Chapter LXXVIII - Jealousy overcomes Cain. He makes trouble in the family. How the first murder was planned.
1 Then Adam said to Eve, "Behold the children are grown up; we must think of finding wives for them."
2 Then Eve answered, "How can we do it?"
3 Then Adam said to her, "We will join Abel's sister in marriage to Cain, and Cain's sister to Abel.
4 The said Eve to Adam, "I do not like Cain because he is hard-hearted; but let them stay with us until we offer up to the Lord in their behalf."
5 And Adam said no more.
6 Meanwhile Satan came to Cain in the figure of a man of the field, and said to him, "Behold Adam and Eve have taken counsel together about the marriage of you two; and they have agreed to marry Abel's sister to you, and your sister to him.
7 But if it was not that I love you, I would not have told you this thing. Yet if you will take my advice, and obey me, I will bring to you on your wedding day beautiful robes, gold and silver in plenty, and my relations will attend you."
8 Then Cain said with joy, "Where are your relations?"
9 And Satan answered, "My relations are in a garden in the north, where I once meant to bring your father Adam; but he would not accept my offer.
10 But you, if you will receive my words and if you will come to me after your wedding, you shall rest from the misery in which you are; and you shall rest and be better off than your father Adam."
11 At these words of Satan Cain opened his ears, and leaned towards his speech.
12 And he did not remain in the field, but he went to Eve, his mother, and beat her, and cursed her, and said to her, "Why are you planning to take my sister to wed her to my brother? Am I dead?"
13 His mother, however, quieted him, and sent him to the field where he had been.
14 Then when Adam came, she told him of what Cain had done.
15 But Adam grieved and held his peace, and said not a word.
16 Then on the next morning Adam said to Cain his son, "Take of your sheep, young and good, and offer them up to your God; and I will speak to your brother, to make to his God an offering of corn."
17 They both obeyed their father Adam, and they took their offerings, and offered them up on the mountain by the altar.
18 But Cain behaved haughtily towards his brother, and shoved him from the altar, and would not let him offer up his gift on the altar; but he offered his own on it, with a proud heart, full of guile, and fraud.
19 But as for Abel, he set up stones that were near at hand, and on that, he offered up his gift with a heart humble and free from guile.
20 Cain was then standing by the altar on which he had offered up his gift; and he cried to God to accept his offering; but God did not accept it from him; neither did a divine fire come down to consume his offering.
21 But he remained standing over against the altar, out of humor and meanness, looking towards his brother Abel, to see if God would accept his offering or not.
22 And Abel prayed to God to accept his offering. Then a divine fire came down and consumed his offering. And God smelled the sweet savor of his offering; because Abel loved Him and rejoice in Him.
23 And because God was well pleased with him, He sent him an angel of light in the figure of a man who had partaken of his offering, because He had smelled the sweet savor of his offering, and they comforted Abel and strengthened his heart.
24 But Cain was looking on all that took place at his brother's offering, and was angry because of it.
25 Then he opened his mouth and blasphemed God, because He had not accepted his offering.
26 But God said to cain, "Why do you look sad? Be righteous, that I may accept your offering. Not against Me have you murmured, but against yourself.
27 And God said this to Cain in rebuke, and because He abhorred him and his offering.
28 And Cain came down from the altar, his color changed and with a sad face, and came to his father and mother and told them all that had befallen him. And Adam grieved much because God had not accepted Cain's offering.
29 But Abel came down rejoicing, and with a gladsome heart, and told his father and mother how God had accepted his offering. And they rejoiced at it and kissed his face.
30 And Abel said to his father, "Because Cain shoved me from the altar, and would not allow me to offer my gift on it, I made an altar for myself and offered my gift on it."
31 But when Adam heard this he was very sorry, because it was the altar he had built at first, and on which he had offered his own gifts.
32 As to Cain, he was so resentful and so angry that he went into the field, where Satan came to him and said to him, "Since your brother Abel has taken refuge with your father Adam, because you shoved him from the altar, they have kissed his face, and they rejoice over him, far more than over you."
33 When Cain heard these words of Satan, he was filled with rage; and he let no one know. But he was laying wait to kill his brother, until he brought him into the cave, and then said to him:—
34 "O brother, the country is so beautiful, and there are such beautiful and pleasurable trees in it, and charming to look at! But brother, you have never been one day in the field to take your pleasure in that place.
35 Today, O, my brother, I very much wish you would come with me into the field, to enjoy yourself and to bless our fields and our flocks, for you are righteous, and I love you much, O my brother! But you have alienated yourself from me."
36 Then Abel consented to go with his brother Cain into the field.
37 But before going out, Cain said to Abel, "Wait for me, until I fetch a staff, because of wild beasts."
38 Then Abel stood waiting in his innocence. But Cain, the forward, fetched a staff and went out.
39 And they began, Cain and his brother Abel, to walk in the way; Cain talking to him, and comforting him, to make him forget everything.
