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Forsooth Adam knew Eve his wife, which conceived, and childed Cain, and said, I have gotten a man by God. (And Adam knew his wife Eve, who conceived, and bare Cain, and she said, Now, with the Lord’s help, I have begotten a man.)

And again she childed his brother Abel. Forsooth Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain was an earth-tiller. (And then she bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a shepherd, and Cain was a farmer, who worked the soil.)

Soothly it was done after many days, that Cain offered gifts to the Lord of the fruits of the earth[a];

and Abel offered of the first engendered of his flock, and of the fatness of those. And the Lord beheld to Abel and to the gifts of him;

soothly he beheld not to Cain and to his gifts. And Cain was wroth greatly, and his cheer felled down (And Cain was greatly angered, and his face fell).

And the Lord said to him, Why art thou wroth, and why felled down thy face?

Whether not if thou shalt do well, thou shalt receive well; but if thou doest evil, thy sin shall be present anon in the gates? but the desire thereof, that is, of sin, shall be under thee, and thou shalt be lord thereof. (If thou shalt do well, then thou shalt be accepted; but if thou doest evil, then at once thy sin shall be present at the gates, and the desire of sin shall take thee under, and so thou must be lord of it, or rule over it.)

And Cain said to Abel, his brother, Go we out (But then Cain said to his brother Abel, Walk with me). And when they were in the field, Cain rose (up) against his brother Abel, and killed him.

And the Lord said to Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? Which answered, I know not; whether I am the keeper of my brother? (And the Lord said to Cain, Where is thy brother Abel? And he answered, How do I know; am I my brother’s keeper?)

10 And God said to Cain, What hast thou done? the voice of the blood of thy brother crieth to me from [the] earth (the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth out to me from the earth).

11 Now therefore thou shalt be cursed on [the] earth, that opened his mouth, and received of thine hand the blood of thy brother. (And so now thou shalt be cursed on the earth, that hath opened its mouth, and received thy brother’s blood from thy hand.)

12 When thou shalt work the earth, it shall not give his fruits to thee; thou shalt be unstable of dwelling, and fleeing about on [the] earth, in all the days of thy life. (When thou shalt work the earth, it shall not give its fruits to thee; thou shalt be of unstable dwelling, and fleeing about on the earth, all the days of thy life.)

13 And Cain said to the Lord, My wickedness is more than that I deserve forgiveness (for); (And Cain said to the Lord, My punishment is more than that I can bear;)

14 lo! today thou castest me out from the face of the earth; and I shall be hid from thy face, and I shall be unstable of dwelling, and fleeing about in (the) earth; therefore each man that shall find me shall slay me. (lo! today thou castest me out from the face of the earth; and I shall be hid from thy face, and I shall be of unstable dwelling, and fleeing about on the earth; and any man who findeth me shall slay me.)

15 And the Lord said to him, It shall not be done so, but each man that shall slay Cain shall be punished sevenfold. And the Lord set a sign in Cain, that each man that should find him should not slay him. (And the Lord said to him, It shall not be done so, but any man who shall kill Cain shall be punished seven times. And the Lord put a mark on Cain, so that any man who would find him would not kill him.)

16 And Cain went out from the face of the Lord, and dwelled fleeing about in [the] earth, at the east coast of Eden, that is, of (the) earthly paradise. (And so Cain went out from the face of the Lord, and lived in the land of Nod, to the east of the Garden of Eden, that is, to the east of Paradise on earth.)

17 Forsooth Cain knew his wife, which conceived, and childed Enoch; and Cain builded a city, and called the name thereof of the name of his son, Enoch (and Cain built a city, and named it after his son Enoch).

18 Forsooth Enoch begat Irad; and Irad begat Mehujael; and Mehujael begat Methusael; and Methusael begat Lamech;

19 that took two wives, the name to the one wife was Adah, and the name to the other was Zillah. (and Lamech took two wives, and his first wife was named Adah, and the other was named Zillah.)

