Genesis 4:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

NIV: Now Cain said to his brother Abel, 'Let's go out to the field.' While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

NASB: Cain talked to his brother Abel; and it happened that when they were in the field Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

CSB: Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

NLT: 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.

KJV: And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

NKJV: Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

In the previous verses, God accepted an offering from Abel, but rejected a different sacrifice from Cain. Scripture gives no explicit reasons why, but it seems to be a matter of Cain's attitude. Rather than attempting to do right, when corrected by God, Cain responds with anger. God warned Cain that his refusal to choose God's standards would cause him to lose the battle with sin. Cain, however, would not change course.

Despite God's loving, clear warning, Cain allows sin to win. Cain talked to his brother, and the two went to the field together. In some manuscripts, the text specifies that Cain wanted to go out into the field with Abel.

There Cain attacks and kills Abel: the first recorded murder in human history. Cain failed to live up to God's standards, and was angry. When God gave Cain a way to be restored, and warned him about the dangerous nature of sin, Cain instead chose to reject God even further. Cain would not be altered from his course of hurt, anger, and envy.

The Apostle John holds Cain out to us as a negative example, calling Cain "the evil one" (1 John 3:12), revealing that he was motivated by jealousy for his righteous brother.

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.