Genesis 4:12-14

4:12 When you try to cultivate ¹  the

ground it will no longer yield ²  its best ³  for you. You will be a homeless wanderer ⁴  on the earth.” 4:13 Then Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment ⁵  is too great to endure! ⁶  4:14 Look! You are driving me off the land ⁷  today, and I must hide from your presence. ⁸  I will be a homeless wanderer on the earth; whoever finds me will kill me.”

Psalms 109:10

109:10 May his children ⁹  roam around begging,

asking for handouts as they leave their ruined home! ¹⁰ 

Daniel 4:25

4:25 You will be driven ¹¹  from human society, ¹²  and you will live ¹³  with the wild animals. You will be fed ¹⁴  grass like oxen, ¹⁵  and you will become damp with the dew of the sky. Seven periods of time will pass by for you, before ¹⁶  you understand that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms and gives them to whomever he wishes.

Daniel 4:32-33

4:32 You will be driven from human society, and you will live with the wild animals. You will be fed grass like oxen, and seven periods of time will pass by for you before ¹⁷  you understand that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms and gives them to whomever he wishes.”

4:33 Now in that very moment ¹⁸  this pronouncement about ¹⁹  Nebuchadnezzar came true. ²⁰  He was driven from human society, he ate grass like oxen, and his body became damp with the dew of the sky, until his hair became long like an eagle’s feathers, and his nails like a bird’s claws. ²¹ 

¹ tn Heb “work.”

² tn Heb “it will not again (תֹסֵף, tosef) give (תֵּת, tet),” meaning the ground will no longer yield. In translation the infinitive becomes the main verb, and the imperfect verb form becomes adverbial.

³ tn Heb “its strength.”

⁴ tn Two similar sounding synonyms are used here: נָע וָנָד (na’ vanad, “a wanderer and a fugitive”). This juxtaposition of synonyms emphasizes the single idea. In translation one can serve as the main description, the other as a modifier. Other translation options include “a wandering fugitive” and a “ceaseless wanderer” (cf. NIV).

⁵ tn The primary meaning of the Hebrew word עָוֹן (’avon) is “sin, iniquity.” But by metonymy it can refer to the “guilt” of sin, or to “punishment” for sin. The third meaning applies here. Just before this the Lord announces the punishment for Cain’s actions, and right after this statement Cain complains of the severity of the punishment. Cain is not portrayed as repenting of his sin.

⁶ tn Heb “great is my punishment from bearing.” The preposition מִן (min, “from”) is used here in a comparative sense.

⁷ tn Heb “from upon the surface of the ground.”

⁸ sn I must hide from your presence. The motif of hiding from the Lord as a result of sin also appears in Gen 3:8-10.

⁹ tn Or “sons.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “and roaming, may his children roam and beg, and seek from their ruins.” Some, following the LXX, emend the term וְדָרְשׁוּ (vÿdoreshu, “and seek”) to יְגֹרְשׁוּ (yÿgoreshu; a Pual jussive, “may they be driven away” [see Job 30:5; cf. NIV, NRSV]), but דָּרַשׁ (darash) nicely parallels שִׁאֵלוּ (shi’elu, “and beg”) in the preceding line.

¹¹ tn The Aramaic indefinite active plural is used here like the English passive. So also in v. 28, 29,32.

¹² tn Aram “from mankind.” So also in v. 32.

¹³ tn Aram “your dwelling will be.” So also in v. 32.

¹⁴ tn Or perhaps “be made to eat.”

¹⁵ sn Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity has features that are associated with the mental disorder known as boanthropy, in which the person so afflicted imagines himself to be an ox or a similar animal and behaves accordingly.

¹⁶ tn Aram “until.”

¹⁷ tn Aram “until.”

¹⁸ tn Aram “hour.”

¹⁹ tn Or “on.”

²⁰ tn Aram “was fulfilled.”

²¹ tn The words “feathers” and “claws” are not present in the Aramaic text, but have been added in the translation for clarity.