Genesis 4:12

When thou shalt work the earth, it shall not give his fruits to thee; thou shalt be unstable of dwelling, and fleeing about on [the] earth, in all the days of thy life. (When thou shalt work the earth, it shall not give its fruits to thee; thou shalt be of unstable dwelling, and fleeing about on the earth, all the days of thy life.)

Wycliffe Modern Spelling

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

11Now therefore thou shalt be cursed on [the] earth, that opened his mouth, and received of thine hand the blood of thy brother. (And so now thou shalt be cursed on the earth, that hath opened its mouth, and received thy brother’s blood from thy hand.)

13And Cain said to the Lord, My wickedness is more than that I deserve forgiveness (for); (And Cain said to the Lord, My punishment is more than that I can bear;)

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Cross References

Genesis 3:17Soothly God said to Adam, For thou heardest the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded to thee that thou shouldest not eat, the earth shall be cursed in thy work, that is, for thy sin; in travails thou shalt eat thereof in all the days of thy life; (And God said to Adam, For thou heardest thy wife’s voice, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded to thee that thou shouldest not eat, the ground shall be cursed on account of thee, that is, because of thy sin; only after much travail, or much labour, shalt thou get food from it all the days of thy life;)

Leviticus 26:20your travail shall be wasted in vain, neither the earth shall bring forth fruit, neither [the] trees shall give apples. (all your labour shall be in vain, the land shall not bring forth any harvest, nor shall the trees give forth any fruit.)

Deuteronomy 28:23Heaven, that is above thee, be it brazen; and the earth, that thou treadest on, be it iron. (The heavens, that be above thee, shall become as hard as brass; and the earth, which thou treadest upon, shall become as hard as iron.)

Psalms 107:34He hath set fruitful land into saltiness; for the malice of men dwelling therein. ( He hath set fruitful land into a salty wasteland; because of the evil, or the wickedness, of the people who live there.)

Proverbs 28:17No man sustain a man that falsely challengeth the blood of a man, (even) if he fleeth till to the pit. (Let no one protect someone who oppresseth unto the blood, that is, unto the murder, of another person, yea, let him flee into the pit.)

Hosea 9:17My God shall cast them away, for they heard not him, (or My God shall cast them away, for they did not listen to him); and they shall be of unstable dwelling among (the) nations.

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

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