Genesis 4:13
in Genesis 4But Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Cain said unto Jehovah, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
KJV
And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
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This verse in Genesis 4
Commentary
6 notes on this verseMy punishment is greater than I can bear - The margin reads, Mine iniquity is greater than that it may be forgiven. The original words, גדול עוני מנשוא gadol avoni minneso, may be translated, Is my crime too great to be forgiven? words which we may presume he uttered on the verge of black despair. It is most probable that עון avon signifies rather the crime than the punishment; in this sense it is used Lev 26:41, Lev 26:43 1Sa 28:10; 2Ki 7:9; and נשא nasa signifies to remit or forgive.
This site's exposition
My punishment is greater than I can bear
on Genesis 4:13-14
Cain answered the sentence and never the sin. Clarke notes that the same Hebrew can be rendered as iniquity too great to be forgiven, and what Cain names is the loss, hidden from God's face and driven from the ground. Verse 15 answers him with a mark.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Someone may say, "Behold he has confessed, and confessed with great precision"—but all to no avail, dearly beloved: the confession comes too late. You see, he should have done this at the right time when he was in a position to find mercy from the judge.
The Medieval Church1 voice
My iniquity is greater than that I may deserve pardon. Behold, you cast me out today from your presence, and I shall be hidden from your face and from the face of the earth, and I shall be a wanderer and a fugitive on the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
There is forgiveness with the God of pardons for the greatest sins and sinners; but those forfeit it who despair of it. Just now Cain made nothing of his sin, but now he is in the other extreme: Satan drives his vassals from presumption to despair. We cannot think too ill of sin, provided we do not think it unpardonable.
And Cain said unto the Lord,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
This is in the form of a question: “You bear the worlds above and below, and is it impossible for You to bear my sin?” Thus the words of Rashi quoting Bereshith Rabbah. 439:25. The correct plain interpretation is that it is a confession.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
[AND FROM THY FACE SHALL I BE HID.] All the world is full of God’s glory.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֥אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| קַ֖יִן | kayin | Cain | H7014 → | 19 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| גָּד֥וֹל | gadol | [is too] great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| עֲוֹנִ֖י | ʾavoni | punishment my | H5771 → | 233 times |
| מִנְּשֹֽׂא׃ | mineso' | for bearing | H5375 → | 656 times |
וַיֹּ֥אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
קַ֖יִןCain
kayinH7014 →19 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
גָּד֥וֹל[is too] great
gadolH1419 →526 times
עֲוֹנִ֖יpunishment my
ʾavoniH5771 →233 times
מִנְּשֹֽׂא׃for bearing
mineso'H5375 →656 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Revelation 16:11and curse the God of heaven for their pains and sores; yet they did not repent of their deeds.
it leads to
- Revelation 16:9
And the people were scorched by intense heat, and they cursed the name of God, who had authority over these plagues; yet they did not repent and give Him glory.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 16:9
Through
Revelation 16:9And the people were scorched by intense heat, and they cursed the name of God, who had authority over these plagues; yet they did not repent and give Him glory.
it leads to
- Revelation 2:21
Even though I have given her time to repent of her immorality, she is unwilling.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 16:21
And great hailstones weighing almost a hundred pounds each rained down on them from above. And men cursed God for the plague of hail, because it was so horrendous.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 11:13
And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand were killed in the quake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 2:21
Through
Revelation 16:21And great hailstones weighing almost a hundred pounds each rained down on them from above. And men cursed God for the plague of hail, because it was so horrendous.
it leads to
- Revelation 11:19
Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple. And there were flashes of lightning, and rumblings, and peals of thunder, and an earthquake,…
- Joshua 10:11
As they fled before Israel along the descent from Beth-horon to Azekah, the LORD cast down on them large hailstones from the sky, and more of them were killed by the hailstones than by…
- Revelation 8:7
Then the first angel sounded his trumpet, and hail and fire mixed with blood were hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, along with a third of the…
- Revelation 16:11
and curse the God of heaven for their pains and sores; yet they did not repent of their deeds.
- Revelation 11:19
Where this verse is studied
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 19.3; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.