Genesis 4
4
Cain and Abel gave things to God
1Adam and Eve slept together, like a man does with his wife, and then Eve had a baby boy. Eve said, “God has helped me make another human.” So she gave him the name Cain. That name means make. 2After that, they had another son, and she gave him the name Abel.
Abel grew up, and he looked after sheep and goats all the time. Cain grew up, and he became a gardener. He dug the ground and grew plants for people to eat.
3One day, Cain brought a gift to give to God. He brought some food from his garden. 4And Abel brought a gift to give to God too. He gave God some of his young sheep and goats. They were the first ones born to their mothers. Abel brought the best bits of meat from those sheep and goats. And God was happy with Abel, and with his gift.#Hebrews 11:4 5But God was not happy with Cain, or with his gift. Then Cain got very angry. His face changed, and he looked very sad.
6God said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why do you look sad? 7If you do the right thing, I will be happy with you. But, if you don’t do the right thing, look out, you will always want to do more bad things. But you have to control yourself and stop doing bad things.”
8After that, Cain went to his brother, Abel, and said, “Let’s go for a walk.” So Cain and Abel went out bush together. While they were there, Cain hit his brother, and killed him dead.#Matthew 23:35; Luke 11:51; 1 John 3:12
9Later, God said to Cain, “Where is your brother, Abel?”
Cain said, “I don’t know where my brother is. It’s not my job to look after him.”
10God said to Cain, “You did a really bad thing. Your brother’s blood is on the ground. It’s like his blood is calling out to me. It is telling me you killed him.#Hebrews 12:24 11So now I’m going to curse you. You killed your brother, and his blood is on the ground. So I will make the ground bad for you. 12If you try to grow plants in the ground, nothing will grow for you. You will go away from me. And you will walk around in lots of places, but you will not have a home.”
13Cain said to God, “God, you are too hard on me. 14If you make me leave this land where I grow my food, and if you make me go away from you, and if you make me walk around everywhere, so I will not have a home, then somebody will find me and finish me.”
15God said, “I will not let that happen. I’ll tell everybody that if they kill you, then I will punish them 7 times more than I punished you.” So God put a mark on Cain’s head, so that everybody will know that they can’t kill him.
The people born into Cain’s family
16After that, Cain went away from God and went to live in a place called Nod. That country was on the east side of Eden. 17Cain slept with his wife, like married people do together, and then she had a baby boy, called Enok. Cain built a town, and he also called it Enok, after his son. 18Enok grew up, and he had a son, called Irad.
Irad grew up, and he had a son, called Mehujayel.
Mehujayel grew up, and he had a son, called Methushayel.
Methushayel grew up, and he had a son, called Lamek.
19Lamek grew up, and he married 2 women. One wife’s name was Adah, and the other wife’s name was Zillah.
20Lamek’s wife Adah had a baby boy, called Jabal. Jabal grew up and he was the first person to go around with mobs of cows and bulls, just living in a tent, not a house.
21Adah had another son, called Jubal. Jubal grew up and was the first person to play musical instruments. He played a harp and a flute.
22Lamek’s other wife, Zillah, had a son called Tubal Cain. Tubal Cain grew up and made tools from iron and from a brown metal called bronze.
Zillah also had a daughter, called Namah.
23One day, Lamek said to his 2 wives, “Adah and Zillah, listen to me properly. A young man hit me and hurt me, so I killed him dead. 24God said that if anyone killed Cain, he will punish that person 7 times more than he punished Cain. I reckon I’m more important than Cain. So if somebody kills me for killing that young man, I reckon God will punish that person 77 times more than he punished Cain.”#Matthew 18:22
Adam and Eve had another son
25Adam and Eve slept together again, like a man does with his wife, and they had another son, and they gave him the name Seth. That name means gave. Eve said, “God gave me another son to take the place of Abel, our son that Cain killed.”
26Seth grew up, and he had a son too, and he gave him the name Enosh. At that time people started to call God by his special name Yahweh when they showed respect to him.
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© 2021, Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc. All rights reserved.
Genesis 4
4
Cain and Abel
1The man Adam knew his wife Eve intimately. She became pregnant and gave birth to Cain, and said, “I have given life to#4.1 Or created; Heb sounds similar to Cain. a man with the LORD’s help.” 2She gave birth a second time to Cain’s brother Abel. Abel cared for the flocks, and Cain farmed the fertile land.
3Some time later, Cain presented an offering to the LORD from the land’s crops 4while Abel presented his flock’s oldest offspring with their fat. The LORD looked favorably on Abel and his sacrifice 5but didn’t look favorably on Cain and his sacrifice. Cain became very angry and looked resentful. 6The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why do you look so resentful? 7If you do the right thing, won’t you be accepted? But if you don’t do the right thing, sin will be waiting at the door ready to strike! It will entice you, but you must rule over it.”
8Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”#4.8 LXX, Syr, Vulg, Sam; MT lacks Let’s go out to the field. When they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
9The LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
Cain said, “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s guardian?”
10The LORD said, “What did you do? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. 11You are now cursed from the ground that opened its mouth to take your brother’s blood from your hand. 12When you farm the fertile land, it will no longer grow anything for you, and you will become a roving nomad on the earth.”
13Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is more than I can bear. 14Now that you’ve driven me away from the fertile land and I am hidden from your presence, I’m about to become a roving nomad on the earth, and anyone who finds me will kill me.”
15The LORD said to him, “It won’t happen;#4.15 LXX, Syr, Vulg; MT therefore anyone who kills Cain will be paid back seven times.” The LORD put a sign on Cain so that no one who found him would assault him. 16Cain left the LORD’s presence, and he settled down in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
Cain’s descendants
17Cain knew his wife intimately. She became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain built a city and named the city after his son Enoch.
18Irad was born to Enoch. Irad fathered Mehujael, Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. 19Lamech took two wives, the first named Adah and the second Zillah. 20Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the ancestor of those who live in tents and own livestock. 21His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the ancestor of those who play stringed and wind instruments. 22Zillah also gave birth to Tubal-cain, the ancestor of#4.22 Heb lacks the ancestor of. blacksmiths and all artisans of bronze and iron. Tubal-cain’s sister was Naamah.
23Lamech said to his wives,
“Adah and Zillah, listen to my voice;
wives of Lamech, pay attention to my words:
I killed a man for wounding me,
a boy for striking me;
24so Cain will be paid back seven times
and Lamech seventy-seven times.”
25Adam knew his wife intimately again, and she gave birth to a son. She named him Seth#4.25 Sounds like the Heb verb gave “because God has given me another child in place of Abel, whom Cain killed.” 26Seth also fathered a son and named him Enosh. At that time, people began to worship in the LORD’s name.
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