Eve bore her first son and named him Cain, saying, "With the help of the Lord, I have brought forth a man." In time, she bore another, a brother for Cain, and they called him Abel.
Cain grew to love the land. His hands were rough from the soil, and his days were spent under the sun, tending crops. But Abel chose the wilderness, walking among sheep and calling them by name. He became a keeper of flocks, gentle and watchful.
One day, both brothers brought offerings to the Lord. Cain came with fruits of the earth—grains and vegetables he had raised. But Abel brought the best portions from the firstborn of his flock, fat and rich. The Lord looked upon Abel's gift with favor, but Cain's offering did not please Him.
Cain's heart darkened. His face fell with bitterness, and the Lord spoke to him gently, "Why are you angry? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you don't, sin waits for you like a predator at your door—it desires to devour you. You must rise above it."
But Cain turned from the Lord's words. One day, he said to Abel, "Let's go out to the field." And there, beneath the open sky, Cain rose against his brother and struck him down. Abel fell lifeless among the wheat and soil he did not plant.
Then the voice of the Lord echoed like thunder, "Cain, where is your brother Abel?"
Cain looked away. "I don't know. Am I my brother's keeper?"
But the Lord replied, "What have you done? His blood cries to me from the ground beneath your feet. The earth has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand, and now, cursed are you. When you till the soil, it shall yield nothing for you. You will wander the earth, restless and alone."
Terror gripped Cain. "This punishment is too much! You are driving me from the land and your presence. I will be a fugitive, a wanderer, and anyone who finds me will kill me."
But the Lord answered, "Not so. Whoever harms Cain will suffer vengeance sevenfold." And the Lord placed a mark on Cain—a sign no man dared touch—so none would kill him.
Cain fled east of Eden to a land called Nod. There, he found a wife, and together they bore a son named Enoch. Cain began to build a city, naming it after his son.
From Enoch's line came Irad, then Mehujael, then Methushael, and then Lamech. Lamech took two wives, Adah and Zillah. Adah bore Jabal, the first to live in tents and raise livestock. His brother Jubal was the father of music—of harps and flutes. Zillah bore Tubal-Cain, who forged weapons and tools from bronze and iron. His sister was Naamah.
One day, Lamech spoke to his wives with fire in his voice:
"Adah and Zillah, hear me!
I have slain a man for wounding me,
A young man for striking me.
If Cain is avenged seven times,
Then Lamech, seventy-seven."
As all these happened, Eve later bore a son and she named him Seth, saying, "God has granted me another child in Abel's place, whom Cain killed."