Passage

Genesis 4.7

Book: Genesis · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"5. but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 6. And Jehovah said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?"

"7. If thou doest well, shall it not be lifted up? and if thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door; and unto thee shall be its desire; but do thou rule over it."

"8. And Cain told Abel his brother. And it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. 9. And Jehovah said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: am I my brother's keeper?" (Genesis 4:5-9, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"5. but he didn’t respect Cain and his offering. Cain was very angry, and the expression on his face fell. 6. Yahweh said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why has the expression of your face fallen?"

"7. If you do well, won’t it be lifted up? If you don’t do well, sin crouches at the door. Its desire is for you, but you are to rule over it.”"

"8. Cain said to Abel, his brother, “Let’s go into the field.” While they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and killed him. 9. Yahweh said to Cain, “Where is Abel, your brother?” He said, “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”" (Genesis 4:5-9, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"5. But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 6. And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?"

"7. If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. ^{be accepted: or, have the excellency} ^{unto: or, subject unto thee}"

"8. And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. 9. And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?" (Genesis 4:5-9, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"5. and unto Cain and unto his present He hath not looked; and it is very displeasing to Cain, and his countenance is fallen. 6. And Jehovah saith unto Cain, 'Why hast thou displeasure? and why hath thy countenance fallen?"

"7. Is there not, if thou dost well, acceptance? and if thou dost not well, at the opening a sin-offering is crouching, and unto thee its desire, and thou rulest over it.'"

"8. And Cain saith unto Abel his brother, ['Let us go into the field;'] and it cometh to pass in their being in the field, that Cain riseth up against Abel his brother, and slayeth him. 9. And Jehovah saith unto Cain, 'Where [is] Abel thy brother?' and he saith, 'I have not known; my brother's keeper, I?'" (Genesis 4:5-9, 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
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Quoted in

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.