< Genesis 4 >

1 And the man knew Eve his wife, and she conceived, and bore Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from Jehovah.
Adam slept with his wife Eve and she became pregnant. She gave birth to Cain, and said, “With the Lord's help I have made a man.”
2 And again she bore his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Abel became a shepherd, while Cain was a crop farmer.
3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought an offering to Jehovah of the fruit of the ground.
Sometime later Cain brought some of the produce he'd grown as an offering to the Lord.
4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat of it. And Jehovah had respect to Abel and to his offering,
Abel also brought an offering: the firstborn lambs of his flock, selecting the very best parts to offer. The Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering,
5 but he did not have respect to Cain and to his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
but he wasn't pleased with Cain and his offering, which made Cain very angry and he frowned in annoyance.
6 And Jehovah said to Cain, Why are thou angry? And why has thy countenance fallen?
The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you so angry? Why do you look so annoyed?
7 If thou do well, shall thou not be accepted? And if thou do not well, sin crouches at the door. Its desire shall be for thee, and thou shall rule over it.
If you were doing what's right, then you'd be looking happy. But if you don't do what's right, then sin will be like animal crouching outside your home, ready to pounce on you. It wants to have you, but you must be the one in control.”
8 And Cain told Abel his brother. And it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and killed him.
Later, when Cain was talking with his brother Abel they went out into the fields where Cain attacked his brother and killed him.
9 And Jehovah said to Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not. Am I my brother's keeper?
“Where is your brother Abel?” the Lord asked Cain. “How should I know?” he replied. “Am I supposed to be my brother's care-giver?”
10 And he said, What have thou done? The voice of thy brother's blood cries to me from the ground.
“What have you done?” the Lord asked. “Your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground.
11 And now cursed are thou from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand.
Consequently you are more cursed than the ground because you soaked it with your brother's blood.
12 When thou till the ground, it shall not henceforth yield to thee its strength. A fugitive and a wanderer thou shall be on the earth.
When you cultivate the ground, it won't produce crops for you. You'll be always on the run, wandering all over the earth.”
13 And Cain said to Jehovah, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
“My punishment is more than I can take,” Cain replied.
14 Behold, thou have driven me out this day from the face of the ground, and I shall be hid from thy face, and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth. And it shall come to pass, that whoever finds me shall slay me.
“Look! You're driving me away right now—cursing the ground and banishing me from your presence. I'm going to have to hide and always be on the run, left to wander all over the earth. Anyone who finds me is going to kill me!”
15 And Jehovah said to him, Therefore whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And Jehovah appointed a sign for Cain, lest any who finds him should smite him.
But the Lord replied, “No, Cain. Anyone who kills you will be punished seven times over.” The Lord placed a mark on Cain so that no one who came across him would kill him.
16 And Cain went out from the presence of Jehovah, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
So Cain left the Lord's presence and went to live in a land called Nod, east of Eden.
17 And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived, and bore Enoch. And Cain built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch.
Cain slept with his wife and she became pregnant. She had a son named Enoch. At that time Cain was building a town, so he named it after his son Enoch.
18 And to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad begot Mehujael, and Mehujael begot Methushael, and Methushael begot Lamech.
Enoch had a son named Irad. Irad was the father of Mehujael, Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.
19 And Lamech took to him two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.
Lamech married two women. The first was named Adah, and the second was named Zillah.
20 And Adah bore Jabal. He was the father of such as dwell in tents and have cattle.
Adah had a son named Jabal. He was the father of those who live in tents and have livestock.
21 And his brother's name was Jubal. He was the father of all such as handle the harp and pipe.
He had a brother named Jubal; he was the father of all those who play stringed and wind instruments.
22 And Zillah, she also bore Tubal-cain, the forger of every cutting instrument of brass and iron. And the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.
Zillah also had a son. He was named Tubal-cain and he was a blacksmith, making different kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. Tubal-cain's sister was named Naamah.
23 And Lamech said to his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice, ye wives of Lamech, hearken to my speech. For I have killed a man for wounding me, and a young man for bruising me.
At one time Lamech told his wives, “Adah and Zillah, listen to me. You wives of Lamech, pay attention to what I have to say. I killed a man because he wounded me; I killed a young man because he injured me.
24 If Cain shall be avenged seven fold, truly Lamech seventy-seven fold.
If the sentence for killing Cain was to be punished seven times over, then if someone kills me, Lamech, the punishment should be seventy-seven times.”
25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son, and called his name Seth. For, she said, God has appointed for me another seed instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.
Adam slept with his wife again, and she had a son and named him Seth, explaining that, “God has given me another child to replace Abel, the one Cain killed.”
26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son, and he called his name Enosh. Then men began to call upon the name of Jehovah.
Later Seth had a son named Enosh, because at that time people began to worship the Lord by name.

< Genesis 4 >