Genesis 4:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the LORD said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.

NIV: The LORD said, 'What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground.

NASB: Then He said, 'What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to Me from the ground.

CSB: Then he said, "What have you done? Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground!

NLT: But the Lord said, 'What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground!

KJV: And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.

NKJV: And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.

After Cain denied knowing where Abel was, God reveals that He already knows. Using poetic language, God says He can hear the voice of Abel's blood crying to Him from the ground where it was spilled. How Cain attempted to cover up his crime, we don't know. Perhaps he buried Abel or he just left him laying somewhere. In any event, beyond God's own omniscience, there would have been some physical traces left to connect Abel's murder to Cain. No part of Cain's denial will work, either against God or against other men.

This first murder begins to reveal God's principles of both justice and mercy. Blood spilled in unjust death cries out to be avenged, for the wrong to be made right. God will take responsibility for executing that justice, as well as for making a way for some amount of mercy to be shown to the sinner. As with Adam and Eve, God chooses mercy and exile over destruction.

Genesis 4:1–16 tells the beginning of human history in the wake of Adam's and Eve's sin and separation from God. This passage details the murder of Abel by his older brother Cain, the first son of Adam and Eve. Cain and Abel work the ground and tend sheep. They worship God, but Cain kills Abel in a fit of envy over God's rejection of Cain and his offering. The first human born on earth becomes the first murderer. God forces Cain to leave his family and wander the earth, but God also marks Cain with a promise of great vengeance on anyone who would kill him.

The consequences of sin become apparent in chapter 4: envy, arrogance, rebellion, murder, punishment, separation from family, and separation from God. Adam and Eve's firstborn son, Cain, jealously murders his brother Abel and loses everything. Adam and Eve lose them both. Cain's descendants amplify his sinfulness. Still, God provides help for Eve in childbirth and even provides protection for Cain in his wandering. Eve remains a woman of faith, even in her loss. And the sons of Seth, born after the murder of Abel, become a people who proclaim the name of the Lord.

The first three chapters of Genesis explain the creation and loss of paradise, as Adam and Eve are separated from God both physically and spiritually. Their relationship with Him does not end, however. Eve recognizes His help in bearing her son Cain and later Seth. Cain and Abel both worship God until Cain kills Abel. God provides protection for Cain, whose descendants become innovative, artful, arrogant, and violent. The descendants of Seth, however, begin to call on the Lord's name. This chapter bridges the story of Genesis from our ultimate origins to the story of Noah, introduced in the next chapter.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.

Accessed 5/12/2024 3:19:24 PM