Christian Standard Bible
Genesis 4:11
11So now you are cursed, alienated from the ground that opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood you have shed.
Genesis 4:11 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;
- New International Version (NIV)Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.
- New King James Version (NKJV)So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
Context of Genesis 4:11
9Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s guardian?” 10Then he said, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground! So now you are cursed, alienated from the ground that opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood you have shed. 12If you work the ground, it will never again give you its yield. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.” 13But Cain answered the Lord, “My punishment is too great to bear!
Read all of Genesis 4Genesis 4:11 word by word
וְעַתָּ֖ה אָר֣וּר אָ֑תָּה מִן־הָֽאֲדָמָה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר פָּצְתָ֣ה אֶת־פִּ֔יהָ לָקַ֛חַת אֶת־דְּמֵ֥י אָחִ֖יךָ מִיָּדֶֽךָ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- thou cursedאָרַר'ârar · to curseH779
- from the earthאֲדָמָה'ădâmâh · land: soilH127
- which hath openedפָּצָהpâtsâh · to openH6475
- her mouthפֶּהpeh · lipH6310
- to receiveלָקַחlâqach · to take: recieveH3947
- thy brother’sאָח'âch · brother: male-siblingH251
- bloodדָּםdâm · bloodH1818
- from thy handיָדyâd · handH3027
Cross-references for Genesis 4:11
- Genesis 4:14Since you are banishing me today from the face of the earth, and I must hide from your presence and become a restless wanderer on the earth, whoever finds me will kill me.”
- Genesis 3:14So the Lord God said to the serpent: Because you have done this, you are cursed more than any livestock and more than any wild animal. You will move on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life.
- Deuteronomy 27:16‘The one who dishonors his father or mother is cursed.’ And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
- Deuteronomy 28:15“But if you do not obey the Lord your God by carefully following all his commands and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overtake you:
- Deuteronomy 29:19When someone hears the words of this oath, he may consider himself exempt, thinking, ‘I will have peace even though I follow my own stubborn heart.’ This will lead to the destruction of the well-watered land as well as the dry land.
- Galatians 3:10For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written, Everyone who does not do everything written in the book of the law is cursed.
- Job 16:18Earth, do not cover my blood; may my cry for help find no resting place.
- Job 31:38If my land cries out against me and its furrows join in weeping,
- Isaiah 26:21For look, the Lord is coming from his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth will reveal the blood shed on it and will no longer conceal her slain.
- Revelation 12:16But the earth helped the woman. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth.
Commentaries on Genesis 4:11
- 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 4:11
In the dictionaries
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
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