Genesis 4
Cain and Abel bring offerings to God; Abel's is accepted but Cain's is not. Jealous and angry, Cain murders his brother and is cursed to wander the earth. The chapter traces Cain's descendants and ends with Seth's birth.
GenesisChapter 4 of 5026 versesBerean Standard Bible
In this passage: CainAbelLamechEdenNod
Read Genesis 4 and keep notes on it in Doxa's Daily Faith Steps.
And Adam had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man,” she said.
Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 24: What does it mean that God is Most High, Creator of heaven and earth?
Later she gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, while Cain was a tiller of the soil.
So in the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruit of the soil as an offering to the LORD,
while Abel brought the best portions of the firstborn of his flock. And the LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
but He had no regard for Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell.
“Why are you angry,” said the LORD to Cain, “and why has your countenance fallen?
If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you refuse to do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires you, but you must master it.”
Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 33: What does the door mean in Genesis 19?
Then Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.
And the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I do not know!” he answered. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
“What have you done?” replied the LORD. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.
Quoted in the Daily Lift, day 11: How does Genesis 9 point to Jesus?
Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 11: Where do the image and the blood find their end?
Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 32: What was the outcry against Sodom?
Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
When you till the ground, it will no longer yield its produce to you. You will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”
But Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.
Behold, this day You have driven me from the face of the earth, and from Your face I will be hidden; I will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 38: Sarah's demand and the old law
“Not so!” replied the LORD. “If anyone slays Cain, then Cain will be avenged sevenfold.” And the LORD placed a mark on Cain, so that no one who found him would kill him.
Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 12: What is the sign, and who is it for?
Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 38: Sarah's demand and the old law
So Cain went out from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 47: Why did Abraham send Keturah's sons to the east?
And Cain had relations with his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. Then Cain built a city and named it after his son Enoch.
Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 48: What does this is the account mean in Genesis 25:12?
Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methusael, and Methusael was the father of Lamech.
And Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah.
Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and raise livestock.
And his brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute.
And Zillah gave birth to Tubal-cain, a forger of every implement of bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.
Then Lamech said to his wives: “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; wives of Lamech, listen to my speech. For I have slain a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me.
If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”
And Adam again had relations with his wife, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another seed in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.”
And to Seth also a son was born, and he called him Enosh. At that time men began to call upon the name of the LORD.
Read next
How to Hear God’s Voice: A Practical Guide for BelieversScripture is the record of a God who speaks. This guide covers how to hear Him today and keep what He says.Cross-references for Genesis 4
“By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous when God gave approval to his gifts. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.”
“Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your crops;”
“Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
“God “will repay each one according to his deeds.””
“to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”
Cross-references from OpenBible.info, licensed CC BY.
Genesis 4 on Doxa
- Cain and Abel: God's Warning Before the First Murder (Genesis 4) · Daily Lift, day 4
- Sin Is Crouching at Your Door: What the Hebrew of Genesis 4 Reveals · Deeper Dive, day 4
- Melchizedek and Jesus: The Priesthood That Outranks the Law (Genesis 14) · Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 24
- Unleavened Bread in Sodom: Why Israel Heard Passover in Genesis 19 · Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 33
- God Blesses Noah: Why Human Life Is Sacred After the Flood (Genesis 9) · Quoted in the Daily Lift, day 11
- Made in God's Image: Why Shedding Blood Strikes at God (Genesis 9:1-7) · Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 11
- The Outcry Against Sodom: Why Israel Heard Their Own Cry (Genesis 18) · Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 32
- Ishmael's Unspoken Name and the Well Hagar Could Not See (Genesis 21) · Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 38
- The Rainbow Is a War Bow: Why God Hung It Up Unstrung (Genesis 9:8-17) · Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 12
- 'Gathered to His People' Came Before the Burial (Genesis 25:1–11) · Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 47
- Twelve Princes Before Twelve Tribes: Ishmael's Line (Genesis 25:12–18) · Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 48
- Yada: What the Bible Means When God Says 'Know Me'
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