Add parallel Print Page Options

But the serpent was feller than all living beasts of [the] earth, which the Lord God had made. The which serpent said to the woman, Why commanded God to you, that ye should not eat of each tree of paradise? (And the serpent was more cunning than all the living beasts of the earth. And the serpent said to the woman, Why hath God commanded you to not eat from any tree in the garden?)

To whom the woman answered, We eat of the fruit of trees that be in paradise; (To whom the woman answered, We can eat of the fruit of the trees that be in the garden;)

soothly God commanded to us, that we should not eat of the fruit of the tree, which is in the midst of paradise (which is in the middle of the garden), and that we should not touch it, lest peradventure we die.

Forsooth the serpent said to the woman, Ye shall not die by death (Ye shall not die);

for why God knoweth that in whatever day ye shall eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as Gods, knowing good and evil. (for God knoweth that on whatever day ye shall eat of it, your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be like gods, knowing good and evil.)

Therefore the woman saw that the tree was good, and sweet to eat, and fair to the eyes, and delightable in beholding; and she took of the fruit thereof, and ate, and gave to her husband, and he ate.

And the eyes of both (of them) were opened; and when they knew that they were naked, they sewed [together] the leaves of a fig tree, and made breeches to themselves (and made breeches for themselves).

And when they heard the voice of the Lord God going in paradise at the wind after midday, Adam and his wife hid them(selves) from the face of the Lord God in [the] midst of the trees of paradise. (And when they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the evening breeze, the man and his wife hid themselves from the face of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.)

And the Lord God called Adam, and said to him, Where art thou?

10 And Adam said, I heard thy voice in paradise, and I dreaded, for I was naked, and I hid me. (And the man said, I heard the sound of you walking in the garden, and I was afraid, for I was naked, and so I hid myself.)

11 To whom the Lord said, Who showed to thee that thou were naked, no but for thou hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded to thee that thou shouldest not eat? (To whom the Lord said, Who told thee that thou were naked? hast thou eaten of the tree which I commanded to thee that thou shouldest not eat?)

12 And Adam said, The woman which thou gavest (for) fellow(ship) to me, gave me of the tree, and I ate. (And Adam said, The woman whom thou gavest to me for fellowship, gave to me of the tree, and so I ate.)

13 And the Lord said to the woman, Why didest thou this thing? The which answered, The serpent deceived me, and (so) I ate.

14 And the Lord God said to the serpent, For thou didest this, thou shalt be cursed among all [the] living things, and unreasonable beasts of [the] earth; thou shalt go on thy breast, and thou shalt eat earth in all the days of thy life. (And the Lord God said to the serpent, For thou didest this, thou shalt be cursed among all the living things, and unreasoning beasts of the earth; thou shalt go upon thy breast, and thou shalt eat dust all the days of thy life.)

15 I shall set enmities betwixt thee and the woman, and betwixt thy seed and her seed; she shall break thine head, and thou shalt set ambushes to her heel. (I shall put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; her seed shall break thy head, and thou shalt set ambush to her seed’s heel.)

16 Also God said to the woman, I shall multiply thy wretchednesses and thy conceivings; in sorrow thou shalt bear thy children; and thou shalt be under (the) power of thine husband, and he shall be lord of thee.

17 Soothly God said to Adam, For thou heardest the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded to thee that thou shouldest not eat, the earth shall be cursed in thy work, that is, for thy sin; in travails thou shalt eat thereof in all the days of thy life; (And God said to Adam, For thou heardest thy wife’s voice, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded to thee that thou shouldest not eat, the ground shall be cursed on account of thee, that is, because of thy sin; only after much travail, or much labour, shalt thou get food from it all the days of thy life;)

18 it shall bring forth thorns and briars to thee, and thou shalt eat (the) herbs of the earth;

19 in [the] sweat of thy cheer, [or (thy) face,] thou shalt eat thy bread, till thou turn again into the earth of which thou art taken; for thou art dust, and thou shalt turn again into dust. (by the sweat of thy brow, thou shalt earn thy bread, until thou return to the earth of which thou art taken; for thou art dust, and thou shalt return to dust.)

20 And Adam called the name of his wife Eve, for she was the mother of all men living (for she was the mother of all living people).

21 And the Lord God made coats of skins to Adam and Eve his wife, and clothed them; (And the Lord God made coats out of skins for Adam and Eve his wife, and clothed them;)

22 and said, Lo! Adam is made as one of us, and knoweth good and evil; now therefore see ye, lest peradventure he put [out] his hand, and take [also] of the tree of life, and eat, and live without end.

23 And the Lord God sent him out of (the) paradise of liking, that he should work the earth, of which he was taken. (And so the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden, to work the earth, from which he was taken.)

