Genesis 4:4
New International Version
And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,

New Living Translation
Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The LORD accepted Abel and his gift,

English Standard Version
and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering,

Berean Standard Bible
while Abel brought the best portions of the firstborn of his flock. And the LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,

King James Bible
And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

New King James Version
Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering,

New American Standard Bible
Abel, on his part also brought an offering, from the firstborn of his flock and from their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering;

NASB 1995
Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and for his offering;

NASB 1977
And Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and for his offering;

Legacy Standard Bible
Abel, on his part, also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And Yahweh had regard for Abel and for his offering;

Amplified Bible
But Abel brought [an offering of] the [finest] firstborn of his flock and the fat portions. And the LORD had respect (regard) for Abel and for his offering;

Christian Standard Bible
And Abel also presented an offering—some of the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions. The LORD had regard for Abel and his offering,

Holman Christian Standard Bible
And Abel also presented an offering—some of the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions. The LORD had regard for Abel and his offering,

American Standard Version
And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And Jehovah had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And Habyl brought also that from the first born of his flocks, and from their fat, and LORD JEHOVAH was pleased with Habyl and his offering.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And Abel also brought of the first born of his sheep and of his fatlings, and God looked upon Abel and his gifts,

Contemporary English Version
and Abel also gave an offering to the LORD. He killed the first-born lamb from one of his sheep and gave the LORD the best parts of it. The LORD was pleased with Abel and his offering,

Douay-Rheims Bible
Abel also offered of the firstlings of his flock, and of their fat: and the Lord had respect to Abel, and to his offerings.

English Revised Version
And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Abel also brought some choice parts of the firstborn animals from his flock. The LORD approved of Abel and his offering,

Good News Translation
Then Abel brought the first lamb born to one of his sheep, killed it, and gave the best parts of it as an offering. The LORD was pleased with Abel and his offering,

International Standard Version
while Abel brought the best parts of some of the firstborn from his flock. The LORD looked favorably upon Abel and his offering,

JPS Tanakh 1917
And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering;

Literal Standard Version
and Abel, he has brought, he also, from the female firstlings of his flock, and from their fat ones; and YHWH looks to Abel and to his present,

Majority Standard Bible
while Abel brought the best portions of the firstborn of his flock. And the LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,

New American Bible
while Abel, for his part, brought the fatty portion of the firstlings of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,

NET Bible
But Abel brought some of the firstborn of his flock--even the fattest of them. And the LORD was pleased with Abel and his offering,

New Revised Standard Version
and Abel for his part brought of the firstlings of his flock, their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering,

New Heart English Bible
And Abel also brought some of the firstborn of his flock and of its fat. And God looked favorably on Abel and his offering,

Webster's Bible Translation
And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect to Abel, and to his offering:

World English Bible
Abel also brought some of the firstborn of his flock and of its fat. Yahweh respected Abel and his offering,

Young's Literal Translation
and Abel, he hath brought, he also, from the female firstlings of his flock, even from their fat ones; and Jehovah looketh unto Abel and unto his present,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Cain and Abel
3So in the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruit of the soil as an offering to the LORD, 4while Abel brought the best portions of the firstborn of his flock. And the LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5but He had no regard for Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell.…

Cross References
Hebrews 11:4
By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous when God gave approval to his gifts. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

Genesis 4:3
So in the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruit of the soil as an offering to the LORD,

Numbers 16:15
Then Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, "Do not regard their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them or mistreated a single one of them."

1 Samuel 15:22
But Samuel declared: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams.


Treasury of Scripture

And Abel, he also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect to Abel and to his offering:

the firstlings.

Exodus 13:12
That thou shalt set apart unto the LORD all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be the LORD'S.

Numbers 18:12,17
All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the LORD, them have I given thee…

Proverbs 3:9
Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:

flock.

Leviticus 3:16,17
And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savour: all the fat is the LORD'S…

had.

Genesis 15:17
And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.

Leviticus 9:24
And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.

Numbers 16:35
And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.

