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And Cain said to Abel his brother: Let us go forth abroad. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and slew him.

And the Lord said to Cain: Where is thy brother Abel? And he answered, I know not: am I my brother's keeper?

10 And he said to him: What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth to me from the earth.

11 Now, therefore, cursed shalt thou be upon the earth, which hath opened her mouth and received the blood of thy brother at thy hand.

12 When thou shalt till it, it shall not yield to thee its fruit: a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be upon the earth.

13 And Cain said to the Lord: My iniquity is greater than that I may deserve pardon.

14 Behold thou dost cast me out this day from the face of the earth, and I shall be hidden from thy face, and I shall be a vagabond and a fugitive on the earth: every one, therefore, that findeth me, shall kill me.

15 And the Lord said to him: No, it shall not be so: but whosoever shall kill Cain, shall be punished sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, that whosoever found him should not kill him.

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Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”[a] While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.(A)

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”(B)

“I don’t know,(C)” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

10 The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.(D) 11 Now you are under a curse(E) and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you.(F) You will be a restless wanderer(G) on the earth.(H)

13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. 14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence;(I) I will be a restless wanderer on the earth,(J) and whoever finds me will kill me.”(K)

15 But the Lord said to him, “Not so[b]; anyone who kills Cain(L) will suffer vengeance(M) seven times over.(N)” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 4:8 Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Masoretic Text does not have “Let’s go out to the field.”
  2. Genesis 4:15 Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew Very well

My son, attend to my wisdom, and incline thy ear to my prudence.

That thou mayst keep thoughts, and thy lips may preserve instruction. Mind not the deceit of a woman.

For the lips of a harlot are like a honeycomb dropping, and her throat is smoother than oil.

But her end is bitter as wormwood, and sharp as a two-edged sword.

Her feet go down into death, and her steps go in as far as hell.

They walk not by the path of life, her steps are wandering, and unaccountable.

Now therefore, my son, hear me, and depart not from the words of my mouth.

Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the doors of her house.

Give not thy honour to strangers, and thy years to the cruel.

10 Lest strangers be filled with thy strength, and thy labours be in another man's house,

11 And thou mourn it the last, when thou shalt have spent thy flesh and thy body, and say:

12 Why have I hated instruction, and my heart consented not to reproof,

13 And have not heard the voice of them that taught me, and have not inclined my ear to masters?

14 I have almost been in all evil, in the midst of the church and of the congregation.

15 Drink water out of thy own cistern, and the streams of thy own well:

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Warning Against Adultery

My son,(A) pay attention to my wisdom,
    turn your ear to my words(B) of insight,
that you may maintain discretion
    and your lips may preserve knowledge.
For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey,
    and her speech is smoother than oil;(C)
but in the end she is bitter as gall,(D)
    sharp as a double-edged sword.
Her feet go down to death;
    her steps lead straight to the grave.(E)
She gives no thought to the way of life;
    her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.(F)

Now then, my sons, listen(G) to me;
    do not turn aside from what I say.
Keep to a path far from her,(H)
    do not go near the door of her house,
lest you lose your honor to others
    and your dignity[a] to one who is cruel,
10 lest strangers feast on your wealth
    and your toil enrich the house of another.(I)
11 At the end of your life you will groan,
    when your flesh and body are spent.
12 You will say, “How I hated discipline!
    How my heart spurned correction!(J)
13 I would not obey my teachers
    or turn my ear to my instructors.
14 And I was soon in serious trouble(K)
    in the assembly of God’s people.”(L)

15 Drink water from your own cistern,
    running water from your own well.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 5:9 Or years