Genesis 4:8-13

Good News Translation

^8 (A)Then Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let's go out in the fields.”^[a] When they were out in the fields, Cain turned on his brother and killed him.

⁹ The Lord asked Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

He answered, “I don't know. Am I supposed to take care of my brother?”

^10 (B)Then the Lord said, “Why have you done this terrible thing? Your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground, like a voice calling for revenge. ¹¹ You are placed under a curse and can no longer farm the soil. It has soaked up your brother's blood as if it had opened its mouth to receive it when you killed him. ¹² If you try to grow crops, the soil will not produce anything; you will be a homeless wanderer on the earth.”

¹³ And Cain said to the Lord, “This punishment is too hard for me to bear.