Cain and Abel

4 Now the man ^[a]Adam knew Eve as his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have obtained a man (baby boy, son) with the help of the Lord.” ² And [later] she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept the flocks [of sheep and goats], but Cain cultivated the ground. ³ And in the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground. ⁴ But Abel brought [an offering of] the [finest] firstborn of his flock and the ^[b]fat portions. And the Lord had respect (regard) for Abel and for his offering;^{(A) 5} but for Cain and his offering He had no respect. So Cain became extremely angry (indignant), and ^[c]he looked annoyed and hostile. ⁶ And the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you so angry? And why do you look annoyed? ⁷ If you do well [believing Me and doing what is acceptable and pleasing to Me], will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well [but ignore My instruction], sin crouches at your door; its desire is for you [to overpower you], but you must master it.” ⁸ Cain talked with Abel his brother [about what God had said]. And when they were [alone, working] in the field, Cain ^[d]attacked Abel his brother and killed him.^(B)

⁹ Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he [lied and] said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” ¹⁰ The Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s [innocent] blood is crying out to Me from the ground [for justice].^{(C) 11} And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s [shed] blood from your hand.^{(D) 12} When you cultivate the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength [it will resist producing good crops] for you; you shall be a fugitive and a vagabond [roaming aimlessly] on the earth [in perpetual exile without a home, a degraded outcast].” ¹³ Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.