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Genesis 4

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1 And Man knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bore Cain, and said, I have acquired a Man with Jehovah.

2 And she further bore his brother Abel. And Abel was a shepherd, but Cain was a husbandman.

3 And in process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to Jehovah.

4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of their fat. And Jehovah looked upon Abel, and on his offering;

5 and upon Cain, and on his offering, he did not look. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.

6 And Jehovah said to Cain, Why art thou angry, and why is thy countenance fallen?

7 If thou doest well, will not [thy countenance] look up [with confidence]? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door; and unto thee [shall be] his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

8 And Cain spoke to Abel his brother, and it came to pass when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

9 And Jehovah said to Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: am I my brother's keeper?

10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood is crying to me from the ground.

11 And now be thou cursed from the ground, which hath opened its mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand.

12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield thee its strength; a wanderer and fugitive shalt thou be on the earth.

13 And Cain said to Jehovah, My punishment is too great to be borne.

14 Behold, thou hast driven me this day from the face of the ground, and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a wanderer and fugitive on the earth; and it will come to pass, [that] every one who finds me will slay me.

15 And Jehovah said to him, Therefore, whoever slayeth Cain, it shall be revenged sevenfold. And Jehovah set a mark on Cain, lest any finding him should smite him.

16 And Cain went out from the presence of Jehovah, and dwelt in the land of Nod, toward the east of Eden.

17 And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city; and he called the name of the city after the name of his son Enoch.

18 And to Enoch was born Irad; and Irad begot Mehujael; and Mehujael begot Methushael; and Methushael begot Lemech.

19 And Lemech took two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the second, Zillah.

20 And Adah bore Jabal: he was the father of those who dwell in tents, and [breed] cattle.

21 And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of those who handle the harp and pipe.

22 And Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, the forger of every kind of tool of brass and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.

23 And Lemech said to his wives: Adah and Zillah, hear my voice, Ye wives of Lemech, listen to my speech. For I have slain a man for my wound, and a youth for my bruise.

24 If Cain shall be avenged seven-fold; Lemech seventy and seven fold.

25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son, and called his name Seth: ... For God has appointed me another seed instead of Abel, because Cain has slain him.

26 And to Seth, to him also was born a son; and he called his name Enosh. Then people began to call on the name of Jehovah.

   

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Arcana Coelestia #407

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407. It generally happens with the passage of time that the Church reaches a state when it retreats from true faith and at length ends up with no faith at all. And when faith is no more the Church is said to be vastated. This was what happened to the Most Ancient Church among those called Cainites. It was also what happened to the Ancient Church which came after the Flood, and to the Jewish Church too, which had been so vastated by the time of the Lord's Coming that they did not even know anything about the Lord's coming to save them, still less anything about faith in Him. It was what happened yet again to the Primitive Church - the Church established after the Lord's Coming - which at the present time has been so vastated that there is not any faith there. Nevertheless some nucleus of the Church always remains, although those who have been vastated as to faith do not acknowledge that nucleus, as with the Most Ancient Church, a remnant of which remained up to and survived beyond the Flood. That remnant of the Church is called Noah.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.