Genesis 4:12

Genesis 4:12 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
• New International Version (NIV)When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth."
• New King James Version (NKJV)When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.”

Context of Genesis 4:12

10And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. 11And now cursed art thou from the ground, which hath opened its mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; when thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee its strength; a fugitive and a wanderer shalt thou be in the earth. 13And Cain said unto Jehovah, My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the ground; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth; and it will come to pass, that whosoever findeth me will slay me.

Genesis 4:12 word by word

כִּ֤י תַֽעֲבֹד֙ אֶת־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה לֹֽא־תֹסֵ֥ף תֵּת־כֹּחָ֖הּ לָ֑ךְ נָ֥ע וָנָ֖ד תִּֽהְיֶ֥ה בָאָֽרֶץ׃Read the interlinear

• groundאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• strengthכֹּחַkôach kôach · reptileH3581
• beהָיָהhâyâh · to beH1961
• earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776

Cross-references for Genesis 4:12

• Genesis 3:17And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
• Leviticus 26:20and your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield its increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruit.
• Deuteronomy 28:23And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
• Romans 8:20For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but by reason of him who subjected it, in hope
• Genesis 4:14Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the ground; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth; and it will come to pass, that whosoever findeth me will slay me.
• Leviticus 26:36And as for them that are left of you, I will send a faintness into their heart in the lands of their enemies: and the sound of a driven leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as one fleeth from the sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth.
• Deuteronomy 28:65And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, and there shall be no rest for the sole of thy foot: but Jehovah will give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and pining of soul;
• Psalms 109:10Let his children be vagabonds, and beg; And let them seek their bread out of their desolate places.
• Jeremiah 20:3And it came to pass on the morrow, that Pashhur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah unto him, Jehovah hath not called thy name Pashhur, but Magor-missabib.
• Hosea 9:17My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him; and they shall be wanderers among the nations.

Commentaries on Genesis 4:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be - Thou shalt be expelled from the presence of God, and from thy family connections, and shalt have no fixed secure residence in any place. The Septuagint render this , thou shalt be groaning and trembling upon the earth - the horror of thy crime shall ever haunt thee, and thou shalt never have any well-grounded hope that God will remit the punishment thou deservest. No state out of endless perdition can be…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-16Verses 1-16 - Section IV - The Family of Adam - Cain and Abel 1. קין qayı̂n Qain (Cain), “spear-shaft,” and קנה qānah “set up, establish, gain, buy,” contain the biliteral root קן qan “set up, erect, gain.” The relations of root words are not confined to the narrow rules of our common etymology, but really extend to such instinctive usages as the unlettered speaker will invent or employ. A full examination of the Hebrew tongue leads to the conclusion…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-15Verses 8-15 Malice in the heart ends in murder by the hands. Cain slew Abel, his own brother, his own mother's son, whom he ought to have loved; his younger brother, whom he ought to have protected; a good brother, who had never done him any wrong. What fatal effects were these of our first parents' sin, and how must their hearts have been filled with anguish! Observe the pride, unbelief, and impenitence of Cain. He denies the crime, as if he could…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11-12Like his father (see 3:9–12, 17–19), God asked Cain questions before he judged him (4:9–10). Adam's sin had already caused the ground to be cursed. Now Cain was cursed and driven away from the land he had farmed because he had polluted it with innocent blood. a fugitive and a wanderer: God sentenced Cain to endless wandering in a land that offered neither food nor safety. The consequences of sin were becoming worse.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 11-1211-12. now art thou cursed from the earth--a curse superadded to the general one denounced on the ground for Adam's sin.Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 4:12

• Abel
• Cain
• Curse
• Homicide
• Judgments
• Sin

In the dictionaries

• Abel
• Adam
• Agriculture
• Blood
• Cain
• Call
• Cursed
• Fall
• Fat
• Fugitive

Commentaries on Genesis 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings