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10 God then said: What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground! 11 Now you are banned from the ground[a] that opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 4:11 Banned from the ground: lit., “cursed.” The verse refers back to 3:17 where the ground was cursed so that it yields its produce only with great effort. Cain has polluted the soil with his brother’s blood and it will no longer yield any of its produce to him.

Personal Injury. 12 [a]Whoever strikes someone a mortal blow must be put to death.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 21:12–14 Unintentional homicide is to be punished differently from premeditated, deliberate murder. One who kills unintentionally can seek asylum by grasping the horns of the altar at the local sanctuary. In later Israelite history, when worship was centralized in Jerusalem, cities throughout the realm were designated as places of refuge. Apparently the leaders of the local community were to determine whether or not the homicide was intentional.