2.  You have asked for a solution of that famous passage which is everywhere interpreted in different senses, “Whosoever slayeth Cain will exact vengeance for seven sins.” Gen. iv. 15, LXX.  Your question shews that you have yourself carefully observed the charge of Paul to Timothy, cf. 1 Tim. iv. 13. for you are obviously attentive to your reading.  You have moreover roused me, old man that I am, dull alike from age and bodily infirmity, and from the many afflictions which have been stirred up round about me and have weighed down my life.  Fervent in spirit as you are yourself, you are rousing me, now benumbed like a beast in his den, to some little wakefulness and vital energy.  The passage in question may be interpreted simply and may also receive an elaborate explanation.  The simpler, and one that may occur to any one off hand, is this:  that Cain ought to suffer sevenfold punishment for his sins.