Genesis 4
Lexham English Bible
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.
17 And Cain knew[l] his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. And when he built a city he named the city after his son, Enoch.[m] 18 And to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. 19 And Lamech took to himself two wives.[n] The name of the first was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah. 20 And Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and those who have livestock. 21 And the name of his brother was Jubal; he was the father of all who play stringed instruments and wind instruments. 22 Then[o] Zillah also gave birth to Tubal-Cain who forged all kinds of tools of bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.
23 Then[p] Lamech said to his wives,
“Adah and Zillah, listen to my voice;
O wives of Lamech, hear my words.
I have killed a man for wounding me,
Even a young man for injuring me.
24 If Cain is avenged sevenfold,
Then Lamech will be avenged seventy and seven times.
25 Then[q] Adam knew[r] his wife again, and she gave birth to a son. And she called his name Seth, for she said “God has appointed to me another child in the place of Abel, because Cain killed him.” 26 And as for Seth, he also fathered a son, and he called his name Enosh. At that time he[s] began to call on the name of Yahweh.
Footnotes
- Genesis 4:1 Or “had intercourse with”
- Genesis 4:2 Literally “And she added to bear”
- Genesis 4:3 Literally “it came to pass at the end of days”
- Genesis 4:4 Literally “from the firstlings of his flock and from their fat”
- Genesis 4:7 Literally “a lifting up”; this is an abbreviation of the Hebrew idiom “to lift up the face,” which means “to accept or regard with favor”
- Genesis 4:8 Or “And”
- Genesis 4:8 This phrase is not present in the Hebrew; it is supplied in other versions Samaritan, Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate
- Genesis 4:9 Or “And”
- Genesis 4:12 Literally “it shall not add to give its strength to you”
- Genesis 4:15 Or “And”
- Genesis 4:15 Or “And”
- Genesis 4:17 Or “had intercourse with”
- Genesis 4:17 Literally “he called the name of the city as the name of his son, Enoch”
- Genesis 4:19 Or “women”
- Genesis 4:22 Or “And”
- Genesis 4:23 Or “And”
- Genesis 4:25 Or “And”
- Genesis 4:25 Or “had intercourse with”
- Genesis 4:26 Or “humankind,” if the 3ms form is considered collective
Genesis 4
New American Standard Bible
Cain and Abel
4 Now the man [a]had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have obtained a male child with the help of the Lord.” 2 And again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now (A)Abel was (B)a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a cultivator of the ground. 3 So it came about [b]in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord from the fruit of the ground. 4 (C)Abel, on his part also brought an offering, from the firstborn of his flock and from their fat portions. And (D)the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering; 5 but (E)for Cain and his offering He had no regard. So (F)Cain became very angry and his face [c]was gloomy. 6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “(G)Why are you angry? And why is your face [d]gloomy? 7 (H)If you do well, [e]will your face not be [f]cheerful? (I)And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; and its desire is for you, (J)but you must master it.” 8 Cain [g]talked to his brother Abel; and it happened that when they were in the field Cain rose up against his brother Abel and (K)killed him.
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “(L)Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 Then He said, “What have you done? (M)The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to Me from the ground. 11 Now (N)you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 (O)When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; (P)you will be a wanderer and a drifter on the earth.” 13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is too great to endure! 14 Behold, You have (Q)driven me this day from the face of the ground; and I will be hidden from Your face, and (R)I will be a wanderer and a drifter on the earth, and (S)whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 So the Lord said to him, “Therefore whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him (T)seven times as much.” And the Lord [h](U)placed a mark on Cain, so that no one finding him would kill him.
16 Then Cain left the presence (V)of the Lord, and [i]settled in the land of [j]Nod, east of Eden.
17 Cain [k]had relations with his wife and she conceived, and gave birth to Enoch; and Cain built a city, and named the city Enoch, after the name of his son. 18 Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. 19 Lamech took (W)two wives for himself: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other, Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and have livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and flute. 22 As for Zillah, she also gave birth to Tubal-cain, the forger of all implements of bronze and iron; and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.
23 Lamech said to his wives,
“Adah and Zillah,
Listen to my voice,
You wives of Lamech,
Pay attention to my words,
(X)For I have killed a man for wounding me;
And a boy for striking me!
24 If Cain is avenged (Y)seven times,
Then Lamech seventy-seven times!”
25 (Z)Adam [l]had relations with his wife again; and she gave birth to a son, and named him [m]Seth, for, she said, “God [n]has appointed me another [o]child in place of Abel, (AA)because Cain killed him.” 26 To Seth also (AB)a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then people began (AC)to call [p]upon the name of the Lord.
Footnotes
- Genesis 4:1 Lit knew his
- Genesis 4:3 Lit at the end of days
- Genesis 4:5 Lit fell
- Genesis 4:6 Lit fallen
- Genesis 4:7 Or you will certainly be accepted
- Genesis 4:7 Lit lifted up
- Genesis 4:8 Lit said to
- Genesis 4:15 Or set a sign for
- Genesis 4:16 Lit dwelt
- Genesis 4:16 I.e., wandering
- Genesis 4:17 Lit knew his
- Genesis 4:25 Lit knew his
- Genesis 4:25 Heb Sheth
- Genesis 4:25 Heb shath
- Genesis 4:25 Lit seed
- Genesis 4:26 Or by
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