Genesis 4
Living Bible
4 Then Adam had sexual intercourse with Eve his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to a son, Cain (meaning “I have created”). For, as she said, “With God’s help, I have created a man!” 2 Her next child was his brother, Abel.
Abel became a shepherd, while Cain was a farmer. 3 At harvest time Cain brought the Lord a gift of his farm produce, 4 and Abel brought the fatty cuts of meat from his best lambs, and presented them to the Lord. And the Lord accepted Abel’s offering, 5 but not Cain’s. This made Cain both dejected and very angry, and his face grew dark with fury.
6 “Why are you angry?” the Lord asked him. “Why is your face so dark with rage? 7 It can be bright with joy if you will do what you should! But if you refuse to obey, watch out. Sin is waiting to attack you, longing to destroy you. But you can conquer it!”
8 One day Cain suggested to his brother, “Let’s go out into the fields.” And while they were together there, Cain attacked and killed his brother.
9 But afterwards the Lord asked Cain, “Where is your brother? Where is Abel?”
“How should I know?” Cain retorted. “Am I supposed to keep track of him wherever he goes?”
10 But the Lord said, “Your brother’s blood calls to me from the ground. What have you done? 11 You are hereby banished from this ground which you have defiled with your brother’s blood. 12 No longer will it yield crops for you, even if you toil on it forever! From now on you will be a fugitive and a tramp upon the earth, wandering from place to place.”
13 Cain replied to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 For you have banished me from my farm and from you, and made me a fugitive and a tramp; and everyone who sees me will try to kill me.”
15 The Lord replied, “They won’t kill you, for I will give seven times your punishment to anyone who does.” Then the Lord put an identifying mark on Cain as a warning not to kill him. 16 So Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
17 Then Cain’s wife conceived and presented him with a baby son named Enoch; so when Cain founded a city, he named it Enoch, after his son.
18 Enoch was the father of[a] Irad; Irad was the father of Mehujael; Mehujael was the father of Methusael; Methusael was the father of Lamech.
19 Lamech married two wives—Adah and Zillah. 20 To Adah was born a baby named Jabal. He became the first of the cattlemen and those living in tents. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal, the first musician—the inventor of the harp and flute.[b] 22 To Lamech’s other wife, Zillah, was born Tubal-cain. He opened the first foundry[c] forging instruments of bronze and iron.
23 One day Lamech said to Adah and Zillah, “Listen to me, my wives. I have killed a youth who attacked and wounded me. 24 If anyone who kills Cain will be punished seven times, anyone taking revenge against me for killing that youth should be punished seventy-seven times!”
25 Later on Eve gave birth to another son and named him Seth (meaning “Granted”); for, as Eve put it, “God has granted me another son for the one Cain killed.” 26 When Seth grew up, he had a son and named him Enosh. It was during his lifetime that men first began to call themselves “the Lord’s people.”[d]
Footnotes
- Genesis 4:18 Enoch was the father of, or “the ancestor of,” and so also in the remainder of the verse.
- Genesis 4:21 the inventor of the harp and flute, literally, “the father of all such as handle the harp and pipe.”
- Genesis 4:22 He opened the first foundry, literally, “He was the father of all metal workers in bronze and iron.”
- Genesis 4:26 It was during . . . “the Lord’s people,” literally, “This man was the first to invoke the name of Jehovah.”
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
Expanded Bible
The First Family
4 ·Adam [L The man; 1:27] ·had sexual relations with [L knew] his wife Eve, and she ·became pregnant [conceived] and gave birth to Cain. Eve said, “With the Lord’s help, I have ·given birth to [L produced; or acquired; C the verb resembles Cain’s name] a man.” 2 After that, Eve gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel [C resembles the word for vapor or breath]. Abel took care of flocks, and Cain ·became a farmer [L was a tiller/worker of the ground].
