Cain and Abel

4 Now Adam knew^[a] Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain. And she said, “I have given birth to a man with the help of Yahweh.” ² Then she bore^[b] his brother Abel. And Abel became a keeper of sheep, and Cain became a tiller of the ground. ³ And in the course of time^[c] Cain brought an offering from the fruit of the ground to Yahweh, ⁴ and Abel also brought an offering from the choicest firstlings of his flock.^[d] And Yahweh looked with favor to Abel and to his offering, ⁵ but to Cain and to his offering he did not look with favor. And Cain became very angry, and his face fell. ⁶ And Yahweh said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why is your face fallen? ⁷ If you do well will I not accept you?^[e] But if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. And its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”

⁸ Then^[f] Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out into the field.”^[g] And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. ⁹ Then^[h] Yahweh said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” ¹⁰ And he said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground. ¹¹ So now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive the blood of your brother from your hand. ¹² When you till the ground it shall no longer yield its strength to you.^[i] You shall be a wanderer and a fugitive on the earth.” ¹³ And Cain said to Yahweh, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. ¹⁴ Look, you have driven me out today from the face of the ground, and from your face I must hide. I will be a wanderer and a fugitive on the earth, and it will happen that whoever finds me will kill me.” ¹⁵ Then^[j] Yahweh said to him, “Therefore, whoever kills Cain will be avenged sevenfold.” Then^[k] Yahweh put a sign on Cain so that whoever found him would not kill him. ¹⁶ And Cain went out from the presence of Yahweh, and he settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.