Cain and Abel

4 Now the man ^[a]Adam knew Eve as his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have obtained a man (baby boy, son) with the help of the Lord.” ² And [later] she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept the flocks [of sheep and goats], but Cain cultivated the ground. ³ And in the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground. ⁴ But Abel brought [an offering of] the [finest] firstborn of his flock and the ^[b]fat portions. And the Lord had respect (regard) for Abel and for his offering;^{(A) 5} but for Cain and his offering He had no respect. So Cain became extremely angry (indignant), and ^[c]he looked annoyed and hostile. ⁶ And the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you so angry? And why do you look annoyed? ⁷ If you do well [believing Me and doing what is acceptable and pleasing to Me], will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well [but ignore My instruction], sin crouches at your door; its desire is for you [to overpower you], but you must master it.” ⁸ Cain talked with Abel his brother [about what God had said]. And when they were [alone, working] in the field, Cain ^[d]attacked Abel his brother and killed him.^(B)

⁹ Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he [lied and] said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” ¹⁰ The Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s [innocent] blood is crying out to Me from the ground [for justice].^{(C) 11} And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s [shed] blood from your hand.^{(D) 12} When you cultivate the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength [it will resist producing good crops] for you; you shall be a fugitive and a vagabond [roaming aimlessly] on the earth [in perpetual exile without a home, a degraded outcast].” ¹³ Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. ¹⁴ Behold, You have driven me out this day from the face of the land; and from Your face (presence) I will be hidden, and I will be a fugitive and an [aimless] vagabond on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” ¹⁵ And the Lord said to him, “^[e]Therefore, whoever kills Cain, a sevenfold vengeance [that is, punishment seven times worse] shall be taken on him [by Me].” And the Lord set a [protective] ^[f]mark (sign) on Cain, so that no one who found (met) him would kill him.^(E)

¹⁶ So Cain went away from the [manifested] presence of the Lord, and lived in the land of Nod [wandering in exile], east of Eden.

¹⁷ Cain knew his ^[g]wife [one of Adam’s descendants] and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch; and Cain built a city and named it Enoch, after the name of his son. ¹⁸ Now to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad became the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael became the father of Methushael, and Methushael became the father of Lamech. ¹⁹ And Lamech took for himself two wives; the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other, Zillah. ²⁰ Adah gave birth to Jabal; he became the father of those [nomadic herdsmen] who live in tents and have cattle and raise livestock. ²¹ His brother’s name was Jubal; he became the father of all those [musicians] who play the lyre and flute. ²² Zillah gave birth to Tubal-cain, the smith (craftsman) and teacher of every artisan in instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

²³ Lamech said to his wives,

²⁵ Adam knew [Eve as] his wife again; and she gave birth to a son, and named him Seth, for [she said], “God has granted another child for me in place of Abel, because Cain killed him.” ²⁶ To Seth, also, a son was born, whom he named Enosh (mortal man, mankind). At that [same] time men began to call on the name of the Lord [in worship through prayer, praise, and thanksgiving].^(F)

Descendants of Adam

5 This is the book (the written record, the history) of the generations of [the descendants of] Adam. When God created man, He made him in the likeness of God [not physical, but a spiritual personality and moral likeness]. ² He created them male and female, and blessed them and named them ^[i]Mankind at the time they were created.

³ When Adam had lived a hundred and thirty years, he ^[j]became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth. ⁴ After he became the father of Seth, Adam lived eight hundred years and had other sons and daughters. ⁵ So Adam lived nine hundred and thirty years in all, and he died.

⁶ When Seth was a hundred and five years old, he became the father of Enosh. ⁷ Seth lived eight hundred and seven years after the birth of Enosh, and he had other sons and daughters. ⁸ So Seth lived nine hundred and twelve years, and he died.

⁹ When Enosh was ninety years old, he became the father of Kenan. ¹⁰ Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years after the birth of Kenan and had other sons and daughters. ¹¹ So Enosh lived nine hundred and five years, and he died.

¹² When Kenan was seventy years old, he became the father of Mahalalel. ¹³ Kenan lived eight hundred and forty years after the birth of Mahalalel and had other sons and daughters. ¹⁴ So Kenan lived nine hundred and ten years, and he died.

¹⁵ When Mahalalel was sixty-five years old, he became the father of Jared. ¹⁶ Mahalalel lived eight hundred and thirty years after the birth of Jared and had other sons and daughters. ¹⁷ So Mahalalel lived eight hundred and ninety-five years, and he died.

¹⁸ When Jared was a hundred and sixty-two years old, he became the father of Enoch. ¹⁹ Jared lived eight hundred years after the birth of Enoch and had other sons and daughters. ²⁰ So Jared lived nine hundred and sixty-two years, and he died.

²¹ When Enoch was sixty-five years old, he became the father of Methuselah. ²² Enoch walked [in habitual fellowship] with God three hundred years after the birth of Methuselah and had other sons and daughters. ²³ So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. ²⁴ And [in reverent fear and obedience] Enoch walked with God; and he was not [found among men], because God took him [away to be home with Him].^(G)

²⁵ When Methuselah was a hundred and eighty-seven years old, he became the father of Lamech. ²⁶ Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years after the birth of Lamech and had other sons and daughters. ²⁷ So Methuselah lived nine hundred and sixty-nine years, and he died.

²⁸ When Lamech was a hundred and eighty-two years old, he became the father of a son. ²⁹ He named him Noah, saying, “This one shall bring us rest and comfort from our work and from the [dreadful] toil of our hands because of the ground which the Lord cursed.” ³⁰ Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years after the birth of Noah and had other sons and daughters. ³¹ So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years, and he died.

