DaySpring Hope & Encouragement Bible - Flipbook - Page 26
G enesis 4
GENESIS 1:26-31
What does God think of you?
Unique.
Gifted.
Accepted.
Enjoyed.
Embraced.
Loved.
His special recipe
included all of the good stuff . . .
and out came you!
He’s eternally glad
he made you too!
It can be hard, God, to believe that
you see so much in me. Especially
when I see all the ways I fall short of
your glory. Thank you for believing
in me and continuing to refine my
life for your sake.
Read more about this topic on page 240.
8
Paradise Lost: God’s Judgment
20 Then the man—Adam—named his wife Eve, because she would be the
mother of all who live.* 21 And 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. 24 After 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.
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. 4 Abel also brought a g
ift—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.
9 Afterward the Lord asked Cain, “Where is your brother? Where is Abel?”
“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.
4
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.
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.
