The Bible

 

Genesis 4

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1 And the man knew Eve his wife, and she conceiveth and beareth Cain, and saith, `I have gotten a man by Jehovah;'

2 and she addeth to bear his brother, even Abel. And Abel is feeding a flock, and Cain hath been servant of the ground.

3 And it cometh to pass at the end of days that Cain bringeth from the fruit of the ground a present to Jehovah;

4 and Abel, he hath brought, he also, from the female firstlings of his flock, even from their fat ones; and Jehovah looketh unto Abel and unto his present,

5 and unto Cain and unto his present He hath not looked; and it is very displeasing to Cain, and his countenance is fallen.

6 And Jehovah saith unto Cain, `Why hast thou displeasure? and Why hath thy countenance fallen?

7 Is there not, if thou dost well, acceptance? and if thou dost not well, at the opening a sin-offering is crouching, and unto thee its desire, and thou rulest over it.'

8 And Cain saith unto Abel his brother, [`Let us go into the field;'] and it cometh to pass in their being in the field, that Cain riseth up against Abel his brother, and slayeth him.

9 And Jehovah saith unto Cain, `Where [is] Abel thy brother?' and he saith, `I have not known; my brother's keeper -- I?'

10 And He saith, `What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood is crying unto Me from the ground;

11 and now, cursed [art] thou from the ground, which hath opened her mouth to receive the blood of thy brother from thy hand;

12 when thou tillest the ground, it doth not add to give its strength to thee -- a wanderer, even a trembling one, thou art in the earth.'

13 And Cain saith unto Jehovah, `Greater is my punishment than to be borne;

14 lo, Thou hast driven me to-day from off the face of the ground, and from Thy face I am hid; and I have been a wanderer, even a trembling one, in the earth, and it hath been -- every one finding me doth slay me.'

15 And Jehovah saith to him, `Therefore -- of any slayer of Cain sevenfold it is required;' and Jehovah setteth to Cain a token that none finding him doth slay him.

16 And Cain goeth out from before Jehovah, and dwelleth in the land, moving about east of Eden;

17 and Cain knoweth his wife, and she conceiveth, and beareth Enoch; and he is building a city, and he calleth the name of the city, according to the name of his son -- Enoch.

18 And born to Enoch is Irad; and Irad hath begotten Mehujael; and Mehujael hath begotten Methusael; and Methusael hath begotten Lamech.

19 And Lamech taketh to himself two wives, the name of the one Adah, and the name of the second Zillah.

20 And Adah beareth Jabal, he hath been father of those inhabiting tents and purchased possessions;

21 and the name of his brother [is] Jubal, he hath been father of every one handling harp and organ.

22 And Zillah she also bare Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron; and a sister of Tubal-Cain [is] Naamah.

23 And Lamech saith to his wives: -- `Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; wives of Lamech, give ear [to] my saying: For a man I have slain for my wound, Even a young man for my hurt;

24 For sevenfold is required for Cain, And for Lamech seventy and sevenfold.'

25 And Adam again knoweth his wife, and she beareth a son, and calleth his name Seth, `for God hath appointed for me another seed instead of Abel:' for Cain had slain him.

26 And to Seth, to him also a son hath been born, and he calleth his name Enos; then a beginning was made of preaching in the name of Jehovah.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #324

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324. Genesis 4

1. And the man knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain; and she said, I have gained a man, Jehovah. 1

2. And she bore again, his brother Abel. And Abel was a shepherd of the flock, and Cain was a tiller of the ground.

3. And it happened at the end of days that Cain brought some of the fruit of the ground, a gift for Jehovah.

4. And Abel brought some of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat; and Jehovah had respect for Abel and his gift.

5. And for Cain and his gift He had no respect; and Cain's anger was set ablaze and his face 2 fell.

6. And Jehovah said to Cain, Why has your anger been set ablaze, and why has your face 2 fallen?

7. If you do well, is there not an uplifting? And if you do not do well, sin is lying at the door. And to you is his desire, and you have dominion over him.

8. And Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

9. And Jehovah said to Cain, Where is Abel your brother? And he said, I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?

10. And He said, What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood 3 is crying out to me from the ground.

11. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood 3 from your hand.

12. When you till the ground, it will not yield its strength to you; a wanderer and a fugitive you will be in the land.

13. And Cain said to Jehovah, My iniquity is too great for it to be taken away.

14. Behold, You have driven me this day off the face 2 of the ground; and I shall be hidden from Your face, 2 and I shall be a wanderer and a fugitive in the land; and everyone finding me might kill me.

15. And Jehovah said to him, Therefore anyone killing Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold. And Jehovah put a sign on Cain, lest anyone finding him should strike him.

16. And Cain went out from the face 2 of Jehovah, and he dwelt in the land of Nod towards the east of Eden.

17. And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he was building 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 beget Mehujael, and Mehujael beget Methushael, and Methushael beget Lamech.

19. And Lamech took two wives for himself; the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.

20. And Adah gave birth to Jabal. He was the father of the tent-dweller and of cattle.

21. And his brother's name was Jubal. He was the father of all who play upon the harp and organ.

22. And Zillah also, she gave birth to Tubal-cain, teacher of every craftsman in bronze and iron. And Tubal-cain's sister was Naamah.

23. And Lamech told his wives Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice, O wives of Lamech, and with your ears perceive my speech that I have killed a man (vir) to my wounding, and a little one to my bruising.

24. For sevenfold will Cain be avenged, and Lamech seventy-sevenfold.

25. And the man (homo) knew his wife again, and she bore a son, and she called his name Seth - for God has appointed me another seed in place of Abel, seeing that Cain had killed him.

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

CONTENTS

The subject is doctrinal systems which were not part of the Church, that is, which were heresies, and a new Church raised up afterwards, called Enosh.

Footnotes:

1. Grammatically Jehovah is at this point accusative or objective case.

2. literally, faces

3. literally, bloods

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