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The Bible in Basic English VersionGenesis Chapter 4 1 And the man had connection with Eve his wife, and she became with child and gave birth to Cain, and said, I have got a man from the Lord. 2 Then again she became with child and gave birth to Abel, his brother. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a farmer. 3 And after a time, Cain gave to the Lord an offering of the fruits of the earth. 4 And Abel gave an offering of the young lambs of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord was pleased with Abel's offering; 5 But in Cain and his offering he had no pleasure. And Cain was angry and his face became sad. 6 And the Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry? and why is your face sad? 7 If you do well, will you not have honour? and if you do wrong, sin is waiting at the door, desiring to have you, but do not let it be your master. 8 And Cain said to his brother, Let us go into the field: and when they were in the field, Cain made an attack on his brother Abel and put him to death. 9 And the Lord said to Cain, Where is your brother Abel? And he said, I have no idea: am I my brother's keeper? 10 And he said, What have you done? the voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the earth. 11 And now you are cursed from the earth, whose mouth is open to take your brother's blood from your hand; 12 No longer will the earth give you her fruit as the reward of your work; you will be a wanderer in flight over the earth. 13 And Cain said, My punishment is greater than my strength. 14 You have sent me out this day from the face of the earth and from before your face; I will be a wanderer in flight over the earth, and whoever sees me will put me to death. 15 And the Lord said, Truly, if Cain is put to death, seven lives will be taken for his. And the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one might put him to death. 16 And Cain went away from before the face of the Lord, and made his living-place in the land of Nod on the east of Eden. 17 And Cain had connection with his wife and she became with child and gave birth to Enoch: and he made a town, and gave the town the name of Enoch after his son. 18 And Enoch had a son Irad: and Irad became the father of Mehujael: and Mehujael became the father of Methushael: and Methushael became the father of Lamech. 19 And Lamech had two wives; the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. 20 And Adah gave birth to Jabal: he was the father of such as are living in tents and keep cattle. 21 And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all players on instruments of music. 22 And Zillah gave birth to Tubal-cain, who is the father of every maker of cutting instruments of brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah. 23 And Lamech said to his wives, Adah and Zillah, give ear to my voice; you wives of Lamech, give attention to my words, for I would put a man to death for a wound, and a young man for a blow; 24 If seven lives are to be taken as punishment for Cain's death, seventy-seven will be taken for Lamech's. 25 And Adam had connection with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son to whom she gave the name of Seth: for she said, God has given me another seed in place of Abel, whom Cain put to death. 26 And Seth had a son, and he gave him the name of Enosh: at this time men first made use of the name of the Lord in worship. Click a link to see an entire chapter       Articles that contain references to Genesis 411 results found for Genesis 4: Show Genesis 4 in other versions: ASV BBE DBY GFR KJV WEB YLT ESV | Jamison Bible CommentaryGenesis Chapter 4 1 Ge 4:1-26. Birth of Cain and Abel. 1. Eve said, I have gotten a man from the Lord that is, "by the help of the Lord"an expression of pious gratitudeand she called him Cain, that is, "a possession," as if valued above everything else; while the arrival of another son reminding Eve of the misery she had entailed on her offspring, led to the name Abel, that is, either weakness, vanity (Ps 39:5), or grief, lamentation. Cain and Abel were probably twins; and it is thought that, at this early period, children were born in pairs (Calvin]. 2 2. Abel was a keeper of sheep literally, "a feeder of a flock," which, in Oriental countries, always includes goats as well as sheep. Abel, though the younger, is mentioned first, probably on account of the pre-eminence of his religious character. 3 3. in process of timeHebrew, "at the end of days," probably on the Sabbath. brought an offering unto the Lord Both manifested, by the very act of offering, their faith in the being of God and in His claims to their reverence and worship; and had the kind of offering been left to themselves, what more natural than that the one should bring "of the fruits of the ground," and that the other should bring "of the firstlings of his flock and the fat thereof" [Ge 4:4]. 