Genesis 4 · Verse 13

Genesis 4:13

And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
Genesis 4:13, King James Version

Genesis 4:13 in other translations

BSBBut Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.
WEBCain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.
ASVAnd Cain said unto Jehovah, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
YLTAnd Cain saith unto Jehovah, ‘Greater is my punishment than to be borne;
DARBYAnd Cain said to Jehovah, My punishment is too great to be borne.
BBEAnd Cain said, My punishment is greater than my strength.
WebsterAnd Cain said to the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.

What does Genesis 4:13 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 4:13-14
13-14. And Cain said ... My punishment is greater than I can bear--What an overwhelming sense of misery; but no sign of penitence, nor cry for pardon.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 13 My 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 1Sam 28:10; 2Kgs 7:9; and נשא nasa signifies to remit or forgive. The marginal reading is, therefore, to be preferred to that in the text.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 4:8-15

Malice in the heart ends in murder by the hands. Cain slew Abel, his own brother, his own mother's son, whom he ought to have loved; his younger brother, whom he ought to have protected; a good brother, who had never done him any wrong. What fatal effects were these of our first parents' sin, and how must their hearts have been filled with anguish! Observe the pride, unbelief, and impenitence of Cain. He denies the…

Read the full comment on Genesis 4:8-15 →

Genesis 4:13 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיֹּ֥אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
קַ֖יִןKa.yinCainH7014
אֶל\־'el-toH413
יְהוָ֑הYah.wehYahwehH3068
גָּד֥וֹלga.Dol[is too] greatH1419
עֲוֹנִ֖י'a.vo.Nipunishment myH5771
מִנְּשֹֽׂא\׃mi.ne.So'for bearingH5375

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Genesis 4:13

  • Job 15:22

    He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword.

  • Revelation 16:9

    And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
My punishment is greater than I can bear. or, Mine iniquity is greater than that it may be forgiven.
Job 15:22; Re 16:9,11,21

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Genesis 4:12

    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.

  • Genesis 4:13

    And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear.

  • Genesis 4:14

    Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.

Read all of Genesis 4

Genesis 4:13 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y dijo Caín á Jehová: Grande es mi iniquidad para ser perdonada.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Caïn dit à l’ Éternel: Mon châtiment est trop grand pour que j’en porte le poids.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Kain sprach zu Jehova: Zu groß ist meine Strafe, um sie zu tragen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Dixitque Cain ad Dominum: Major est iniquitas mea, quam ut veniam merear.