And Lamek said to his wives, ‘Adah and Zillah Hear my voice Wives of Lamek Listen to my words For I have killed a man that wounded me a young man for striking me. For if Cain’s revenge is seven fold Lamek’s is seventy-sevenfold‘.
And Adam knew his wife again and she conceived and bore a son and called his name, Seth. because God has provided for me an offspring after Abel because Cain killed him.
To Seth also a son was born and he called his name Enosh
and at that time people began to call upon the name of YHWH.
Thank you, dear Jesus, for all you have given me, for all you have taken away from me, for all you have left me.
And Cain spoke to Abel, his brother. And when they were in the field Cain rose up against Abel, his brother and killed him.
And the Lord said to Cain: ‘Where is Abel, your brother?’ And he said ‘I do not know: the keeper of my brother am I?’ And he said: ‘What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the land which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. For when you work the ground it will not again give you its strength. A fugitive and wanderer you will be in the land.’
And Cain said to the LORD ‘My punishment is greater than I can bear. Look, today you have driven me away from the face of the ground and away from your face I will be hidden. And I will be a wanderer and fugitive on the earth and whoever finds me will kill me. ‘
And the LORD said to him ‘So then anyone killing Cain will be punished seven-fold. ‘
And the LORD put a sign on Cain lest any who found him should strike him.
And Cain went from the face of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod (Wandering), east of Eden.
Eternal God and Father, you create us by your power, and redeem us by your love, guide and strengthen us by your Spirit, that we may give ourselves in love and service to one another and to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
And the LORD said to Cain ‘Why are you angry and why has your face fallen? Will there not be a lifting up if you do good? And if you do not do good, Sin lurks at the door, its desire is for you, and you must rule it.’
O Lord, in whom is our hope, remove far from us, we pray thee, empty hopes and presumptuous confidence. Make our hearts so right with thy most holy and loving heart, that hoping in thee we may do good; until that day when faith and hope shall be abolished by sight and possession, and love shall be all in all.
And the man knew Eve, his wife, and she conceived and she bore Cain and she said ‘I have gained a man along with the LORD.’
And she did it again, she bore his brother Abel, and Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain was a worker of the l and.
And at the end of the days Cain brought some of the fruit of the ground as an offering to the LORD.
And Abel brought from the first born of the flock even from the fattest (part) of them and the LORD ‘looked’ to Abel and his offering.
To Cain and his offering he looked not.
So Cain was very angry and his face fell.
Keep us, O Lord, while we tarry on this earth, in a serious seeking after thee, and in an affectionate walking with thee, every day of our lives; that when thou comest, we may be found not hiding our talent, nor yet asleep with our lamp unfurnished, but waiting and longing for our Lord, our glorious King, for ever and ever.
The leader’s. On the Gittite. A composition. David’s.
1 Yahweh our lord, how powerful is your name in all the earth, You who put your grandeur above the heavens . 2 At the mouth of babies and sucklings, You founded a barricade to deal with your adversaries, to still the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I see the heavens, the things that your fingers made, moon and stars that you established, 4 What are weak-people that you are mindful of them, ‘human beings’ that you attend to them? 5 But you made them fall short of God by a little, and you crown them with honour and magnificence. 6 You let them rule over the things that your hands made; you put everything under their feet – 7 Sheep and cattle, all of them, and the animals of the wild, too, 8 The birds of the heavens, the fish of the sea, what passes over the paths in the seas.
9 Yahweh our lord, how powerful is your name in all the earth!
Lord God,, you feed us with the living bread from heaven; you renew our faith, increase our hope, and strengthen our love.
Teach us to hunger for Christ who is the true and living bread, and to live by every word that comes from your mouth, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Lament. David’s, which he sang for Yahweh concerning the Kushite [Sudanese] words. The Binyaminite.