4 4. the Lord had respect unto Abel, not unto Cain, c.The words, "had respect to," signify in Hebrew,"to look at any thing with a keen earnest glance," which has been translated, "kindle into a fire," so that the divine approval of Abel's offering was shown in its being consumed by fire (see Ge 15:17; Jud 13:20). 5 No commentary on this verse 6 No commentary on this verse 7 7. If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? A better rendering is, "Shalt thou not have the excellency"? which is the true sense of the words referring to the high privileges and authority belonging to the first-born in patriarchal times. sin lieth at the door sin, that is, a sin offeringa common meaning of the word in Scripture (as in Ho 4:8; 2Co 5:21; Heb 9:28). The purport of the divine rebuke to Cain was this, "Why art thou angry, as if unjustly treated? If thou doest well (that is, wert innocent and sinless) a thank offering would have been accepted as a token of thy dependence as a creature. But as thou doest not well (that is, art a sinner), a sin offering is necessary, by bringing which thou wouldest have met with acceptance and retained the honors of thy birthright." This language implies that previous instructions had been given as to the mode of worship; Abel offered through faith (Heb 11:4). unto thee shall be his desire The high distinction conferred by priority of birth is described (Ge 27:29); and it was Cain's conviction, that this honor had been withdrawn from him, by the rejection of his sacrifice, and conferred on his younger brotherhence the secret flame of jealousy, which kindled into a settled hatred and fell revenge. 8 8. And Cain talked with Abel his brother Under the guise of brotherly familiarity, he concealed his premeditated purpose till a convenient time and place occurred for the murder (1Jo 3:12; Jude 11). 9 9. I know not a falsehood. One sin leads to another. 10 10. the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me Cain, to lull suspicion, had probably been engaging in the solemnities of religion when he was challenged directly from the Shekinah itself. 11 11, 12. now art thou cursed from the earth a curse superadded to the general one denounced on the ground for Adam's sin. 12 12. a fugitive condemned to perpetual exile; a degraded outcast; the miserable victim of an accusing conscience. 13 13, 14. And Cain said My punishment is greater than I can bear What an overwhelming sense of misery; but no sign of penitence, nor cry for pardon. 14 14. every one that findeth me shall slay me This shows that the population of the world was now considerably increased. 15 15. whosoever slayeth Cain By a special act of divine forbearance, the life of Cain was to be spared in the then small state of the human race. set a mark not any visible mark or brand on his forehead, but some sign or token of assurance that his life would be preserved. This sign is thought by the best writers to have been a wild ferocity of aspect that rendered him an object of universal horror and avoidance. 16 16. presence of the Lord the appointed place of worship at Eden. Leaving it, he not only severed himself from his relatives but forsook the ordinances of religion, probably casting off all fear of God from his eyes so that the last end of this man is worse than the first (Mt 12:45). land of Nod of flight or exilethought by many to have been Arabia-Petræawhich was cursed to sterility on his account. 17 17-22. builded a city It has been in cities that the human race has ever made the greatest social progress; and several of Cain's descendants distinguished themselves by their inventive genius in the arts. 19 19. Lamech took unto him two wives This is the first transgression of the law of marriage on record, and the practice of polygamy, like all other breaches of God's institutions, has been a fruitful source of corruption and misery. 23 23, 24. Lamech said unto his wives This speech is in a poetical form, probably the fragment of an old poem, transmitted to the time of Moses. It seems to indicate that Lamech had slain a man in self-defense, and its drift is to assure his wives, by the preservation of Cain, that an unintentional homicide, as he was, could be in no danger. 26 26. men began to call upon the name of the Lord rather, by the name of the Lord. God's people, a name probably applied to them in contempt by the world. Click a link to see an entire chapter Show Genesis 4 in other versions: ASV BBE DBY GFR KJV WEB YLT ESV |