Genesis 3:11

3:11 And the Lord God ¹  said, “Who told you that you were naked? ²  Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” ³ 

Genesis 4:15

4:15 But the Lord said to him, “All right then, ⁴  if anyone kills Cain, Cain will be avenged seven times as much.” ⁵  Then the Lord put a special mark ⁶  on Cain so that no one who found him would strike him down. ⁷ 

Genesis 19:21

19:21 “Very well,” he replied, ⁸  “I will grant this request too ⁹  and will not overthrow ¹⁰  the town you mentioned.

[3:11]  ¹ tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (the Lord God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:11]  ² sn Who told you that you were naked? This is another rhetorical question, asking more than what it appears to ask. The second question in the verse reveals the Lord God’s real concern.

[3:11]  ³ sn The Hebrew word order (“Did you from the tree – which I commanded you not to eat from it – eat?”) is arranged to emphasize that the man’s and the woman’s eating of the fruit was an act of disobedience. The relative clause inserted immediately after the reference to the tree brings out this point very well.

[4:15]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew term לָכֵן (lakhen, “therefore”) in this context carries the sense of “Okay,” or “in that case then I will do this.”

[4:15]  ⁵ sn The symbolic number seven is used here to emphasize that the offender will receive severe punishment. For other rhetorical and hyperbolic uses of the expression “seven times over,” see Pss 12:6; 79:12; Prov 6:31; Isa 30:26.

[4:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “sign”; “reminder.” The term “sign” is not used in the translation because it might imply to an English reader that God hung a sign on Cain. The text does not identify what the “sign” was. It must have been some outward, visual reminder of Cain’s special protected status.

[4:15]  ⁷ sn God becomes Cain’s protector. Here is common grace – Cain and his community will live on under God’s care, but without salvation.

[19:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “And he said, ‘Look, I will grant.’” The order of the clauses has been rearranged for stylistic reasons. The referent of the speaker (“he”) is somewhat ambiguous: It could be taken as the angel to whom Lot has been speaking (so NLT; note the singular references in vv. 18-19), or it could be that Lot is speaking directly to the Lord here. Most English translations leave the referent of the pronoun unspecified and maintain the ambiguity.

[19:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “I have lifted up your face [i.e., shown you favor] also concerning this matter.”

[19:21]  ⁹ tn The negated infinitive construct indicates either the consequence of God’s granting the request (“I have granted this request, so that I will not”) or the manner in which he will grant it (“I have granted your request by not destroying”).