Genesis 4:12

When thou tillest the earth, it shall not add to give its virtue to thee; a castaway and a wanderer shalt thou be in the earth.

Targum Onkelos

In The King James Version

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.

In Context

11And now, accursed art thou from the earth, which hath opened her mouth and received the blood of thy brother from thy hand.

13And Kain said before the Lord, Greater is my guilt than may be forgiven.

Read all of Genesis 4

Cross References

Genesis 3:17And unto Adam He said, Because thou hast obeyed the word of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree (about) which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it, accursed is the ground on thy account. With labour shalt thou eat from it all the days of thy life.

Leviticus 26:20And your strength shall be put forth in vain, for your ground will not yield its produce, nor the tree of the earth its fruit.

Deuteronomy 28:23And the heavens over thy head will be obdurate as brass in withholding rain, and the ground under thee obstinate as iron in producing no fruit.

Matthew Henry on Genesis 4:10-13

Cain's Punishment. ( b. c. 3875.) 9 And the Lord said unto 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 crieth unto me from the ground. 11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; 12 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. We have here a… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study Genesis 4:12