Adam and Eve had two sons.  Their eldest son was named Cain and their youngest was named Abel.  Abel took care of the flocks and Cain worked the soil.

In bringing offerings to the Lord, Cain brought fruit from the soil and Abel brought livestock. The Lord had more favor on Abel’s offering and this caused Cain to be angry.

The Lord spoke to Cain about this. He explained to him that if he did what was right, his offering would be accepted, but if he didn’t do what was right then it wouldn’t be. God said to him, “sin is crouching at your door and it desires to have you, but you must master it.”

Rather than listening to God, Cain took matters into his own hands. He had Abel meet him in the fields and there Cain killed his brother Abel.

God came to Cain and asked him where Abel was. Knowing what had happened, God cursed Cain saying that the land would no longer yield crops for him and that he would wander on the earth for the rest of his life.

Cain felt the pain of the curse deeply and said to the Lord that the punishment was more than he could bear as he would be hidden from the Lord’s presence. He said that whoever would find Cain would kill him.

But God protected Cain and said that if anyone killed him, they would suffer vengeance seven times over. The Lord then marked Cain so that people would know that he was protected.

And so Cain left the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod.