Genesis 4:13

And Cain said The bitter cry of Cain is not that of repentance for his sin, but of entreaty for the mitigation of his doom.

My punishment Better than marg. mine iniquity. The Hebrew word is used to denote both guilt and its penalty, and consequently is sometimes ambiguous, e.g. 1 Samuel 28:10, "And Saul sware to her by the Lord, saying, As the Lord liveth, there shall be no punishment happen to thee (marg. guilt come upon thee) for this thing." In our verse the rendering "punishment" is to be preferred. Cain in Genesis 4:14 is thinking of his sentence, not of his sin.

than I can bear The rendering of the margin, than can be forgiven, which is that of the versions, though possible, is not to be preferred. It has sometimes been advocated on the ground that the "iniquity" of Cain was typical of the sin "that is unto death" (1 John 5:16), and that cannot be forgiven (St Mark 3:29). LXX μείζων ἡ αἰτία μου τοῦ ἀφεθῆναί με. Lat. major est iniquitas mea quam ut veniam merear. Similarly Targum of Onkelos: cf. Psalms 38:4, "As an heavy burden, they [mine iniquities] are too heavy for me."