Imamat 26:18

26:18 “‘If, in spite of all these things, ¹  you do not obey me, I will discipline you seven times more on account of your sins. ² 

Kejadian 4:15

4:15 But the Lord said to him, “All right then, ³  if anyone kills Cain, Cain will be avenged seven times as much.” ⁴  Then the Lord put a special mark ⁵  on Cain so that no one who found him would strike him down. ⁶ 

[26:18]  ¹ tn Heb “And if until these.”

[26:18]  ² tn Heb “I will add to discipline you seven [times] on your sins.”

[4:15]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ sn God becomes Cain’s protector. Here is common grace – Cain and his community will live on under God’s care, but without salvation.