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Abel Abel's Fat Favor Female Firstborn Firstlings Flock Lambs Offering Ones Part Pleased Portions Present Regard Respect Respected Thereof Young
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Abel Abel's Fat Favor Female Firstborn Firstlings Flock Lambs Offering Ones Part Pleased Portions Present Regard Respect Respected Thereof Young
Genesis 4
1. The birth, occupation, and offerings of Cain and Abel.
8. Cain murders his brother Abel.
11. The curse of Cain.
17. Has a son called Enoch, and builds a city, which he calls after his name.
18. His descendants, with Lamech and his two wives.
25. The birth of Seth,
26. and Enos.














Verse 4. - And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock. Either the firstborn, which God afterwards demanded (Exodus 13:12), or the choicest and best (Job 18:13; Jeremiah 31:19; Hebrews 12:23). And the fat thereof. Literally, the fatness of them, i.e. the fattest of the firstlings, "the best he had, and the best of those best" (Inglis; cf. Genesis 45:18; Numbers 18:2; Psalm 167:14); a proof that flesh was eaten before the Flood, since "it had been no praise to Abel to offer the fatlings if he used not to eat of them" (Willet), and "si anteposuit Abel utilitate" suae Deum, non dubium quid solitus sit ex labore suo utilitatem percipere" (Justin). And the Lord had respect. Literally, looked upon; ἐπεῖδεν, LXX. (cf. Numbers 16:15); probably consuming it by fire from heaven, or from the flaming sword (cf. Leviticus 9:24; 1 Chronicles 21:26; 2 Chronicles 7:1; 1 Kings 18:38; Jerome, Chrysostom, Cyril). Theodotion renders ἐνεπύρισεν, inflammant; and Hebrews 11:4, μαρτυροῦντος ἐπὶ τοῖς δώροις, is supposed to lend considerable weight to the opinion. Unto Abel and his offering. Accepting first his person and then his gift (cf. Proverbs 12:2; Proverbs 15:8; 2 Corinthians 8:12). "The sacrifice was accepted for the man, and not the man for the sacrifice" (Ainsworth); but still "without a doubt the words of Moses imply that the matter of Abel's offering was more excellent and suitable than that of Cain's," and one can hardly entertain a doubt that this was the idea of the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews" (Prof. Lindsay, 'Lectures on Hebrews,' Edin. 1867). Abel's sacrifice was πλείονα, fuller than Cain's; it had more in it; it had faith, which was wanting in the other. It was also offered in obedience to Divine prescription. The universal prevalence of sacrifice rather points to Divine prescription than to man's invention as its proper source. Had Divine worship been of purely human origin, it is almost certain that greater diversity would have prevailed in its forms. Besides, the fact that the mode of worship was not left to human ingenuity under the law, and that will-worship is specifically condemned under the Christian dispensation (Colossians 2:23), favors the presumption that it was Divinely appointed from the first.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
while Abel
וְהֶ֨בֶל (wə·he·ḇel)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 1893: Abel -- the second son of Adam

brought
הֵבִ֥יא (hê·ḇî)
Verb - Hifil - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

the best portions
וּמֵֽחֶלְבֵהֶ֑ן (ū·mê·ḥel·ḇê·hen)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-m | Noun - masculine plural construct | third person feminine plural
Strong's 2459: Fat, richest, choice part

of the firstborn
מִבְּכֹר֥וֹת (mib·bə·ḵō·rō·wṯ)
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 1062: The firstling of man, beast, primogeniture

of his flock.
צֹאנ֖וֹ (ṣō·nōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 6629: Small cattle, sheep and goats, flock

And the LORD
יְהוָ֔ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

looked with favor
וַיִּ֣שַׁע (way·yi·ša‘)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 8159: To gaze at, about, to inspect, consider, compassionate, be nonplussed, bewildered

on
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

Abel
הֶ֖בֶל (he·ḇel)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 1893: Abel -- the second son of Adam

and
וְאֶל־ (wə·’el-)
Conjunctive waw | Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

his offering,
מִנְחָתֽוֹ׃ (min·ḥā·ṯōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 4503: A donation, tribute, a sacrificial offering


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OT Law: Genesis 4:4 Abel also brought some of the firstborn (Gen. Ge Gn)
Genesis 4:3
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