20 And Adah begat Jabal, that was the father of (the) dwellers in tents, and of shepherds;

21 and the name of his brother was Jubal; he was the father of the singers in harp and organ. (and his brother’s name was Jubal; and he was the father of the players of harps and of organs.)

22 And Zillah begat Tubalcain, that was an hammer-beater, and [a] smith on all works of brass and of iron (who used a hammer, and was a smith of all things made out of bronze and of iron); forsooth the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.

23 And Lamech said to his wives, Adah and Zillah, Ye wives of Lamech, hear my voice, and harken (to) my word(s); for I have slain a man by my wound(ing), and a young waxing man by my violent beating (for I have killed a man with my wounding, and a young man with my violent beatings);

24 (if) vengeance shall be given sevenfold of Cain, forsooth of Lamech seventy times seven times. (if vengeance shall be given seven times for Cain, then for Lamech it shall be seventy-seven times.)

25 Also yet Adam knew his wife, and she childed a son, and called his name Seth[b], and said, God hath put to me another seed for Abel, whom Cain killed. (And Adam knew his wife, and she bare a son, and named him Seth, for Eve said, God hath given me another child for Abel, whom Cain killed.)

26 But also a son was born to Seth, which son he called Enos; this began to call inwardly the name of the Lord. (And a son was born to Seth, whom he called Enos; and his generation began to inwardly call on the Lord’s name.)

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 4:3 Not the first fruits, or the best, or it would have been so stated.
  2. Genesis 4:25 The name sounds like the Hebrew for “has given”.

Cain and Abel

Adam[a] made love to his wife(A) Eve,(B) and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain.[b](C) She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth[c] a man.” Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.(D)

Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.(E) In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering(F) to the Lord.(G) And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions(H) from some of the firstborn of his flock.(I) The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering,(J) but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry?(K) Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door;(L) it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.(M)

Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”[d] While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.(N)

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”(O)

“I don’t know,(P)” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

10 The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.(Q) 11 Now you are under a curse(R) and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you.(S) You will be a restless wanderer(T) on the earth.(U)

13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. 14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence;(V) I will be a restless wanderer on the earth,(W) and whoever finds me will kill me.”(X)

15 But the Lord said to him, “Not so[e]; anyone who kills Cain(Y) will suffer vengeance(Z) seven times over.(AA)” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. 16 So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence(AB) and lived in the land of Nod,[f] east of Eden.(AC)

17 Cain made love to his wife,(AD) and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city,(AE) and he named it after his son(AF) Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.

19 Lamech married(AG) two women,(AH) one named Adah and the other Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play stringed instruments(AI) and pipes.(AJ) 22 Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged(AK) all kinds of tools out of[g] bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain’s sister was Naamah.

23 Lamech said to his wives,

“Adah and Zillah, listen to me;
    wives of Lamech, hear my words.
I have killed(AL) a man for wounding me,
    a young man for injuring me.
24 If Cain is avenged(AM) seven times,(AN)
    then Lamech seventy-seven times.(AO)

25 Adam made love to his wife(AP) again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth,[h](AQ) saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.”(AR) 26 Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh.(AS)

At that time people began to call on[i] the name of the Lord.(AT)

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 4:1 Or The man
  2. Genesis 4:1 Cain sounds like the Hebrew for brought forth or acquired.
  3. Genesis 4:1 Or have acquired
  4. Genesis 4:8 Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Masoretic Text does not have “Let’s go out to the field.”
  5. Genesis 4:15 Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew Very well
  6. Genesis 4:16 Nod means wandering (see verses 12 and 14).
  7. Genesis 4:22 Or who instructed all who work in
  8. Genesis 4:25 Seth probably means granted.
  9. Genesis 4:26 Or to proclaim

And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.

And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.

And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?

If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

And Cain talked with 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.

And the Lord 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 art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;

12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

13 And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear.

14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.

15 And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.

16 And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.

17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.

18 And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.

19 And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.

20 And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle.

21 And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.

22 And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.

23 And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.

24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.

25 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.

26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.