3 ·Later [In due course; L At the end of the days], Cain brought some ·food [produce; fruit] from the ground as a ·gift [tribute; Lev. 2] to God. 4 Abel brought the ·best parts [fat portions; Lev. 3:16] from some of the firstborn of his flock [Heb. 11:4]. The Lord ·accepted [looked with favor on] Abel and his ·gift [tribute], 5 but he did not ·accept [look with favor on] Cain and his ·gift [tribute]. So Cain became very angry and ·felt rejected [or felt dejected; L his face/countenance fell].
6 The Lord asked Cain, “Why are you angry? Why ·do you look so unhappy [L has your face/countenance fallen; 4:5]? 7 If you do things ·well [correctly; appropriately], ·I will [L will I not…?] accept you, but if you do not do them ·well [correctly; appropriately], sin is ·ready to attack you [L crouching at the door]. Sin ·wants [desires to control; 3:16] you, but you must rule over it.”
8 Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out into the field.”[a] While they were out in the field, Cain ·attacked [L rose up against] his brother Abel and killed him [Matt. 23:35; Luke 11:51; Heb. 12:24; 1 John 3:11–12; Jude 11].
9 Later, the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
Cain answered, “I don’t know. ·Is it my job to take care of my brother [T Am I my brother’s keeper]?”
10 Then the Lord said, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground. 11 And now you will be cursed ·in your work with [L and banished from] the ground, ·the same ground where your brother’s blood fell and where your hands killed him [L which has opened its mouth to take the blood of your brother from your hand]. 12 You will ·work [till] the ground, but it will not ·grow good crops [L yield its strength] for you anymore, and you will ·wander around [be a fugitive and a wanderer/homeless wanderer] on the earth.”
13 Then Cain said to the Lord, “This punishment is more than I can ·stand [bear]! 14 Today you have forced me ·to stop working [L from] the ground, and now I ·must hide from you [or will be hidden from your face]. I ·must wander around [L will be a fugitive and wanderer/homeless wanderer] on the earth, and anyone who ·meets [finds] me can kill me.”
15 The Lord said to Cain, “No! If anyone kills you, I will ·punish [avenge] that person seven times more.” Then the Lord put a mark [C the nature of the mark is uncertain] on Cain warning anyone who ·met [finds] him not to kill him.
Cain’s Family
16 So Cain went away from the Lord and lived in the land of Nod [C resembles a Hebrew word meaning “wanderer”], east of Eden. 17 He ·had sexual relations with [L knew; 4:1] his wife, and she ·became pregnant [conceived] and gave birth to Enoch. At that time ·Cain [L he] was building a city, which he named after his son Enoch. 18 ·Enoch had a son named [L To Enoch was born; C and so through the rest of the genealogy] Irad, Irad had a son named Mehujael, Mehujael had a son named Methushael, and Methushael had a son named Lamech.
19 Lamech ·married [L took] two ·women [or wives], [L the name of the first was] Adah and [L the name of the second was] Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal, who ·became the first person to [L was the father of those who] live in tents and raise ·cattle [livestock]. 21 Jabal’s brother was Jubal, the ·first person to [L father of all who] play the ·harp [or lyre] and ·flute [pipe]. 22 Zillah gave birth to Tubal-Cain, who made tools out of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.
23 Lamech said to his wives:
“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice!
You wives of Lamech, listen to what I say.
I killed a man for wounding me,
a young man for hitting me.
24 If ·Cain’s killer is punished [L Cain is avenged] seven times [4:15],
then ·Lamech’s killer will be punished [L Lamech will be avenged] seventy-seven times.” [C Lamech falsely thought he could get away with murder.]
Adam and Eve Have a New Son
25 Adam ·had sexual relations with [L knew; 4:1] his wife Eve again, and she gave birth to a son. She named him Seth [C related to the Hebrew word for “give” or “appoint”] and said, “God has ·given [appointed for] me another child. He will take the place of Abel, who was killed by Cain.” 26 Seth also had a son, and they named him Enosh. At that time people began to ·pray to [L call on the name of] the Lord.
Footnotes
- Genesis 4:8 Cain…field This sentence appears in some Greek copies, but not in the Hebrew text.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.