13 And Cain said to the Lord, “My [a]punishment is greater than I can bear! 14 Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; (A)I shall be (B)hidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen that (C)anyone who finds me will kill me.”

15 And the Lord said to him, [b]“Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him (D)sevenfold.” And the Lord set a (E)mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.

The Family of Cain

16 Then Cain (F)went out from the (G)presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of [c]Nod on the east of Eden. 17 And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, (H)and called the name of the city after the name of his son—Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad; and Irad begot Mehujael, and Mehujael begot Methushael, and Methushael begot Lamech.

19 Then Lamech took for himself (I)two wives: the name of one was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah. 20 And Adah bore Jabal. He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal. He was the father of all those who play the harp and [d]flute. 22 And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.

23 Then Lamech said to his wives:

“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech!
For I have [e]killed a man for wounding me,
Even a young man [f]for hurting me.
24 (J)If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold,
Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 4:13 iniquity
  2. Genesis 4:15 So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Syr., Vg. Not so;
  3. Genesis 4:16 Lit. Wandering
  4. Genesis 4:21 pipe
  5. Genesis 4:23 slain a man for my wound
  6. Genesis 4:23 for my hurt

13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is too great to endure! 14 Behold, You have (A)driven me this day from the face of the ground; and I will be hidden from Your face, and (B)I will be a wanderer and a drifter on the earth, and (C)whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 So the Lord said to him, “Therefore whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him (D)seven times as much.” And the Lord [a](E)placed a mark on Cain, so that no one finding him would kill him.

16 Then Cain left the presence (F)of the Lord, and [b]settled in the land of [c]Nod, east of Eden.

17 Cain [d]had relations with his wife and she conceived, and gave birth to Enoch; and Cain built a city, and named the city Enoch, after the name of his son. 18 Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. 19 Lamech took (G)two wives for himself: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other, Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and have livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and flute. 22 As for Zillah, she also gave birth to Tubal-cain, the forger of all implements of bronze and iron; and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

23 Lamech said to his wives,

“Adah and Zillah,
Listen to my voice,
You wives of Lamech,
Pay attention to my words,
(H)For I have killed a man for wounding me;
And a boy for striking me!
24 If Cain is avenged (I)seven times,
Then Lamech seventy-seven times!”

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 4:15 Or set a sign for
  2. Genesis 4:16 Lit dwelt
  3. Genesis 4:16 I.e., wandering
  4. Genesis 4:17 Lit knew his

13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, You have driven me out this day from the face of the land; and from Your face (presence) I will be hidden, and I will be a fugitive and an [aimless] vagabond on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 And the Lord said to him, “[a]Therefore, whoever kills Cain, a sevenfold vengeance [that is, punishment seven times worse] shall be taken on him [by Me].” And the Lord set a [protective] [b]mark (sign) on Cain, so that no one who found (met) him would kill him.(A)

16 So Cain went away from the [manifested] presence of the Lord, and lived in the land of Nod [wandering in exile], east of Eden.

17 Cain knew his [c]wife [one of Adam’s descendants] and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch; and Cain built a city and named it Enoch, after the name of his son. 18 Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad became the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael became the father of Methushael, and Methushael became the father of Lamech. 19 And Lamech took for himself two wives; the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other, Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he became the father of those [nomadic herdsmen] who live in tents and have cattle and raise livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he became the father of all those [musicians] who play the lyre and flute. 22 Zillah gave birth to Tubal-cain, the smith (craftsman) and teacher of every artisan in instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

23 Lamech said to his wives,

“Adah and Zillah,
Hear my voice;
You wives of Lamech,
Listen to what I say;
For I have killed a man [merely] for wounding me,
And a boy [only] for striking (bruising) me.
24 
“If Cain is avenged sevenfold [as the Lord said he would be],
Then Lamech [will be avenged] [d]seventy-sevenfold.”

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 4:15 Some ancient versions read, “Not so!”
  2. Genesis 4:15 Many commentators believe this sign not to have been like a brand on the forehead, but something awesome about Cain’s appearance that made people dread and avoid him. In the Talmud, the rabbis suggested several possibilities, including leprosy, boils, or a horn that grew out of Cain. But it was also suggested that Cain was given a pet dog to serve as a protective sign.
  3. Genesis 4:17 The simplest explanation for the origin of Cain’s wife is that she was one of his sisters, whom Scripture does not mention specifically, but implies (5:4). It is also possible that she was a niece or more distant relative descended from the original family, but in any case it is evident that the unrecorded children of Adam and Eve married each other. This was possible because the human gene pool was at its purest with Adam and Eve, so at some point their children could begin families of their own.
  4. Genesis 4:24 Lamech arrogantly declares to his wives that if someone kills him, he will be entitled to far greater vengeance since he merely retaliated for harm suffered, while Cain’s murder of Abel was by comparison unprovoked.

13 Cain said to the Lord, “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;(A) I will be a restless wanderer on the earth,(B) and whoever finds me will kill me.”(C)

15 But the Lord said to him, “Not so[a]; anyone who kills Cain(D) will suffer vengeance(E) seven times over.(F)” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. 16 So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence(G) and lived in the land of Nod,[b] east of Eden.(H)

17 Cain made love to his wife,(I) and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city,(J) and he named it after his son(K) Enoch. 18 To 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.

19 Lamech married(L) two women,(M) 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 stringed instruments(N) and pipes.(O) 22 Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged(P) all kinds of tools out of[c] 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(Q) a man for wounding me,
    a young man for injuring me.
24 If Cain is avenged(R) seven times,(S)
    then Lamech seventy-seven times.(T)

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 4:15 Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew Very well
  2. Genesis 4:16 Nod means wandering (see verses 12 and 14).
  3. Genesis 4:22 Or who instructed all who work in

13 And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear.

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.

18 And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael 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 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.

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.

24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.

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