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¹ Forsothe Adam knewe Eue his wijf, which conseyuede, and childide Cayn, and seide, Y haue gete a man bi God.² And efte sche childide his brother Abel. Forsothe Abel was a kepere of scheep, and Cayn was an erthe tilyere.

³ Sotheli it was don after many daies, that Cayn offride yiftis to the Lord of the fruytis of erthe;⁴ and Abel offride of the first gendrid of his floc, and of the fatnesse of tho. And the Lord bihelde to Abel and to the yiftis of hym;⁵ sotheli he bihelde not to Cayn and to hise yiftis. And Cayn was wrooth greetli, and his cheer felde doun.

⁶ And the Lord seide to hym, Whi art thou wrooth, and whi felde doun thi face?⁷ Whether not if thou schalt do wel, thou schalt resseyue; but if thou doist yuele, thi synne schal be present anoon in the yatis? but the desir therof schal be vndur thee, and thou schalt be lord therof.

⁸ And Cayn seide to Abel his brother, Go we out. And whanne thei weren in the feeld, Cayn roos ayens his brother Abel, and killide him.

⁹ And the Lord seide to Cayn, Where is Abel thi brother? Which answerde, Y woot not; whether Y am the kepere of my brothir?¹⁰ And God seide to Cayn, What hast thou do? the vois of the blood of thi brother crieth to me fro erthe.¹¹ Now therfor thou schalt be cursid on erthe, that openyde his mouth, and resseyuede of thin hond the blood of thi brothir.¹² Whanne thou schalt worche the erthe, it schal not yyue his fruytis to thee; thou schalt be vnstable of dwellyng and fleynge aboute on erthe in alle the daies of thi lijf.

¹³ And Cayn seide to the Lord, My wickidnesse is more than that Y disserue foryyuenesse; lo!¹⁴ to dai thou castist me out fro the face of the erthe; and Y schal be hid fro thi face, and Y schal be vnstable of dwellyng and fleynge aboute in erthe; therfore ech man that schal fynde me schal slee me.¹⁵ And the Lord seide to hym, It schal not be don so, but ech man that schal slee Cayn shal be punyschid seuenfold. And the Lord settide a signe in Cayn, that ech man that schulde fynde hym schulde not slee hym.

¹⁶ And Cayn yede out fro the face of the Lord, and dwellide fleynge aboute in erthe, at the eest coost of Eden.¹⁷ Forsothe Cayn knewe his wiif, which conseyuede, and childide Enoth; and Cayn bildide a citee, and clepide the name therof of the name of hise sone Enoth.¹⁸ Forsothe Enoth gendride Irad, and Irad gendride Manyael, and Manyael gendride Matusael, and Matusael gendride Lameth;

¹⁹ that took twei wyues, the name to o wijf was Ada, and the name to the tother was Sella.²⁰ And Ada gendride Jabel, that was the fadir of dwellers in tentis and of shepherdis;²¹ and the name of his brother was Tubal, he was the fadir of syngeris in harpe and orgun.²² And Sella gendride Tubalcayn, that was an hamerbetere, and smyyt on alle werkis of bras and of yrun; forsothe the sistir of Tubalcayn was Neoma.

²³ And Lameth seide to his wyues Ada and Sella, Ye wyues of Lameth, here my vois, and herkne my word; for Y haue slayn a man bi my wounde, and a yong wexynge man bi my `violent betyng;²⁴ veniaunce schal be youun seuenfold of Cayn, forsothe of Lameth seuentisithis seuensithis.

²⁵ Also yit Adam knewe his wijf, and sche childide a sone, and clepide his name Seth, and seide, God hath put to me another seed for Abel, whom Cayn killide.²⁶ But also a sone was borun to Seth, which sone he clepide Enos; this Enos bigan to clepe inwardli the name of the Lord.