; he was the first#4:21 Lit father of all who play the lyre and the flute. 22Zillah bore Tubal-cain, who made all kinds of bronze and iron tools. Tubal-cain’s sister was Naamah.

23Lamech said to his wives:

Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;

wives of Lamech, pay attention to my words.

For I killed a man for wounding me,

a young man for striking me.

24If Cain is to be avenged seven times over,

then for Lamech it will be seventy-seven times!

25Adam was intimate with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, for she said, “God has given#4:25 The Hb word for given sounds like the name “Seth.” me another offspring#4:25 Lit seed in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.” 26A son was born to Seth#Lk 3:38 also, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of the Lord.#Gn 12:8; 26:25; 1Kg 18:24; Ps 116:17; Jl 2:32; Zph 3:9; 1Co 1:2

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