24 And God casted out Adam, and setted before (the) paradise of liking cherubim, that is, (he gave it into the) keeping of angels, and a sword of flame turning about to keep (charge of) the way of the tree of life. (And so God cast out Adam, and to the east of the Garden of Eden he placed cherubim, and a sword of flame which turned about, to guard the way to the tree of life.)

The Fall

Now the serpent(A) was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?(B)

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,(C) but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”(D)

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.(E) “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,(F) knowing good and evil.”

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable(G) for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband,(H) who was with her, and he ate it.(I) Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked;(J) so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.(K)

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking(L) in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid(M) from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”(N)

10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid(O) because I was naked;(P) so I hid.”

11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked?(Q) Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?(R)

12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me(S)—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me,(T) and I ate.”

14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,

“Cursed(U) are you above all livestock
    and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
    and you will eat dust(V)
    all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
    between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring[a](W) and hers;(X)
he will crush[b] your head,(Y)
    and you will strike his heel.”

16 To the woman he said,

“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;
    with painful labor you will give birth to children.(Z)
Your desire will be for your husband,
    and he will rule over you.(AA)

17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’(AB)

“Cursed(AC) is the ground(AD) because of you;
    through painful toil(AE) you will eat food from it
    all the days of your life.(AF)
18 It will produce thorns and thistles(AG) for you,
    and you will eat the plants of the field.(AH)
19 By the sweat of your brow(AI)
    you will eat your food(AJ)
until you return to the ground,
    since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
    and to dust you will return.”(AK)

20 Adam[c] named his wife Eve,[d](AL) because she would become the mother of all the living.

21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.(AM) 22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us,(AN) knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life(AO) and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden(AP) to work the ground(AQ) from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side[e] of the Garden of Eden(AR) cherubim(AS) and a flaming sword(AT) flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.(AU)

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 3:15 Or seed
  2. Genesis 3:15 Or strike
  3. Genesis 3:20 Or The man
  4. Genesis 3:20 Eve probably means living.
  5. Genesis 3:24 Or placed in front

Forsooth Adam knew Eve his wife, which conceived, and childed Cain, and said, I have gotten a man by God. (And Adam knew his wife Eve, who conceived, and bare Cain, and she said, Now, with the Lord’s help, I have begotten a man.)

And again she childed his brother Abel. Forsooth Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain was an earth-tiller. (And then she bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a shepherd, and Cain was a farmer, who worked the soil.)

Soothly it was done after many days, that Cain offered gifts to the Lord of the fruits of the earth[a];

and Abel offered of the first engendered of his flock, and of the fatness of those. And the Lord beheld to Abel and to the gifts of him;

soothly he beheld not to Cain and to his gifts. And Cain was wroth greatly, and his cheer felled down (And Cain was greatly angered, and his face fell).

And the Lord said to him, Why art thou wroth, and why felled down thy face?

Whether not if thou shalt do well, thou shalt receive well; but if thou doest evil, thy sin shall be present anon in the gates? but the desire thereof, that is, of sin, shall be under thee, and thou shalt be lord thereof. (If thou shalt do well, then thou shalt be accepted; but if thou doest evil, then at once thy sin shall be present at the gates, and the desire of sin shall take thee under, and so thou must be lord of it, or rule over it.)

And Cain said to Abel, his brother, Go we out (But then Cain said to his brother Abel, Walk with me). And when they were in the field, Cain rose (up) against his brother Abel, and killed him.

And the Lord said to Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? Which answered, I know not; whether I am the keeper of my brother? (And the Lord said to Cain, Where is thy brother Abel? And he answered, How do I know; am I my brother’s keeper?)

10 And God said to Cain, What hast thou done? the voice of the blood of thy brother crieth to me from [the] earth (the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth out to me from the earth).

11 Now therefore thou shalt be cursed on [the] earth, that opened his mouth, and received of thine hand the blood of thy brother. (And so now thou shalt be cursed on the earth, that hath opened its mouth, and received thy brother’s blood from thy hand.)

12 When thou shalt work the earth, it shall not give his fruits to thee; thou shalt be unstable of dwelling, and fleeing about on [the] earth, in all the days of thy life. (When thou shalt work the earth, it shall not give its fruits to thee; thou shalt be of unstable dwelling, and fleeing about on the earth, all the days of thy life.)

13 And Cain said to the Lord, My wickedness is more than that I deserve forgiveness (for); (And Cain said to the Lord, My punishment is more than that I can bear;)

14 lo! today thou castest me out from the face of the earth; and I shall be hid from thy face, and I shall be unstable of dwelling, and fleeing about in (the) earth; therefore each man that shall find me shall slay me. (lo! today thou castest me out from the face of the earth; and I shall be hid from thy face, and I shall be of unstable dwelling, and fleeing about on the earth; and any man who findeth me shall slay me.)

