Genesis 4:12

Genesis 4:12 in other versions

• 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.”
• New Living Translation (NLT)No longer will the ground yield good crops for you, no matter how hard you work! From now on you will be a homeless wanderer 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 art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; 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. 13And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.

Genesis 4:12 word by word

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

• Whenכִּיkîy · forH3588
• thou tillestעָבַד‛âbad · to serve: labourH5647
• the groundאֲדָמָה'ădâmâh · land: soilH127
• it shall not henceforthיָסַףyâsaph · to add: againH3254
• yieldנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• unto thee her strengthכֹּחַkôach kôach · strengthH3581
• a fugitiveנוּעַnûa‛ · to shakeH5128
• and a vagabondנוּדnûd · to wanderH5110
• shalt thou be in the 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 sorrow 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 her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.
• 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 creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
• Genesis 4:14Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.
• Leviticus 26:36And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth.
• Deuteronomy 28:65And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:
• Psalms 109:10Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.
• Jeremiah 20:3And it came to pass on the morrow, that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah unto him, The Lord hath not called thy name Pashur, 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