Passage

Genesis 4.8-16

Book: Genesis · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"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? 10. And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. 11. And now cursed art thou from the ground, which hath opened its mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; 12. when thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee its strength; a fugitive and a wanderer shalt thou be in the earth. 13. And Cain said unto Jehovah, My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the ground; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth; and it will come to pass, that whosoever findeth me will slay me. 15. And Jehovah said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And Jehovah appointed a sign for Cain, lest any finding him should smite him. 16. And Cain went out from the presence of Jehovah, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden."

"17. And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. 18. And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael; and Mehujael begat Methushael; and Methushael begat Lamech." (Genesis 4:6-18, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"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?” 10. Yahweh said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries to me from the ground. 11. Now you are cursed because of the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12. From now on, when you till the ground, it won’t yield its strength to you. You will be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth.” 13. Cain said to Yahweh, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14. Behold, you have driven me out today from the surface of the ground. I will be hidden from your face, and I will be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth. Whoever finds me will kill me.” 15. Yahweh said to him, “Therefore whoever slays Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold.” Yahweh appointed a sign for Cain, so that anyone finding him would not strike him. 16. Cain left Yahweh’s presence, and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden."

"17. Cain knew his wife. She conceived, and gave birth to Enoch. He built a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. 18. To Enoch was born Irad. Irad became the father of Mehujael. Mehujael became the father of Methushael. Methushael became the father of Lamech." (Genesis 4:6-18, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"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? 10. And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. ^{blood: Heb. bloods} 11. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; 12. When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. 13. And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear. ^{My: or, Mine iniquity is greater than that it may be forgiven} 14. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. 15. And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. 16. And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden."

"17. And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. ^{Enoch: Heb. Chanoch} 18. And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech. ^{Lamech: Heb. Lemech}" (Genesis 4:6-18, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"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?' 10. And He saith, 'What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood is crying unto Me from the ground; 11. and now, cursed [art] thou from the ground, which hath opened her mouth to receive the blood of thy brother from thy hand; 12. when thou tillest the ground, it doth not add to give its strength to thee, a wanderer, even a trembling one, thou art in the earth.' 13. And Cain saith unto Jehovah, 'Greater is my punishment than to be borne; 14. lo, Thou hast driven me to-day from off the face of the ground, and from Thy face I am hid; and I have been a wanderer, even a trembling one, in the earth, and it hath been, every one finding me doth slay me.' 15. And Jehovah saith to him, 'Therefore, of any slayer of Cain sevenfold it is required;' and Jehovah setteth to Cain a token that none finding him doth slay him. 16. And Cain goeth out from before Jehovah, and dwelleth in the land, moving about east of Eden;"

"17. and Cain knoweth his wife, and she conceiveth, and beareth Enoch; and he is building a city, and he calleth the name of the city, according to the name of his son, Enoch. 18. And born to Enoch is Irad; and Irad hath begotten Mehujael; and Mehujael hath begotten Methusael; and Methusael hath begotten Lamech." (Genesis 4:6-18, 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.

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Quoted in

Cains Wife

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.