Chapter LXXIX - A wicked plan is carried to a tragic conclusion. Cain is frightened. "Am I my brother's keeper?" The seven punishments. Peace is shattered.
1 And so they went on, until they came to a lonely place, where there were no sheep; then Abel said to Cain, "Behold, my brother, we are tired from walking; for we see none of the trees, nor of the fruits, nor of the flourishing green plants, nor of the sheep, nor any one of the things of which you told me. Where are those sheep of thine you told me to bless?"
2 Then Cain said to him, "Come on, and you shall see many beautiful things very soon, but go before me, until I catch up to you."
3 Then went Abel forward, but Cain remained behind him.
4 And Abel was walking in his innocence, without guile; not believing his brother would kill him.
5 Then Cain, when he came up to him, comforted him with his talk, walking a little behind him; then he ran up to him and beat him with the staff, blow after blow, until he was stunned.
6 But when Abel fell down on the ground, seeing that his brother meant to kill him, he said to Cain, "O, my brother, have pity on me. By the breasts we have sucked, don't hit me! By the womb that bore us and that brought us into the world, don't beat me to death with that staff! If you will kill me, take one of these large stones and kill me outright."
7 Then Cain, the hard-hearted, and cruel murderer, took a large stone, and beat his brother's head with it, until his brains oozed out, and he wallowed in his blood, before him.
8 And Cain repented not of what he had done.
9 But the earth, when the blood of righteous Abel fell on it, trembled, as it drank his blood, and would have destroyed Cain because of it.
10 And the blood of Abel cried mysteriously to God, to avenge him of his murderer.
11 Then Cain began at once to dig the ground wherein to lay his brother; for he was trembling from the fear that came over him, when he saw the earth tremble on his account.
12 He then cast his brother into the pit he made, and covered him with dust. But the ground would not receive him; but it threw him up at once.
13 Again Cain dug the ground and hid his brother in it; but again the ground threw him up on itself; until three times the ground thus threw up on itself the body of Abel.
14 The muddy ground threw him up the first time, because he was not the first creation; and it threw him up the second time and would not receive him, because he was righteous and good, and was killed without a cause; and the ground threw him up the third time and would not receive him, that there might remain before his brother a witness against him.
15 And so the earth mocked Cain, until the Word of God, came to him concerning his brother.
16 Then was God angry, and much displeased at Abel's death; and He thundered from heaven, and lightnings went before Him, and the Word of the Lord God came from heaven to Cain, and said to him, "Where is Abel your brother?"
17 Then Cain answered with a proud heart and a gruff voice, "How, O God? Am I my brother's keeper?"
18 Then God said to Cain, "Cursed be the earth that has drunk the blood of Abel your brother; and as for you, you will always be trembling and shaking; and this will be a mark on you so that whoever finds you, will kill you."
19 But Cain cried because God had said those words to him; and Cain said to Him, "O God, whosoever finds me shall kill me, and I shall be blotted out from the face of the earth."
20 Then God said to Cain, "Whoever finds you will not kill you;" because before this, God had been saying to Cain, "I shall put seven punishments on anyone that kills Cain." For as to the word of God to Cain, "Where is your brother?" God said it in mercy for him, to try and make him repent.
21 For if Cain had repented at that time, and had said, "O God, forgive me my sin, and the murder of my brother," God would then have forgiven him his sin.
22 And as to God saying to Cain, "Cursed be the ground that has drunk the blood of your brother." That also, was God's mercy on Cain. For God did not curse him, but He cursed the ground; although it was not the ground that had killed Abel, and committed a wicked sin.
23 For it was fitting that the curse should fall on the murderer; yet in mercy did God so manage His thoughts as that no one should know it, and turn away from Cain.
24 And He said to him, "Where is your brother?" To which he answered and said, "I know not." Then the Creator said to him, "Be trembling and quaking."
25 Then Cain trembled and became terrified; and through this sign did God make him an example before all the creation, as the murderer of his brother. Also did God bring trembling and terror over him, that he might see the peace in which he was at first, and see also the trembling and terror he endured at the last; so that he might humble himself before God, and repent of his sin, and seek the peace that he enjoyed at first.
26 And in the word of God that said, "I will put seven punishments on anyone who kills Cain," God was not seeking to kill Cain with the sword, but He sought to make him die of fasting, and praying and crying by hard rule, until the time that he was delivered from his sin.
27 And the seven punishments are the seven generations during which God awaited Cain for the murder of his brother.
28 But as to Cain, ever since he had killed his brother, he could find no rest in any place; but went back to Adam and Eve, trembling, terrified, and defiled with blood. . . .