Genesis 4
4
1And the man knew Eve his wife, and she conceiveth and beareth Cain, and saith, ‘I have gotten a man by Jehovah;’
2and she addeth to bear his brother, even Abel. And Abel is feeding a flock, and Cain hath been servant of the ground.
3And it cometh to pass at the end of days that Cain bringeth from the fruit of the ground a present to Jehovah;
4and Abel, he hath brought, he also, from the female firstlings of his flock, even from their fat ones; and Jehovah looketh unto Abel and unto his present,
5and unto Cain and unto his present He hath not looked; and it is very displeasing to Cain, and his countenance is fallen.
6And Jehovah saith unto Cain, ‘Why hast thou displeasure? and why hath thy countenance fallen?
7Is there not, if thou dost well, acceptance? and if thou dost not well, at the opening a sin-offering is crouching, and unto thee its desire, and thou rulest over it.’
8And Cain saith unto Abel his brother, [‘Let us go into the field;’] and it cometh to pass in their being in the field, that Cain riseth up against Abel his brother, and slayeth him.
9And Jehovah saith unto Cain, ‘Where [is] Abel thy brother?’ and he saith, ‘I have not known; my brother's keeper — I?’
10And He saith, ‘What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood is crying unto Me from the ground;
11and now, cursed [art] thou from the ground, which hath opened her mouth to receive the blood of thy brother from thy hand;
12when thou tillest the ground, it doth not add to give its strength to thee — a wanderer, even a trembling one, thou art in the earth.’
13And Cain saith unto Jehovah, ‘Greater is my punishment than to be borne;
14lo, Thou hast driven me to-day from off the face of the ground, and from Thy face I am hid; and I have been a wanderer, even a trembling one, in the earth, and it hath been — every one finding me doth slay me.’
15And Jehovah saith to him, ‘Therefore — of any slayer of Cain sevenfold it is required;’ and Jehovah setteth to Cain a token that none finding him doth slay him.
16And Cain goeth out from before Jehovah, and dwelleth in the land, moving about east of Eden;
17and Cain knoweth his wife, and she conceiveth, and beareth Enoch; and he is building a city, and he calleth the name of the city, according to the name of his son — Enoch.
18And born to Enoch is Irad; and Irad hath begotten Mehujael; and Mehujael hath begotten Methusael; and Methusael hath begotten Lamech.
19And Lamech taketh to himself two wives, the name of the one Adah, and the name of the second Zillah.
20And Adah beareth Jabal, he hath been father of those inhabiting tents and purchased possessions;
21and the name of his brother [is] Jubal, he hath been father of every one handling harp and organ.
22And Zillah she also bare Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron; and a sister of Tubal-Cain [is] Naamah.
23And Lamech saith to his wives: — ‘Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; Wives of Lamech, give ear [to] my saying: For a man I have slain for my wound, Even a young man for my hurt;
24For sevenfold is required for Cain, And for Lamech seventy and sevenfold.’
25And Adam again knoweth his wife, and she beareth a son, and calleth his name Seth, ‘for God hath appointed for me another seed instead of Abel:’ for Cain had slain him.
26And to Seth, to him also a son hath been born, and he calleth his name Enos; then a beginning was made of preaching in the name of Jehovah.
maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Genesis 4
4
Cain Murders Abel
1Adam made love to his wife Eve. She became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “I have gotten the man that the Lord promised.” 2Then she gave birth to another child, Abel, Cain’s brother. Abel was a shepherd, and Cain was a farmer.
3Later Cain brought some crops from the land as an offering to the Lord. 4Abel also brought some choice parts of the firstborn animals from his flock. The Lord approved of Abel and his offering, 5but he didn’t approve of Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry and was disappointed. 6Then the Lord asked Cain, “Why are you angry, and why do you look disappointed? 7If you do well, won’t you be accepted? But if you don’t do well, sin is lying outside your door ready to attack. It wants to control you, but you must master it.”
8Cain talked to his brother Abel. Later, when they were in the fields, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
9The Lord asked Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he answered. “Am I supposed to take care of my brother?”
10The Lord asked, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground. 11So now you are cursed from the ground, which has received the blood of your brother whom you killed. 12When you farm the ground, it will no longer yield its best for you. You will be a fugitive, a wanderer on the earth.”
13But Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can stand! 14You have forced me off this land today. I have to hide from you and become a fugitive, a wanderer on the earth. Now anyone who finds me will kill me!”
15So the Lord said to him, “Not so! Anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” The Lord gave Cain a sign so that anyone meeting him would not kill him.
16Then Cain left the Lord’s presence and lived in Nod [The Land of Wandering], east of Eden.
Cain’s Ten Descendants—Cain to Lamech
17Cain made love to his wife. She became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was building a city, and he named it Enoch after his son. 18To Enoch was born Irad. Irad was the father of Mehujael. Mehujael was the father of Methushael. And Methushael was the father of Lamech.
19Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. 20Adah gave birth to Jabal. He was the first person to live in tents and have livestock. 21His brother’s name was Jubal. He was the first person to play the harp and the flute. 22Zillah also had a son, Tubalcain, who made bronze and iron tools. Tubalcain’s sister was Naamah.
23Lamech said to his wives,
“Adah and Zillah, listen to me!
Wives of Lamech, hear what I say!
I killed a man for bruising me,
a young man for wounding me.
24If Cain is avenged 7 times,
then Lamech, 77 times.”
Adam’s Godly Descendants—Adam to Enosh
25Adam made love to his wife again. She gave birth to a son and named him Seth, because ⌞she said,⌟ “God has given #4:25 There is a play on words here between Hebrew sheth (Seth) and shath (given). me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.”
26A son was also born to Seth, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to worship the Lord.
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