Read the Bible

Cain Kills Abel

¹ The man lay with his wife Eve and she was going to have a child and she gave birth to Cain. She said, "I have given birth to a man with the help of the Lord." ² Next she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was one who worked the ground.

³ The day came when Cain brought a gift of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. ⁴ But Abel brought a gift of the first-born of his flocks and of the fat parts. The Lord showed favor to Abel and his gift. ⁵ But He had no respect for Cain and his gift. So Cain became very angry and his face became sad. ⁶ Then the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why are you looking down? ⁷ Will not your face be happy if you do well? If you do not do well, sin is waiting to destroy you. Its desire is to rule over you, but you must rule over it."

⁸ Cain told this to his brother Abel. And when they were in the field, Cain stood up against his brother Abel and killed him.

⁹ Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" And he said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" ¹⁰ The Lord said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to Me from the ground. ¹¹ Now you are cursed because of the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. ¹² When you work the ground, it will no longer give its strength to you. You will always travel from place to place on the earth."

¹³ Then Cain said to the Lord, "I am being punished more than I can take! ¹⁴ See, this day You have made me go away from the land. And I will be hidden from Your face. I will run away and move from place to place. And whoever finds me will kill me."

¹⁵ So the Lord said to him, "Whoever kills Cain will be punished by Me seven times worse." And the Lord put a mark on Cain so that any one who found him would not kill him.

¹⁶ Then Cain went away from the face of the Lord, and stayed in the land of Nod, east of Eden. ¹⁷ Cain lay with his wife and she was going to have a child and she gave birth to Enoch. Cain built a city and gave it the name of Enoch, the name of his son. ¹⁸ Now Irad was born to Enoch. And Irad became the father of Mehujael. Mehujael became the father of Methushael. And Methushael became the father of Lamech. ¹⁹ Lamech took two wives for himself. The name of one was Adah. And the name of the other was Zillah. ²⁰ Adah gave birth to Jabal. He was the father of those who live in tents and have cattle. ²¹ His brother's name was Jubal. He was the father of all those who play the harp and the horn. ²² Zillah gave birth to Tubal-cain who made things from brass and iron. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

²³ And Lamech said to his wives, "Adah and Zillah, listen to my voice. Hear what I say, you wives of Lamech. For I have killed a man for hurting me, and a boy for hitting me. ²⁴ If those who hurt Cain are punished seven times worse, then those who hurt Lamech will be punished seventy-seven times worse."

²⁵ And Adam lay with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and gave him the name Seth. For she said, "God has let me have another son in the place of Abel, for Cain killed him." ²⁶ A son was born to Seth also, and he gave him the name Enosh. Then men began to call upon the name of the Lord.