创世记 4
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)
该隐和亚伯
4 亚当和他妻子夏娃同房，夏娃便怀孕，生了该隐。她说：“耶和华让我得了一个男孩。” 2 后来，夏娃又生了该隐的弟弟亚伯。长大后，亚伯做了牧羊人，该隐做了农夫。
3 到了收成的时候，该隐把地里的出产当祭物献给耶和华， 4 亚伯也把羊群中头生的羊及其最肥美的部分献给耶和华。耶和华悦纳亚伯和他的祭物， 5 却不悦纳该隐和他的祭物。该隐便非常恼火，面带怒容。 6 耶和华问该隐：“你为什么恼火？为什么面带怒容？ 7 如果你做得对，难道不会蒙悦纳吗？如果你做得不对，罪就蹲在你的门口要控制你，但你必须制服罪。”
8 该隐对弟弟亚伯说：“我们去田间吧！”[a]他们在田间的时候，该隐动手打亚伯，把他杀了。
9 后来，耶和华问该隐：“你弟弟亚伯在哪里？”他说：“我不知道！难道我是弟弟的看护人吗？” 10 耶和华说：“你做了什么事？你弟弟的血从地里向我哭诉。 11 地张开口从你手上接受了你弟弟的血，你在地上必受咒诅。 12 你种地，地却不会再为你长出任何东西，你必在地上四处漂泊。” 13 该隐对耶和华说：“这惩罚太重！我承受不了。 14 今天你把我赶出去，使我不能再见你的面。我在地上四处漂泊，见到我的人都会杀我。” 15 耶和华对他说：“不会的，因为凡杀你的，必遭受七倍的报应。”于是，耶和华在该隐身上留下一个记号，免得见到他的人杀他。 16 该隐离开耶和华，来到伊甸东边的挪得住下来。
该隐的后代
17 该隐和妻子同房，他的妻子就怀孕，生了以诺。该隐建了一座城，用他儿子的名字给这城取名叫以诺。 18 以诺生以拿，以拿生米户雅利，米户雅利生玛土撒利，玛土撒利生拉麦。 19 拉麦娶了两个妻子，一个叫亚大，另一个叫洗拉。 20 亚大生了亚八，亚八是游牧民族的祖先， 21 亚八的弟弟犹八是吹奏乐器之人的鼻祖。 22 洗拉生了土八·该隐，他是打造各种铜铁器具的匠人[b]，他的妹妹叫拿玛。
23 一天，拉麦对他的两个妻子说：
“亚大，洗拉，你们听我的声音；
拉麦的妻子啊，侧耳听我的话，
有人伤我，我杀了他，
青年打我，我宰了他。
24 杀该隐的遭受七倍的报应，
杀拉麦的遭受七十七倍的报应。”
塞特和以挪士
25 亚当又与妻子夏娃同房，夏娃生了一个儿子，取名叫塞特，因为她说：“上帝赐我另一个儿子来代替亚伯，因为该隐杀了他。” 26 塞特生了一个儿子，给他取名叫以挪士。那时候，人才开始求告耶和华。
Genesis 4
The Voice
4 Now Adam and Eve discovered the pleasures of lovemaking, and soon Eve conceived and gave birth to a son whom they named Cain.
Eve (excited): Look, I have created a new human, a male child, with the help of the Eternal.
One of the first things Adam and Eve do after being banished from the garden of Eden is to make a baby. Despite the pain of childbirth, Eve speaks with joy of the birth of her son. She certainly suffers and could have easily died in childbirth, but the desire to reproduce and the joy of joining with God in the creative process brings great reward. Every parent knows the risks and rewards of bringing forth the next generation.
2 Eve went on to give birth to Cain’s brother, Abel. Abel grew up to become a shepherd, and Cain grew up to become a farmer. 3 After he had learned how to produce food from the fields, Cain gave the Eternal One an offering—some of the crops he had grown from the ground. 4 For his part of the offering, Abel gave God some tender lamb meat—the choicest cuts from the firstborn of his flock. The Eternal One accepted Abel and his gift of lamb, 5 while He had no regard for Cain and what he presented. Because of this, Cain became extremely angry and his face fell.
God notices Cain’s reaction and confronts him.
Eternal One (to Cain): 6 Why are you angry? And why do you look so despondent? 7 Don’t you know that as long as you do what is right, then I accept you? But if you do not do what is right, watch out, because sin is crouching at the door, ready to pounce on you! You must master it before it masters you.
Jealousy is eating at Cain’s heart. Left unattended, it consumes him.
8 Cain spoke to his brother Abel. When they were in the field, Cain’s envy of his brother got the better of him, and he attacked and killed Abel.
Eternal One (to Cain): 9 Where’s your brother Abel?
Cain: I have no idea. Am I supposed to be responsible for where he goes and what he does?
Eternal One: 10 What have you done? Listen! I can hear the voice of your brother’s blood crying out to Me from the ground! 11 And now you are cursed, cut off from the ground—the ground that opened up and received your brother’s innocent blood, spilled by your own murderous hand! 12 From now on, when you till the ground, it will no longer yield for you its strength and nourishment. You will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.
Cain: 13 My punishment is more than I can bear! 14 Today You have banned me from the soil and hidden me from Your presence! I will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and anyone who meets me will want to kill me!
Eternal One: 15 That’s not the case! Whoever kills you will suffer My vengeance and pay the penalty seven times!
Then God put a special mark on Cain, so that no one who came in contact with him would try to kill him.
16 Then Cain went away from the Eternal’s presence and settled in the land of Nod, a place for wanderers, to the east of Eden. 17 Cain made love to his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. Cain built a city there and named it Enoch after his son. 18 And this is how their family progressed: Enoch’s son was Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael. Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.
19 Now Lamech married two wives, Adah and Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal. His descendants are those who make their homes in tents and keep livestock. 21 Jabal’s brother’s name was Jubal, and his descendants are musicians who play instruments such as the lyre and the pipe. 22 Zillah, Lamech’s other wife, gave birth to Tubal-cain. Now he was a bronze- and ironsmith, and his sister was Naamah.
23 One day, Lamech announced to his wives:
Lamech: Adah and Zillah, listen to me!
Wives of Lamech, I need to tell you something!
I killed a man who struck me.
He was a young man who wounded me first.
24 Here’s how I see it:
if Cain is avenged seven times,
then surely Lamech must be avenged seventy-seven times!
25 Meanwhile, Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to another son and named him Seth.
Eve (to herself): God has given me another child to replace Abel, since Cain killed him.
26 After many years passed, Seth became the father of a son and named him Enosh. This was about the time when people began to worship and call on the name of the Eternal One.
Chinese Contemporary Bible Copyright © 1979, 2005, 2007, 2011 by Biblica® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.