15 And the Lord said to him, It shall not be done so, but each man that shall slay Cain shall be punished sevenfold. And the Lord set a sign in Cain, that each man that should find him should not slay him. (And the Lord said to him, It shall not be done so, but any man who shall kill Cain shall be punished seven times. And the Lord put a mark on Cain, so that any man who would find him would not kill him.)

16 And Cain went out from the face of the Lord, and dwelled fleeing about in [the] earth, at the east coast of Eden, that is, of (the) earthly paradise. (And so Cain went out from the face of the Lord, and lived in the land of Nod, to the east of the Garden of Eden, that is, to the east of Paradise on earth.)

17 Forsooth Cain knew his wife, which conceived, and childed Enoch; and Cain builded a city, and called the name thereof of the name of his son, Enoch (and Cain built a city, and named it after his son Enoch).

18 Forsooth Enoch begat Irad; and Irad begat Mehujael; and Mehujael begat Methusael; and Methusael begat Lamech;

19 that took two wives, the name to the one wife was Adah, and the name to the other was Zillah. (and Lamech took two wives, and his first wife was named Adah, and the other was named Zillah.)

20 And Adah begat Jabal, that was the father of (the) dwellers in tents, and of shepherds;

21 and the name of his brother was Jubal; he was the father of the singers in harp and organ. (and his brother’s name was Jubal; and he was the father of the players of harps and of organs.)

22 And Zillah begat Tubalcain, that was an hammer-beater, and [a] smith on all works of brass and of iron (who used a hammer, and was a smith of all things made out of bronze and of iron); forsooth the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.

23 And Lamech said to his wives, Adah and Zillah, Ye wives of Lamech, hear my voice, and harken (to) my word(s); for I have slain a man by my wound(ing), and a young waxing man by my violent beating (for I have killed a man with my wounding, and a young man with my violent beatings);

24 (if) vengeance shall be given sevenfold of Cain, forsooth of Lamech seventy times seven times. (if vengeance shall be given seven times for Cain, then for Lamech it shall be seventy-seven times.)

25 Also yet Adam knew his wife, and she childed a son, and called his name Seth[b], and said, God hath put to me another seed for Abel, whom Cain killed. (And Adam knew his wife, and she bare a son, and named him Seth, for Eve said, God hath given me another child for Abel, whom Cain killed.)

26 But also a son was born to Seth, which son he called Enos; this began to call inwardly the name of the Lord. (And a son was born to Seth, whom he called Enos; and his generation began to inwardly call on the Lord’s name.)

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 4:3 Not the first fruits, or the best, or it would have been so stated.
  2. Genesis 4:25 The name sounds like the Hebrew for “has given”.

Cain and Abel

Adam[a] made love to his wife(A) Eve,(B) and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain.[b](C) She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth[c] a man.” Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.(D)

Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.(E) In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering(F) to the Lord.(G) And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions(H) from some of the firstborn of his flock.(I) The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering,(J) but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry?(K) Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door;(L) it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.(M)

Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”[d] While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.(N)

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”(O)

“I don’t know,(P)” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

10 The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.(Q) 11 Now you are under a curse(R) and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you.(S) You will be a restless wanderer(T) on the earth.(U)

13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. 14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence;(V) I will be a restless wanderer on the earth,(W) and whoever finds me will kill me.”(X)

15 But the Lord said to him, “Not so[e]; anyone who kills Cain(Y) will suffer vengeance(Z) seven times over.(AA)” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. 16 So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence(AB) and lived in the land of Nod,[f] east of Eden.(AC)

17 Cain made love to his wife,(AD) and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city,(AE) and he named it after his son(AF) Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.

19 Lamech married(AG) two women,(AH) one named Adah and the other Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play stringed instruments(AI) and pipes.(AJ) 22 Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged(AK) all kinds of tools out of[g] bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain’s sister was Naamah.

23 Lamech said to his wives,

“Adah and Zillah, listen to me;
    wives of Lamech, hear my words.
I have killed(AL) a man for wounding me,
    a young man for injuring me.
24 If Cain is avenged(AM) seven times,(AN)
    then Lamech seventy-seven times.(AO)

25 Adam made love to his wife(AP) again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth,[h](AQ) saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.”(AR) 26 Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh.(AS)

At that time people began to call on[i] the name of the Lord.(AT)

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 4:1 Or The man
  2. Genesis 4:1 Cain sounds like the Hebrew for brought forth or acquired.
  3. Genesis 4:1 Or have acquired
  4. Genesis 4:8 Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Masoretic Text does not have “Let’s go out to the field.”
  5. Genesis 4:15 Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew Very well
  6. Genesis 4:16 Nod means wandering (see verses 12 and 14).
  7. Genesis 4:22 Or who instructed all who work in
  8. Genesis 4:25 Seth probably means granted.
  9. Genesis 4:26 Or to proclaim