Genesis 4:11

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 Abel, your brother?’ Cain replied, ‘I do not know where he is. Must I always keep my brother safe?’ 10Then the Lord God said, ‘Why have you done this bad thing? Now your brother's blood is lying there on the ground. That is like his voice which is shouting to me for help. The ground received your brother's blood when you killed him. As a result, the ground no longer accepts you. It has brought a curse on you. 12When you work hard to dig the ground, no plants will grow in it for your food. You will travel from place to place. You will not have your own home.’ 13Cain said to the Lord, ‘That punishment is too much! It will give me too much pain.

Genesis 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 4:14Now you are making me leave my home here on the land. I will be far away from where you are. I will be a traveller without a home. If someone sees me, they will kill me.’
• Genesis 3:14The Lord God said to the snake, ‘Because you have done this, I will curse you. Among all the farm animals and wild animals, you are the one that I will curse. From now on, you will move across the ground on your stomach. You will eat dust from the ground. You will do this for your whole life.
• Deuteronomy 27:16‘God will curse anyone who does not respect his parents.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Yes, we agree!’
• Deuteronomy 28:15But if you refuse to listen to the Lord your God, all these curses will happen to you. So be careful to obey all his commands and rules that I am giving you today. If you do not obey the Lord, these curses will happen to you:
• Deuteronomy 29:19Nobody who hears the message of this covenant should think that they can go against it. Someone might say to himself, ‘I do not have to obey this covenant. I will be safe, whatever happens. God will still bless me.’ A person who thinks like that will bring trouble on everyone and on everything.
• Galatians 3:10But some people try to obey all the rules of God's Law. They think that they will become right with God if they do this very well. But God will speak against people like that and he will punish them. It is written in the Bible: ‘God will punish everyone who does not always obey all the rules in his Law completely.’
• Job 16:18The earth should not hide my blood! People should remember how I have suffered. They should not forget that I asked for justice.
• Job 31:38I have not grown crops on land that does not belong to me. The land itself would accuse me if that were true.
• Isaiah 26:21Look! Now the Lord is coming from the place where he lives. He is coming to punish the people who live on the earth for their sins. The earth will clearly show the blood that murderers poured out on it. Murderers will no longer be able to hide the people that they have killed.
• Revelation 12:16But a big hole opened in the ground. The river that poured from the dragon's mouth went down into the hole. That helped the woman to escape.

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

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

In the dictionaries

• Abel
• Adam
• Blood
• Cain
• Call
• Cursed
• Fall
• Fat
• Hurt
• Mark

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