Genesis 4:1-16
American Standard Version
4 And the man knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have [a]gotten a man with the help of Jehovah. 2 And again she bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto Jehovah. 4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And Jehovah had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5 but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 6 And Jehovah said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7 If thou doest well, shall it not be lifted up? and if thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door; and unto thee shall be its desire; but do thou rule over it. 8 And Cain [b]told Abel his brother. And it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
9 And Jehovah said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: am I my brother’s keeper? 10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. 11 And now cursed art thou from the ground, which hath opened its mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; 12 when thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee its strength; a fugitive and a wanderer shalt thou be in the earth. 13 And Cain said unto Jehovah, [c]My punishment is greater [d]than I can bear. 14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the ground; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth; and it will come to pass, that whosoever findeth me will slay me. 15 And Jehovah said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And Jehovah appointed a sign for Cain, lest any finding him should smite him.
16 And Cain went out from the presence of Jehovah, and dwelt in the land of [e]Nod, [f]on the east of Eden.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 4:1 Hebrew kanah, to get.
- Genesis 4:8 Hebrew said unto.
- Genesis 4:13 Or, Mine iniquity
- Genesis 4:13 Or, than can be forgiven
- Genesis 4:16 That is, Wandering.
- Genesis 4:16 Or, in front of
Genesis 4:1-16
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.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 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”
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