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

10But the Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground! 11Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which has swallowed your brother’s blood. 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.” 13Cain replied to the Lord, “My punishment is too great for me to bear! 14You have banished me from the land and from your presence; you have made me a homeless wanderer. Anyone who finds me will kill me!”

Genesis 4:12 word by word

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• 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 to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.
• Leviticus 26:20All your work will be for nothing, for your land will yield no crops, and your trees will bear no fruit.
• Deuteronomy 28:23The skies above will be as unyielding as bronze, and the earth beneath will be as hard as iron.
• Romans 8:20Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope,
• Genesis 4:14You have banished me from the land and from your presence; you have made me a homeless wanderer. Anyone who finds me will kill me!”
• Leviticus 26:36“And for those of you who survive, I will demoralize you in the land of your enemies. You will live in such fear that the sound of a leaf driven by the wind will send you fleeing. You will run as though fleeing from a sword, and you will fall even when no one pursues you.
• Deuteronomy 28:65There among those nations you will find no peace or place to rest. And the Lord will cause your heart to tremble, your eyesight to fail, and your soul to despair.
• Psalms 109:10May his children wander as beggars and be driven from their ruined homes.
• Jeremiah 20:3The next day, when Pashhur finally released him, Jeremiah said, “Pashhur, the Lord has changed your name. From now on you are to be called ‘The Man Who Lives in Terror.’
• Hosea 9:17My God will reject the people of Israel because they will not listen or obey. They will be wanderers, homeless 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