Logos Bible Study

Genesis 4:9–10

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4:9Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”24 And he replied, “I don’t know! Am I my brother’s guardian?”25 4:10But the Lord said, “What have you done?26 The voice27 of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground!

Read in Logos
Genesis 4:9: Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?”

Footnotes

  1. 24 Where is Abel your brother? Again the Lord confronts a guilty sinner with a rhetorical question (see Gen 3:9–13), asking for an explanation of what has happened.
  2. 25 Heb “The one guarding my brother [am] I?” Am I my brother’s guardian? Cain lies and then responds with a defiant rhetorical question of his own in which he repudiates any responsibility for his brother. But his question is ironic, for he is responsible for his brother’s fate, especially if he wanted to kill him. See P. A. Riemann, “Am I My Brother’s Keeper?” 24 (1970): 482–91.
  3. 26 What have you done? Again the Lord’s question is rhetorical (see Gen 3:13), condemning Cain for his sin.
  4. 27 The word “voice” is a personification; the evidence of Abel’s shed blood condemns Cain, just as a human eyewitness would testify in court. For helpful insights, see G. von Rad, Biblical Interpretations in Preaching; and L. Morris, “The Biblical Use of the Term ‘Blood,’ ” 6 (1955/56): 77–82.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

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

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

The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

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

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

Then he said, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground!

NLTNew Living Translation

Afterward the Lord asked Cain, “Where is your brother? Where is Abel?”

“I don’t know,” Cain responded. “Am I my brother’s guardian?”

But the Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground!

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Then Yahweh said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” And he said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground.

KJV 1900King James Version

And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.