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.
Cain strips himself of God's protection and then supposes all creatures divinely armed to avenge his murder. He reasons rightly that man's life hangs by a thread and stands only by God's hand; yet his terror shows something portentous: the murderer flees from any encounter, since man is made for society and mutual intercourse, not for solitude and dread.
AI summary
Satan drives his servants from presumption straight to despair. Cain complains not of his sin but of his punishment, as though God were unjust. He quarrels with the sentence instead of accepting it; his hardness lies in caring more for his sufferings than his sins. He cries out wronged when he should marvel he is not in hell.
AI summary
Commenting on Genesis 4:13-15
God shows Cain clemency: he shall not die at once, but live a long miserable life as terror to others. Whoever slays Cain shall be punished sevenfold, visited not only in his own person but in his posterity unto seven generations. The mark set upon him makes plain to all that he is under God's protection and vengeance.
AI summary