“Not so!” replied the LORD. “If anyone slays Cain, then Cain will be avenged sevenfold.” And the LORD placed a mark on Cain, so that no one who found him would kill him.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh said to him, “Therefore whoever slays Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold.” Yahweh appointed a sign for Cain, so that anyone finding him would not strike him.
- KJV And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
- NKJV And the Lord said to him, “Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.
- NASB So the Lord said to him, “Therefore whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him seven times as much.” And the Lord placed a mark on Cain, so that no one finding him would kill him.
- NLT The Lord replied, “No, for I will give a sevenfold punishment to anyone who kills you.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain to warn anyone who might try to kill him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God promises sevenfold vengeance on anyone who kills Cain and gives him a protective sign. It shows God's restraining mercy even toward a guilty sinner.
Overview
Despite Cain's grievous sin, God limits the violence against him and marks him for protection, restraining the spread of bloodshed. This is not approval but mercy, sparing Cain's life and curbing human vengeance. God's patience here reflects His unwillingness that even the wicked should perish, leaving room for repentance.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Ezek 9:4“Go throughout the city of Jerusalem,” said the LORD, “and put a mark on the foreheads of the men sighing and groaning over all the abominations committed there.”
- Ps 79:12Pay back into the laps of our neighbors sevenfold the reproach they hurled at You, O Lord.
- Gen 4:24If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”
- Ezek 9:6Slaughter the old men, the young men and maidens, the women and children; but do not go near anyone who has the mark. Now begin at My sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the temple.
- Rev 14:9And a third angel followed them, calling out in a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image, and receives its mark on his forehead or on his hand,
- Rev 14:11And the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever. Day and night there is no rest for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”
- Ps 59:11Do not kill them, or my people will forget. Scatter them by Your power, and bring them down, O Lord, our shield.
- Lev 26:21If you walk in hostility toward Me and refuse to obey Me, I will multiply your plagues seven times, according to your sins.
- Lev 26:24then I will act with hostility toward you, and I will strike you sevenfold for your sins.
- Lev 26:18And if after all this you will not obey Me, I will proceed to punish you sevenfold for your sins.
- 1 Kgs 16:7Moreover, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha and his house, because of all the evil he had done in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger with the work of his hands and becoming like the house of Jeroboam, and also because Baasha had struck down the house of Jeroboam.
- Hos 1:4Then the LORD said to Hosea, “Name him Jezreel, for soon I will bring the bloodshed of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel.
- Lev 26:28then I will walk in fury against you, and I, even I, will punish you sevenfold for your sins.
- Matt 26:52“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him. “For all who draw the sword will die by the sword.
- Prov 6:31Yet if caught, he must pay sevenfold; he must give up all the wealth of his house.
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 4:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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