Genesis 4:9
“And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?”
KJV
Read in Genesis 4Meaning
Cain responds to God's question with evasion and the famous challenge about being his brother's keeper.
Read carefully
The question is rhetorical within a murder narrative; it should not be detached from that setting as though Scripture endorses indifference to another person's welfare.
Reflection
The verse exposes a recurring moral temptation: to deny both harmful action and responsibility for the person harmed.