Genesis 4:10

10 The LORD said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.

Genesis 4:10 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.
English Standard Version (ESV)
10 And the LORD said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground.
New Living Translation (NLT)
10 But the LORD said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground!
The Message Bible (MSG)
10 God said, "What have you done! The voice of your brother's blood is calling to me from the ground.
American Standard Version (ASV)
10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
10 The LORD asked, "What have you done? Your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
10 Then He said, "What have you done? Your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground!
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
10 The LORD said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground.

Genesis 4:10 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 4:10

And he said
Not Cain, the last speaker, but the Lord God, what hast thou done?
what an heinous crime hast thou committed! how aggravated is it! I know what thou hast done; thou hast slain thy brother, thine own, thine only brother, a holy, righteous, and good man, who never gave thee any offence, or any just occasion of shedding his innocent blood: this he said as knowing what he had done, and to impress his mind with a sense of the evil, and to bring him to a confession of it, before the sentence was passed, that it might appear to all to be just, and of which there was full proof and evidence, as follows: the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground;
where it was split, and in which it was covered and hid, and where perhaps Cain had buried his body, that it might not be seen, and the murder not discovered; but God saw what was done, and the voice of innocent blood came into his ears, and cried for vengeance at his hands: it is in the original, "the voice of thy brother's bloods" F19, in the plural; which the Jews generally understood of the posterity that would have descended from Abel, had he not been murdered: the Targum of Onkelos is,

``the voice of the blood of the seeds or generations that should come from thy brother;''
see ( 2 Kings 9:26 ) or it may respect the blood of the seed of the woman, of all the righteous ones that should be slain in like manner. The Jerusalem Targum is,
``the voice of the bloods of the multitude of the righteous that shall spring from Abel thy brother,''
or succeed him; see ( Matthew 23:35 ) . Jarchi thinks it has reference to the many wounds which Cain gave him, from whence blood sprung; and every wound and every drop of blood, as it were, cried for vengeance on the murderer.
FOOTNOTES:

F19 (ymd lwq) "vox Sanguinum", Pagninus, Montanus

Genesis 4:10 In-Context

8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
10 The LORD said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.
11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”

Cross References 1

  • 1. Genesis 9:5; Genesis 37:20,26; Exodus 21:12; Numbers 35:33; Deuteronomy 21:7,9; 2 Samuel 4:11; Job 16:18; Job 24:2; Job 31:38; Psalms 9:12; Psalms 106:38; Hebrews 12:24; Revelation 6:9-10
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