1 Yahweh my God, in you I take shelter – deliver me from all the people who are pursuing me, rescue me, 2 So that one doesn’t tear me apart like a lion, ripping me to pieces when there’s no one to rescue.
3 Yahweh my God, if I did this, if there’s meanness in the palms of my hands, 4 If I have dealt something bad to my friend, but released my adversary without reason, 5 May the enemy pursue me and overtake me, may he trample my life to the ground, may he lay my honour in the dirt. (Rise)
6 Rise up, Yahweh, in your anger; lift yourself up at the great outburst of my adversaries. Awake, my God, you must order the exercise of authority; 7 the assembly of the nations should come round you. Take your seat over it on high; 8 Yahweh must rule the peoples. Exercise authority for me, Yahweh, in accordance with my faithfulness and with my integrity, which are over me. 9 The bad ways of faithless people must please come to an end, and you must establish the faithful person. The faithful God is one who tests minds and inner being.
10 God is my shield on high, one who delivers people who are upright in mind. 11God exercises authority for the faithful person; God is indignant each day. 12 If someone doesn’t turn back, he whets his sword; he’s directed his bow and fixed it. 13 He’s fixed deadly weapons for himself, he makes his arrows into flames. 14 There, someone twists with trouble, he’s pregnant with oppression, he gives birth to falsehood. 15 He’s dug a cistern and made it deep, but he’s fallen into the hole he makes. 16 His act of oppression comes back on to his own head, his violence comes down on his own skull.
17 I will confess Yahweh in accordance with his faithfulness and make music to the name of Yahweh, the One on High.
Eternal Light, shine into our hearts; Eternal Goodness, deliver us from evil; Eternal Power, be our support; Eternal Wisdom, scatter the darkness of our ignorance: That we may seek your face with all our heart and mind and soul and strength. Amen. Alcuin
And the LORD, god, said Look! The man became like one of us, – knowing good and evil. And now lest he will put out his hand and will take also from the Tree of Life and he will eat and he will live forever…
And the Lord, god, expelled him from the garden of Eden. so that he might work the ground from which he was taken.
And he drove out the man, and he caused to dwell on the east of the garden of Eden the cherubim and a flaming sword turning back and forth to guard the way of the tree of Life.
Eternal Light, shine into our hearts, Eternal Goodness, deliver us from evil, Eternal Power, be our support, Eternal Wisdom, scatter the darkness of our ignorance, Eternal Pity, have mercy upon us; that with all our heart and mind and soul and strength we may seek thy face and be brought by thine infinite mercy to thy holy presence; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
And the man called his wife ‘Life’ because she will be (was) mother of all living. And the Lord, god, made for Adam and for his wife tunics of leather and he clothed them.
Lord, you have given me so much, I ask for one more thing – a grateful heart.
And to Adam he said: Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and you have eaten from the tree which I commanded you, by saying Do not eat from it Cursed is the ground on account of you With hard work you will eat (from) it all the days of your life; And (the ground) will cause thorns and thistles to grow for you. And you will eat the vegetation of the field. By the sweat of your nose you will eat bread Until you return to the ground because from it you were taken because dust you are and to dust you will return.
Be thou a bright flame before me, Be thou a guiding star above me Be thou a smooth path below me Be thou a kindly shepherd behind me Today – tonight -forever Amen.
And the LORD, god, said to the serpent: Because you have done this Cursed are you, more than all the livestock and the living creatures of the field On your belly you will move And dust you will eat all the days of your life. Enmity I will place between you and between the woman and between your seed and between her seed. He will crush you, that is your head, You will crush him, that is his heel.
To the woman, he said, I will greatly increase your hard-work-in-child-bearing with hard work you will bear children. And your desire (will be) to your husband And he will rule you.
O Love, O God who created me, in your love recreate me. O Love, who redeemed me, fill up in me whatever part of your love has fallen into neglect within me. O Love, O God, who first loved me, grant that with my whole heart, and with my whole soul, and with my whole strength, I may love you.
