Genesis 4–6

Cain and Abel

4Adam^a made love to his wife^z Eve,^a and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain.^bb She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth^c a man.” ²Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.^c

Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.^{d 3}In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering^e to the Lord.^{f 4}And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions^g from some of the firstborn of his flock.^h The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering,^{i 5}but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

⁶Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry?^j Why is your face downcast? ⁷If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door;^k it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.^l”

⁸Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”^d While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.^m

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

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

¹⁰The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.^{p 11}Now you are under a curse^q and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. ¹²When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you.^r You will be a restless wanderer^s on the earth.^t”

¹³Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. ¹⁴Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence;^u I will be a restless wanderer on the earth,^v and whoever finds me will kill me.”^w

¹⁵But the Lord said to him, “Not so^e; anyone who kills Cain^x will suffer vengeance^y seven times over.^z” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. ¹⁶So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence^a and lived in the land of Nod,^f east of Eden.^b

¹⁷Cain made love to his wife,^c and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city,^d and he named it after his son^e Enoch. ¹⁸To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.

¹⁹Lamech married^f two women,^g one named Adah and the other Zillah. ²⁰Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. ²¹His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play stringed instruments^h and pipes.^{i 22}Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged^j all kinds of tools out of^g bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain’s sister was Naamah.

²³Lamech said to his wives,

“Adah and Zillah, listen to me;

wives of Lamech, hear my words.

I have killed^k a man for wounding me,

a young man for injuring me.

²⁴If Cain is avenged^l seven times,^m

then Lamech seventy-seven times.ⁿ”

²⁵Adam made love to his wife^o again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth,^hp saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.”^{q 26}Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh.^r

At that time people began to call onⁱ the name of the Lord.^s

From Adam to Noah

5This is the written account^t of Adam’s family line.^u

When God created mankind, he made them in the likeness of God.^{v 2}He created them^w male and female^x and blessed them. And he named them “Mankind”^a when they were created.

³When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image;^y and he named him Seth.^{z 4}After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. ⁵Altogether, Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died.^a

⁶When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father^b of Enosh.^{b 7}After he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. ⁸Altogether, Seth lived a total of 912 years, and then he died.

⁹When Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan.^{c 10}After he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters. ¹¹Altogether, Enosh lived a total of 905 years, and then he died.

¹²When Kenan had lived 70 years, he became the father of Mahalalel.^{d 13}After he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters. ¹⁴Altogether, Kenan lived a total of 910 years, and then he died.

¹⁵When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he became the father of Jared.^{e 16}After he became the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters. ¹⁷Altogether, Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years, and then he died.

¹⁸When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch.^{f 19}After he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. ²⁰Altogether, Jared lived a total of 962 years, and then he died.

²¹When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah.^{g 22}After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God^h 300 years and had other sons and daughters. ²³Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. ²⁴Enoch walked faithfully with God;ⁱ then he was no more, because God took him away.^j

²⁵When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech.^{k 26}After he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters. ²⁷Altogether, Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then he died.

²⁸When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. ²⁹He named him Noah^cl and said, “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed.^m” ³⁰After Noah was born, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters. ³¹Altogether, Lamech lived a total of 777 years, and then he died.

³²After Noah was 500 years old,ⁿ he became the father of Shem,^o Ham and Japheth.^p

Wickedness in the World

6When human beings began to increase in number on the earth^q and daughters were born to them, ²the sons of God^r saw that the daughters^s of humans were beautiful,^t and they married^u any of them they chose. ³Then the Lord said, “My Spirit^v will not contend with^a humans forever,^w for they are mortal^b;^x their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

⁴The Nephilim^y were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans^z and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.^a

⁵The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth,^b and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.^{c 6}The Lord regretted^d that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. ⁷So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth^e the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.^f” ⁸But Noah^g found favor in the eyes of the Lord.^h

Noah and the Flood

⁹This is the accountⁱ of Noah and his family.

Noah was a righteous man, blameless^j among the people of his time,^k and he walked faithfully with God.^{l 10}Noah had three sons: Shem,^m Ham and Japheth.ⁿ

¹¹Now the earth was corrupt^o in God’s sight and was full of violence.^{p 12}God saw how corrupt^q the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.^{r 13}So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy^s both them and the earth.^{t 14}So make yourself an ark of cypress^c wood;^u make rooms in it and coat it with pitch^v inside and out. ¹⁵This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high.^{d 16}Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit^e high all around.^f Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. ¹⁷I am going to bring floodwaters^w on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish.^{x 18}But I will establish my covenant with you,^y and you will enter the ark^z—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. ¹⁹You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you.^{a 20}Two^b of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind^c of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive.^{d 21}You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.”

²²Noah did everything just as God commanded him.^e