Genesis 4
New King James Version
Cain Murders Abel(A)
4 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore [a]Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.” 2 Then she bore again, this time his brother [b]Abel. Now (B)Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And [c]in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit (C)of the ground to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought of (D)the firstborn of his flock and of (E)their fat. And the Lord (F)respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
6 So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is [d]for you, but you should rule over it.”
8 Now Cain [e]talked with Abel his [f]brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and (G)killed him.
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?”
He said, (H)“I do not know. Am I (I)my brother’s keeper?”
10 And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood (J)cries out to Me from the ground. 11 So now (K)you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.”
13 And Cain said to the Lord, “My [g]punishment is greater than I can bear! 14 Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; (L)I shall be (M)hidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen that (N)anyone who finds me will kill me.”
15 And the Lord said to him, [h]“Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him (O)sevenfold.” And the Lord set a (P)mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.
The Family of Cain
16 Then Cain (Q)went out from the (R)presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of [i]Nod on the east of Eden. 17 And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, (S)and called the name of the city after the name of his son—Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad; and Irad begot Mehujael, and Mehujael begot Methushael, and Methushael begot Lamech.
19 Then Lamech took for himself (T)two wives: the name of one was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah. 20 And Adah bore Jabal. He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal. He was the father of all those who play the harp and [j]flute. 22 And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.
23 Then Lamech said to his wives:
“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech!
For I have [k]killed a man for wounding me,
Even a young man [l]for hurting me.
24 (U)If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold,
Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”
A New Son
25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and (V)named him [m]Seth, “For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.” 26 And as for Seth, (W)to him also a son was born; and he named him [n]Enosh. Then men began (X)to call on the name of the Lord.
Footnotes
- Genesis 4:1 Lit. Acquire
- Genesis 4:2 Lit. Breath or Nothing
- Genesis 4:3 Lit. at the end of days
- Genesis 4:7 Lit. toward
- Genesis 4:8 Lit. said to
- Genesis 4:8 Sam., LXX, Syr., Vg. add “Let us go out to the field.”
- Genesis 4:13 iniquity
- Genesis 4:15 So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Syr., Vg. Not so;
- Genesis 4:16 Lit. Wandering
- Genesis 4:21 pipe
- Genesis 4:23 slain a man for my wound
- Genesis 4:23 for my hurt
- Genesis 4:25 Lit. Appointed
- Genesis 4:26 Gr. Enos, Luke 3:38
Genesis 4
Complete Jewish Bible
4 The man had sexual relations with Havah his wife; she conceived, gave birth to Kayin [acquisition] and said, “I have acquired a man from Adonai.” 2 In addition she gave birth to his brother Hevel. Hevel kept sheep, while Kayin worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Kayin brought an offering to Adonai from the produce of the soil; 4 and Hevel too brought from the firstborn of his sheep, including their fat. Adonai accepted Hevel and his offering 5 but did not accept Kayin and his offering. Kayin was very angry, and his face fell. 6 Adonai said to Kayin, “Why are you angry? Why so downcast? 7 If you are doing what is good, shouldn’t you hold your head high? And if you don’t do what is good, sin is crouching at the door — it wants you, but you can rule over it.” 8 Kayin had words with Hevel his brother; then one time, when they were in the field, Kayin turned on Hevel his brother and killed him.
9 Adonai said to Kayin, “Where is Hevel your brother?” And he replied, “I don’t know; am I my brother’s guardian?” 10 He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground! 11 Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood at your hands. 12 When you farm the ground it will no longer yield its strength to you. You will be a fugitive, wandering the earth.” 13 Kayin said to Adonai, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 You are banning me today from the land and from your presence. I will be a fugitive wandering the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 Adonai answered him, “Therefore, whoever kills Kayin will receive vengeance sevenfold,” and Adonai put a sign on Kayin, so that no one who found him would kill him. 16 So Kayin left the presence of Adonai and lived in the land of Nod [wandering], east of ‘Eden.
17 Kayin had sexual relations with his wife; she conceived and gave birth to Hanokh. Kayin built a city and named the city after his son Hanokh. 18 To Hanokh was born ‘Irad. ‘Irad fathered Mechuya’el, Mechuya’el fathered Metusha’el, and Metusha’el fathered Lemekh.
(S: v) 19 Lemekh took himself two wives; the name of the one was ‘Adah, while the name of the other was Tzilah. 20 ‘Adah gave birth to Yaval; he was the ancestor of those who live in tents and have cattle. 21 His brother’s name was Yuval; and he was the ancestor of all who play lyre and flute. 22 Tzilah gave birth to Tuval-Kayin, who forged all kinds of tools from brass and iron; the sister of Tuval-Kayin was Na‘amah. 23 Lemekh said to his wives,
“‘Adah and Tzilah, listen to me;
wives of Lemekh, hear what I say:
I killed a man for wounding me,
a young man who injured me.
24 If Kayin will be avenged sevenfold,
then Lemekh seventy-sevenfold!”
25 Adam again had sexual relations with his wife, and she gave birth to a son whom she named Shet [granted], “For God has granted me another seed in place of Hevel, since Kayin killed him.” 26 To Shet too was born a son, whom he called Enosh. That is when people began to call on the name of Adonai.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.