Genesis 4:1-16

Amplified Bible

Cain and Abel

4 Now the man ^[a]Adam knew Eve as his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have obtained a man (baby boy, son) with the help of the Lord.” ²And [later] she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept the flocks [of sheep and goats], but Cain cultivated the ground. ³And in the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground. ⁴But Abel brought [an offering of] the [finest] firstborn of his flock and the ^[b]fat portions. And the Lord had respect (regard) for Abel and for his offering;^(A) ⁵but for Cain and his offering He had no respect. So Cain became extremely angry (indignant), and ^[c]he looked annoyed and hostile. ⁶And the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you so angry? And why do you look annoyed? ⁷If you do well [believing Me and doing what is acceptable and pleasing to Me], will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well [but ignore My instruction], sin crouches at your door; its desire is for you [to overpower you], but you must master it.” ⁸Cain talked with Abel his brother [about what God had said]. And when they were [alone, working] in the field, Cain ^[d]attacked Abel his brother and killed him.^(B)

⁹Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he [lied and] said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” ¹⁰The Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s [innocent] blood is crying out to Me from the ground [for justice].^(C) ¹¹And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s [shed] blood from your hand.^(D) ¹²When 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].” ¹³Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. ¹⁴Behold, 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.” ¹⁵And the Lord said to him, “^[e]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] ^[f]mark (sign) on Cain, so that no one who found (met) him would kill him.^(E)

¹⁶So Cain went away from the [manifested] presence of the Lord, and lived in the land of Nod [wandering in exile], east of Eden.

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Footnotes

Genesis 4:1 The name Adam is the Hebrew word for “man,” so when the word is used with the article (“the”) as it is here, it can be inferred that the writer (Moses) is referring to Adam as “the man.”
Genesis 4:4 That is, the fat that covered the entrails of the animals. Later, in the Mosaic Law, the Israelites were forbidden to eat this fat (Lev 7:23), which was reserved as an offering to God, especially for sin (Lev 4:8, 26, 35; 9:10; 16:25).
Genesis 4:5 Lit his countenance fell.
Genesis 4:8 Lit rose up against.
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.