Passage

Genesis 4.20-22

Book: Genesis · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"18. And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael; and Mehujael begat Methushael; and Methushael begat Lamech. 19. And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah."

"20. And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents and have cattle. 21. And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and pipe. 22. And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, the forger of every cutting instrument of brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah."

"23. And Lamech said unto his wives: Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; Ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: For I have slain a man for wounding me, And a young man for bruising me: 24. If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, Truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold." (Genesis 4:18-24, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"18. To Enoch was born Irad. Irad became the father of Mehujael. Mehujael became the father of Methushael. Methushael became the father of Lamech. 19. Lamech took two wives: the name of the first one was Adah, and the name of the second one was Zillah."

"20. Adah gave birth to Jabal, who was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. 21. His brother’s name was Jubal, who was the father of all who handle the harp and pipe. 22. Zillah also gave birth to Tubal Cain, the forger of every cutting instrument of brass and iron. Tubal Cain’s sister was Naamah."

"23. Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice. You wives of Lamech, listen to my speech, for I have slain a man for wounding me, a young man for bruising me. 24. If Cain will be avenged seven times, truly Lamech seventy-seven times.”" (Genesis 4:18-24, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"18. And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech. ^{Lamech: Heb. Lemech} 19. And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah."

"20. And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. 21. And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. 22. And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah. ^{instructer: Heb. whetter}"

"23. And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt. ^{I have: or, I would slay a man in my wound, etc} ^{to my hurt: or, in my hurt} 24. If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold." (Genesis 4:18-24, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"18. And born to Enoch is Irad; and Irad hath begotten Mehujael; and Mehujael hath begotten Methusael; and Methusael hath begotten Lamech. 19. And Lamech taketh to himself two wives, the name of the one Adah, and the name of the second Zillah."

"20. And Adah beareth Jabal, he hath been father of those inhabiting tents and purchased possessions; 21. and the name of his brother [is] Jubal, he hath been father of every one handling harp and organ. 22. And Zillah she also bare Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron; and a sister of Tubal-Cain [is] Naamah."

"23. And Lamech saith to his wives:, 'Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; Wives of Lamech, give ear [to] my saying: For a man I have slain for my wound, Even a young man for my hurt; 24. For sevenfold is required for Cain, And for Lamech seventy and sevenfold.'" (Genesis 4:18-24, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD

Quoted in

Tower of Babel Objection

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.