The Art of Life Bible - Flipbook - Page 18
Genesis
4
19 By the sweat of your brow
“I don’t know,” Cain responded . “Am I my brother’s
guardian?”
10 But the Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your
brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground! 11 Now
you are cursed and banished from the ground, which
has swallowed your brother’s blood . 12 No longer will
the ground yield good crops for you, no matter how
hard you work! From now on you will be a homeless
wanderer on the earth .”
13 Cain replied to the Lord, “My punishment* is too
great for me to bear! 14 You have banished me from
the land and from your presence; you have made me
a homeless wanderer . Anyone who finds me will kill
me!”
15 The Lord replied, “No, for I will give a sevenfold punishment to anyone who kills you .” Then the Lord put a
mark on Cain to warn anyone who might try to kill him .
16 So Cain left the Lord’s presence and settled in the land
of Nod,* east of Eden .
will you have food to eat
until you return to the ground
from which you were made .
For you were made from dust,
and to dust you will return .”
Fig
Ficus carica
Read Genesis 3:1-19, especially 3:7.
The fig tree is abundant in the
Middle East Bible lands and is
mentioned often in Scripture.
Fig trees can live up to 200 years
and are often planted with olive
trees. The distinctive fig leaves are
about the size of a person’s hand,
with three “fingers” and a velvety
undersurface of paler green. The
fig “fruit” is actually a hollow
fleshy pouch that hides numerous
tiny flowers. The flowers later
produce the tiny true fruits and
seeds. The fig fruits appear in
March, but the leaves don’t appear for another four to six weeks,
making it the last tree to produce
leaves in Israel’s spring (see Mark
13:28-29).
Here, Adam and Eve felt
ashamed after they had sinned
and used fig leaves to cover their
nakedness. Later God provided
clothing for them, using the skins
of sacrificed animals to cover
them. Sin always comes with a
cost, but God desires to redeem us.
See more about the fig on pages
674, 870, 1360, and 1388.
Paradise Lost: God’s Judgment
20 Then the man—Adam—named his wife Eve, because
she would be the mother of all who live .* 21And the Lord
God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his
wife .
22 Then the Lord God said, “Look, the human beings*
have become like us, knowing both good and evil . What if
they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it?
Then they will live forever!” 23 So the Lord God banished
them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out
to cultivate the ground from which he had been made .
24After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty
cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden . And he
placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to
guard the way to the tree of life .
The Descendants of Cain
17 Cain had sexual relations with his wife, and she became
pregnant and gave birth to Enoch . Then Cain founded a
city, which he named Enoch, after his son . 18 Enoch had
a son named Irad . Irad became the father of* Mehujael .
Mehujael became the father of Methushael . Methushael
became the father of Lamech .
19 Lamech married two women . The first was named
Adah, and the second was Zillah . 20Adah gave birth to
Jabal, who was the first of those who raise livestock and
live in tents . 21 His brother’s name was Jubal, the first of
all who play the harp and flute . 22 Lamech’s other wife,
Zillah, gave birth to a son named Tubal-cain . He became
an expert in forging tools of bronze and iron . Tubal-cain
had a sister named Naamah . 23 One day Lamech said to
his wives,
Cain and Abel
Now Adam* had sexual relations with his wife, Eve,
and she became pregnant . When she gave birth to Cain,
she said, “With the Lord’s help, I have produced* a man!”
2 Later she gave birth to his brother and named him Abel .
When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while
Cain cultivated the ground . 3 When it was time for the
harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the
Lord . 4Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the
firstborn lambs from his flock . The Lord accepted Abel
and his gift, 5 but he did not accept Cain and his gift . This
made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected .
6 “Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain . “Why
do you look so dejected? 7 You will be accepted if you do
what is right . But if you refuse to do what is right, then
watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control
you . But you must subdue it and be its master .”
8 One day Cain suggested to his brother, “Let’s go out
into the fields .”* And while they were in the field, Cain
attacked his brother, Abel, and killed him .
9Afterward the Lord asked Cain, “Where is your brother? Where is Abel?”
4
“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
listen to me, you wives of Lamech .
3:20 Eve sounds like a Hebrew term that means “to give life.” 3:22 Or the man;
Hebrew reads ha-adam. 4:1a Or the man; also in 4:25. 4:1b Or I have acquired.
Cain sounds like a Hebrew term that can mean “produce” or “acquire.” 4:8 As
in Samaritan Pentateuch, Greek and Syriac versions, and Latin Vulgate; Masoretic
Text lacks “Let’s go out into the fields.” 4:13 Or My sin. 4:16 Nod means
“wandering.” 4:18 Or the ancestor of, and so throughout the verse.
10
creation_bible.indb 10
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