King James Bible
"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 laments his double exile—banished from fertile ground and separated from God's presence. His punishment mirrors his crime: as he removed Abel from the earth, so he is removed from its blessings and divine fellowship. The curse transforms Cain from a settled farmer into a perpetual wanderer with no permanent home. This rootlessness reflects the instability that violence brings to human community and the restless conscience of the guilty. Cain fears becoming prey to the very violence he introduced, expecting blood vengeance from others. His dread reveals both the cycle of retribution that murder initiates and his awareness that he now lives outside protective community bonds.