Genesis 4

4 ¹ Now Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, "With the help of our Father I have brought a man into the world." ^a a v1 The name Cain sounds like "gotten" or "brought forth" — Eve names him for the help she received in bringing him into the world. ² Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the ground. ³ In the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruit of the ground as an offering to our Father. ⁴ But Abel brought the fat portions from the firstborn of his flock. Our Father looked with favor on Abel and his offering, ⁵ but he did not look with favor on Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry, and his face fell. ⁶ Then our Father said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why has your face fallen?" ⁷ If 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; it desires to master you, but you must rule over it." ⁸ Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

⁹ Then our Father said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" "I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?"

¹⁰ Our Father said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground. ¹¹ Now you are under a curse, driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. ¹² When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth."

¹³ Cain said to our Father, "My punishment is more than I can bear. ¹⁴ Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence. I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me."

¹⁵ But our Father said to him, "No; anyone who kills Cain will be punished seven times over." Then our Father put a mark on Cain, so that no one who found him would kill him. ^b b v15 Even after the first murder, our Father did not abandon Cain — he marked him as protected. The Father's mercy reaches the guilty.

¹⁶ So Cain went out from the presence of our Father and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. ^c c v16 Nod means "wandering." Cain, sentenced to wander the earth, settles in the land of wandering itself.

¹⁷ Cain made love to his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch. ¹⁸ Enoch had a son named Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael the father of Methushael, and Methushael the father of Lamech. ¹⁹ Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. ²⁰ Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. ²¹ His brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute. ²² Zillah also gave birth to Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain's sister was Naamah. ²³ Lamech said to his wives: "Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. ²⁴ If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times."

²⁵ Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, "Our Father has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him." ^d d v25 The name Seth sounds like "granted" or "appointed" — Eve names him for the child our Father gave her in place of Abel. ²⁶ Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of our Father.