Genesis 4:11-16
Easy-to-Read Version
10-11 Then the Lord said, “What have you done? You killed your brother and the ground opened up to take his blood from your hands. Now his blood is shouting to me from the ground. So you will be cursed from this ground. 12 Now when you work the soil, the ground will not help your plants grow. You will not have a home in this land. You will wander from place to place.”
13 Then Cain said to the Lord, “This punishment is more than I can bear! 14 You are forcing me to leave the land, and I will not be able to be near you or have a home! Now I must wander from place to place, and anyone I meet could kill me.”
15 Then the Lord said to Cain, “No, if anyone kills you, I will punish that person much, much more.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain to show that no one should kill him.
Cain’s Family
16 Cain went away from the Lord and lived in the land of Nod.[a]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 4:16 Nod This name means “wandering.”
Genesis 4:11-16
Amplified Bible
11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s [shed] blood from your hand.(A) 12 When you cultivate the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength [it will resist producing good crops] for you; you shall be a fugitive and a vagabond [roaming aimlessly] on the earth [in perpetual exile without a home, a degraded outcast].” 13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, You have driven me out this day from the face of the land; and from Your face (presence) I will be hidden, and I will be a fugitive and an [aimless] vagabond on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 And the Lord said to him, “[a]Therefore, whoever kills Cain, a sevenfold vengeance [that is, punishment seven times worse] shall be taken on him [by Me].” And the Lord set a [protective] [b]mark (sign) on Cain, so that no one who found (met) him would kill him.(B)
16 So Cain went away from the [manifested] presence of the Lord, and lived in the land of Nod [wandering in exile], east of Eden.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 4:15 Some ancient versions read, “Not so!”
- Genesis 4:15 Many commentators believe this sign not to have been like a brand on the forehead, but something awesome about Cain’s appearance that made people dread and avoid him. In the Talmud, the rabbis suggested several possibilities, including leprosy, boils, or a horn that grew out of Cain. But it was also suggested that Cain was given a pet dog to serve as a protective sign.
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