Genesis 4:8-26

New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised

⁸ Cain said to his brother Abel, ‘Let us go out to the field.’^[a] And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. ⁹ Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is your brother Abel?’ He said, ‘I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?’ ¹⁰ And the Lord said, ‘What have you done? Listen; your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground! ¹¹ And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. ¹² When you till the ground, it will no longer yield to you its strength; you will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.’ ¹³ Cain said to the Lord, ‘My punishment is greater than I can bear! ¹⁴ Today you have driven me away from the soil, and I shall be hidden from your face; I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and anyone who meets me may kill me.’ ¹⁵ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Not so!^[b] Whoever kills Cain will suffer a sevenfold vengeance.’ And the Lord put a mark on Cain, so that no one who came upon him would kill him. ¹⁶ Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord, and settled in the land of Nod,^[c] east of Eden.

Beginnings of Civilization

¹⁷ Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch; and he built a city, and named it Enoch after his son Enoch. ¹⁸ To Enoch was born Irad; and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael the father of Methushael, and Methushael the father of Lamech. ¹⁹ Lamech took two wives; the name of one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. ²⁰ Adah bore Jabal; he was the ancestor of those who live in tents and have livestock. ²¹ His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the ancestor of all those who play the lyre and pipe. ²² Zillah bore Tubal-cain, who made all kinds of bronze and iron tools. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

²³ Lamech said to his wives:

²⁵ Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, for she said, ‘God has appointed^[d] for me another child instead of Abel, because Cain killed him.’ ²⁶ To Seth also a son was born, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to invoke the name of the Lord.