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The First Children: Cain and Abel

The man was intimate with Eve, his wife. She conceived and gave birth to Cain. She said, “I have gotten a man with the Lord.”[a] She also gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel.

Abel tended sheep, but Cain worked the ground. As time passed, one day Cain brought an offering to the Lord from the fruit of the soil. Abel also brought some of the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions. The Lord looked favorably on Abel and his offering, but he did not look favorably on Cain and his offering. Cain was very angry, and his face showed it.

The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why do you have that angry look on your face?[b] If you do good, will you not be lifted up? If you do not do good, sin is crouching at the door. It has a strong desire for you, but you must rule over it.”

Cain said to Abel, his brother, “Let’s go into the field.”[c] When they were in the field, Cain attacked Abel, his brother, and killed him.

The Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel, your brother?”

He said, “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”

10 The Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the soil. 11 Now you are cursed and sent away from the soil[d] which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the soil, it will no longer give its strength to you. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”

13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is too great for me to bear. 14 Look, today you have driven me away from the soil. I will be hidden from your face, and I will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth. And whoever finds me will kill me.”

15 The Lord said to him, “No![e] If anyone kills Cain, he will face sevenfold revenge.” And the Lord appointed a sign for[f] Cain, so that anyone who found him would not strike him down.

The Descendants of Cain

16 Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod,[g] east of Eden.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 4:1 Or, following Luther’s translation, I have gotten a man, the Lord. The Jerusalem Targum reads I have acquired a man, the Angel of the Lord. Cain means get or acquire.
  2. Genesis 4:6 Literally why has your face fallen
  3. Genesis 4:8 The words let’s go into the field, which are missing from the Hebrew text, are supplied from the ancient versions.
  4. Genesis 4:11 Here and in verse 14 the Hebrew word adamah, which can be translated ground or land, refers to the soil that Cain worked.
  5. Genesis 4:15 The translation no is supported by the ancient versions. The Hebrew reads very well then.
  6. Genesis 4:15 Or placed a mark on
  7. Genesis 4:16 Nod means wandering.

Psalm 66

How Awesome Are Your Deeds!

Heading
For the choir director. A song. A psalm.

Introduction: The Praise of the World

Shout praise to God, all the earth!
Make music to the glory of his name!
Make his praise glorious!
Say to God, “How awesome[a] are your deeds!”
Because of your great power your enemies must cower before you.
All the earth bows down to you.
They make music to you.
They make music to your name. Interlude

God’s Awesome Deeds Deliver His People

Come and see the works of God.
How awesome his deeds for all people!
He turned the sea into dry land.
They crossed through the river on foot.
Let us rejoice in him there.
He rules by his power forever.
His eyes watch the nations. Interlude
Do not let the rebellious rise up against him.
Bless our God, you peoples.
Let the sound of his praise be heard.
He is the one who has preserved our lives.
He did not let our feet slip.
10 Indeed, you tested us, God.
You refined us as silver is refined.
11 You led us into a trap.
You laid a burden on our backs.
12 You let men ride over our heads.
We went through fire and through water,
but you brought us out to a well-watered place.

His People’s Praise

13 I will come to your house with whole burnt offerings.
I will fulfill my vows to you,
14     which my lips uttered,
    which my mouth spoke during my trouble.
15 I will offer fat animals to you as whole burnt offerings,
    along with the smoke from rams. Interlude
I will offer cattle with goats.
16 Come, listen, all you who fear God,
and let me tell what he has done to save my life.
17 To him I cried out with my mouth.
High praise was on my tongue.
18 If I had contemplated evil in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened,
19 but God has surely listened.
He has paid attention to the sound of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God, who has not turned aside my prayer
or turned aside his mercy from me!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 66:3 Or astonishing

15 “If you love me, hold on to[a] my commands. 16 I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. 17 He is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it does not see him or know him. You know him because he stays with you and will be in you.

18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you. 19 In a little while the world will see me no longer, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 The one who has my commands and holds on to them is the one who loves me. And the one who loves me will be loved by my Father. I too will love him and show myself to him.”

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Footnotes

  1. John 14:15 Some witnesses to the text read you will hold on to.

13 Do not be surprised, brothers,[a] if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have crossed over from death to life, because we love our brothers. The one who does not love[b] remains in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him. 16 This is how we have come to know love: Jesus[c] laid down his life for us. And we also should lay down our lives for our brothers. 17 Whoever has worldly wealth and sees his brother in need but closes his heart against him—how can God’s love remain in him? 18 Dear children, let us love not only with word or with our tongue, but also in action and truth.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 John 3:13 When context indicates it, the Greek word for brothers may refer to all fellow believers, male and female.
  2. 1 John 3:14 Some witnesses to the text add his brother.
  3. 1 John 3:16 Literally that one