“Why are you angry,” said the LORD to Cain, “and why has your countenance fallen?
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why has the expression of your face fallen?
- KJV And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
- NKJV So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?
- NASB Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why is your face gloomy?
- NLT “Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected?
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 graciously questions Cain about his anger and downcast face. It shows God reaching out to warn and correct before sin takes hold.
Overview
Rather than abandoning Cain, God comes to him with searching questions, inviting self-examination. This divine confrontation is an act of mercy, giving Cain opportunity to turn from his rising resentment. God's pursuit of the sinner before he falls reflects the patient grace that runs throughout Scripture.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Isa 1:18“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool.
- Job 5:2For resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple.
- Luke 15:31–32‘Son, you are always with me,’ the father said, ‘and all that is mine is yours.
- Jer 2:31You people of this generation, consider the word of the LORD: “Have I been a wilderness to Israel or a land of dense darkness? Why do My people say, ‘We are free to roam; we will come to You no more’?
- Mic 6:3–5‘My people, what have I done to you? Testify against Me how I have wearied you!
- Matt 20:15Do I not have the right to do as I please with what is mine? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
- John 4:8–11(His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
- Jer 2:5This is what the LORD says: “What fault did your fathers find in Me that they strayed so far from Me, and followed worthless idols, and became worthless themselves?
- John 4:1–4When Jesus realized that the Pharisees were aware He was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John
- 1 Chr 13:11–13Then David became angry because the LORD had burst forth against Uzzah; so he named that place Perez-uzzah, as it is called to this day.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 4:6 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.