Genesis 4:23
“And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.”
KJV
Read in Genesis 4Meaning
Lamech boasts to his wives about lethal retaliation for injury. Violence has become something publicly celebrated rather than hidden and denied.
Read carefully
The speech belongs to Lamech; it is not a divine command authorizing revenge. Description of his boast must not be converted into moral permission for disproportionate violence.
Reflection
The verse shows how violence can move from an act followed by fear into a culture of pride, intimidation and self-justification.