Genesis 4:8–26

⁸Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” ^xAnd while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. ^y

⁹Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s guardian?”

¹⁰Then He said, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground! ^z11So now you are cursed, alienated, from the ground that opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood you have shed. ^a12If you work the ground, it will never again give you its yield. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.” ^b

¹³But Cain answered the Lord, “My punishment ^cis too great to bear! ¹⁴Since You are banishing me today from the soil, and I must hide myself from Your presence and become a restless wanderer on the earth, whoever finds me will kill me.” ^d

¹⁵Then the Lord replied to him, “In that case, ^ewhoever kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” ^fAnd He placed a mark ^gon Cain so that whoever found him would not kill him. ¹⁶Then Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

The Line of Cain

¹⁷Cain was intimate with his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. Then Cain became the builder of a city, and he named the city Enoch after his son. ¹⁸Irad was born to Enoch, Irad fathered Mehujael, Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. ¹⁹Lamech took two wives for himself, one named Adah and the other named Zillah. ²⁰Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of the nomadic herdsmen. ^h21His brother was named Jubal; he was the father of all who play the lyre and the flute. ²²Zillah bore Tubal-cain, who made all kinds of bronze and iron tools. Tubal-cain’s sister was Naamah.

²³Lamech said to his wives:

Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;

wives of Lamech, pay attention to my words.

For I killed a man for wounding me,

a young man for striking me.

²⁴If Cain is to be avenged seven times over,

then for Lamech it will be seventy-seven times!

²⁵Adam was intimate with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, for she said, “God has given ⁱme another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.” ²⁶A son was born to Seth ^jalso, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of Yahweh. ^k