³² After Noah was five hundred years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

The Corruption of Mankind

6 Now it happened, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, ² that the ^[k]sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful and desirable; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose and desired. ³ Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive and remain with man forever, because he is indeed flesh [sinful, corrupt—given over to sensual appetites]; nevertheless his days shall yet be ^[l]a hundred and twenty years.” ⁴ There were Nephilim (men of stature, notorious men) on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God lived with the daughters of men, and they gave birth to their children. These were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown (great reputation, fame).^(H)

⁵ The Lord saw that the wickedness (depravity) of man was great on the earth, and that every imagination or intent of the thoughts of his heart were only evil continually. ⁶ The Lord ^[m]regretted that He had made mankind on the earth, and He was [deeply] grieved in His heart. ⁷ So the Lord said, “I will destroy (annihilate) mankind whom I have created from the surface of the earth—not only man, but the animals and the crawling things and the birds of the air—because it [deeply] grieves Me [to see mankind’s sin] and I regret that I have made them.” ⁸ But Noah found favor and grace in the eyes of the Lord.

⁹ These are the records of the generations (family history) of Noah. Noah was a righteous man [one who was just and had right standing with God], blameless in his [evil] generation; Noah walked (lived) [in habitual fellowship] with God. ¹⁰ Now Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

¹¹ The [population of the] earth was corrupt [absolutely depraved—spiritually and morally putrid] in God’s sight, and the land was filled with violence [desecration, infringement, outrage, assault, and lust for power]. ¹² God looked on the earth and saw how debased and degenerate it was, for all humanity had corrupted their way on the earth and lost their true direction.

¹³ God said to Noah, “I intend to make an end of all that lives, for through men the land is filled with violence; and behold, I am about to ^[n]destroy them together with the land. ¹⁴ Make yourself an ^[o]ark of ^[p]gopher wood; make in it rooms (stalls, pens, coops, nests, cages, compartments) and ^[q]coat it inside and out with pitch (bitumen). ¹⁵ This is the way you are to make it: the length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits (450’ x 75’ x 45’). ¹⁶ You shall make a ^[r]window [for light and ventilation] for the ark, and finish it to at least a cubit (eighteen inches) from the top—and set the [entry] door of the ark in its side; and you shall make it with lower, second and third decks. ¹⁷ For behold, I, even I, will bring a flood of waters on the earth, to destroy all life under the heavens in which there is the breath and spirit of life; everything that is on the land shall die. ¹⁸ But I will establish My covenant (solemn promise, formal agreement) with you; and you shall come into the ark—you and your [three] sons and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. ¹⁹ And of every living thing [found on land], you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. ²⁰ Of fowls and birds according to their kind, of animals according to their kind, of every crawling thing of the ground according to its kind—two of every kind shall come to you to keep them alive. ²¹ Also take with you every kind of food that is edible, and you shall collect and store it; and it shall be food for you and for them.” ²² So Noah did this; according to all that God commanded him, that is what he did.

The Flood

7 Then the Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you with all your household, for you [alone] I have seen as righteous (doing what is right) before Me in this generation.^{(I) 2} Of every ^[s]clean animal you shall take with you seven pair, the male and his female, and of animals that are not clean, two each the male and his female;^{(J) 3} also of the birds of the air, seven pair, the male and the female, to keep the offspring alive on the surface of the earth. ⁴ For in seven days I am going to cause it to rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights; and I will destroy (blot out, wipe away) every living thing that I have made from the surface of the earth.” ⁵ So Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.^(K)

⁶ Noah was six hundred years old when the flood (deluge) of water came on the earth [covering all of the land]. ⁷ Then Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him entered the ark to escape the flood waters.^{(L) 8} Of ^[t]clean animals and animals that are not clean and birds and fowls and everything that crawls on the ground, ⁹ they came [motivated by God] into the ark with Noah two by two, the male and the female, just as God had commanded Noah. ¹⁰ And after the seven days [God released the rain and] the floodwaters came on the earth. ¹¹ In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month, on that same day all the fountains of the great deep [subterranean waters] burst open, and the windows and floodgates of the heavens were opened. ¹² It rained on the earth for forty days and forty nights.

¹³ On the very same day Noah and Shem and Ham and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark, ¹⁴ they and every animal according to its kind, all the livestock according to their kinds, every moving thing that crawls on the earth according to its kind, and every bird according to its kind, every winged thing of every sort. ¹⁵ So they went into the ark with Noah, two by two of all living beings in which there was the breath and spirit of life. ¹⁶ Those which entered, male and female of all flesh (creatures), entered as God had commanded Noah; and the Lord closed the door behind him.

¹⁷ The flood [the great downpour of rain] was forty days and nights on the earth; and the waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it floated [high] above the land. ¹⁸ The waters became mighty and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the waters. ¹⁹ The waters prevailed so greatly and were so mighty and overwhelming on the earth, so that all the high mountains everywhere under the heavens were covered. ²⁰ [In fact] the waters became ^[u]fifteen cubits higher [than the highest ground], and the mountains were covered. ²¹ All living beings that moved on the earth perished—birds and cattle (domestic animals), [wild] animals, all things that swarm and crawl on the earth, and all mankind. ²² Everything on the dry land, all in whose nostrils was the breath and spirit of life, died. ²³ God destroyed (blotted out, wiped away) every living thing that was on the surface of the earth; man and animals and the crawling things and the birds of the heavens were destroyed from the land. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive.^{(M) 24} The waters covered [all of] the earth for a hundred and fifty days (five months).