Side by side
Genesis 4
Our retelling next to the Bible text it comes from. Each row lines up one scene with the verses it retells.
Scene 1: Two BrothersVerses 1 to 2
Outside the garden of Eden, Eve gave birth to her first baby. It was a boy. His name was Cain.
Eve said, "With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man" (4:1). Her words gave the LORD credit for her son.
Later, Eve had a second son. His name was Abel.
The two brothers grew up and did different work. Abel was a shepherd. He took care of sheep. Cain was a farmer. He worked the soil and grew crops.
When God sent Adam out of the garden, God sent him to work the ground (3:23). Now Cain did that same work.
1And 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. 2Later she gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, while Cain was a tiller of the soil.
Scene 2: Two OfferingsVerses 3 to 5
After some time, Cain brought some of his crops to the LORD. It was an offering. An offering is a gift given to God.
Abel brought an offering too. He brought "the best portions of the firstborn of his flock" (4:4). The firstborn were the first lambs his sheep had given birth to.
"And the LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering" (4:4).
But God did not look with favor on Cain and his offering.
The Bible doesn't say why God accepted Abel's gift and not Cain's. But remember: Abel brought the best parts of the first lambs. Genesis says Cain brought some of his crops.
Cain became very angry. His face fell. That means his face showed how upset and gloomy he felt.
3So in the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruit of the soil as an offering to the LORD, 4while Abel brought the best portions of the firstborn of his flock. And the LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5but He had no regard for Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell.
Scene 3: God Warns CainVerses 6 to 7
Then the LORD spoke. "Why are you angry," said the LORD to Cain, "and why has your countenance fallen?" (4:6). Countenance means face.
God did not wait for Cain to calm down. God came to Cain while Cain was still angry.
Then God gave Cain a promise and a warning. If Cain did what was right, he would be accepted. But if he refused, "sin is crouching at your door; it desires you, but you must master it" (4:7).
This is a comparison. God described sin like a wild animal. It was crouching low by the door, ready to jump. It wanted to take control of Cain. Cain needed to take control of it instead.
God asked Cain about his anger. Then God warned Cain about where it could lead.
The Bible does not tell us whether Cain answered.
6“Why are you angry,” said the LORD to Cain, “and why has your countenance fallen? 7If 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.”
Scene 4: In the FieldVerse 8
Cain spoke to his brother Abel. "Let's go out to the field," he said.
The two brothers went out to the field.
There, Cain attacked his brother Abel.
Cain killed him.
This is the first murder in the Bible. A brother killed his own brother.
8Then 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.
Scene 5: "Where Is Your Brother?"Verses 9 to 12
Then the LORD spoke to Cain again. "Where is your brother Abel?" (4:9).
God knew the answer. Back in the garden, God had asked Adam a question like this: "Where are you?" (3:9). One likely reason God asked: to give Cain a chance to tell the truth.
Cain lied. He said he did not know. Then he asked, "Am I my brother's keeper?" (4:9). A keeper is someone who watches over and protects. Abel had been a keeper of sheep. Cain said he was not a keeper of his brother.
"What have you done?" replied the LORD. "The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground" (4:10).
This is a comparison. Blood cannot really talk. It means God saw what happened to Abel. Abel could not speak anymore, but God heard. What Cain did would not stay hidden.
God told Cain he was now cursed and sent away from the ground. The ground had soaked up Abel's blood. When Cain farmed, the ground would not grow crops for him anymore. Cain would be a fugitive and a wanderer. A fugitive is someone who is always on the run.
The farmer could not farm anymore.
9And the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I do not know!” he answered. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” 10“What have you done?” replied the LORD. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. 11Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12When you till the ground, it will no longer yield its produce to you. You will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”
Scene 6: A Mark of ProtectionVerses 13 to 16
Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is greater than I can bear" (4:13).
Cain was afraid. He said God was driving him away. He would be hidden from God's face. This means he would be far away from God. He would wander the earth, and anyone who found him would kill him.
The LORD said no. If anyone killed Cain, that person would be punished seven times as much.
"And the LORD placed a mark on Cain, so that no one who found him would kill him" (4:15).
The mark was not a punishment. It was protection. Cain had killed his brother. God still kept Cain alive.
Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD. He settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
Cain was afraid anyone who found him would kill him. God made sure no one would.
13But Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14Behold, 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.” 15“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. 16So Cain went out from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
Between scenesVerses 17 to 26
This part isn't retold as its own scene.
17And 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. 18Now 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. 19And Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. 20Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and raise livestock. 21And his brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute. 22And Zillah gave birth to Tubal-cain, a forger of every implement of bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah. 23Then 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. 24If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.” 25And 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.” 26And 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.
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