Genesis 12-16
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 12
1Now the Lord said to Abram, 'Go from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; 2And I will make you into a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing; 3And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.'
4So Abram went away as the Lord had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
5Abram took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the people which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; so they came to the land of Canaan.
6Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanites were in the land at that time.
7And the Lord appeared to Abram and said, 'To your descendants I will give this land.' So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.
8Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord.
9Then Abram journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev.
10Now there was a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a time, because the famine was severe in the land.
11It came about, when he was approaching Egypt, that he said to his wife Sarai, 'See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman;
12and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live.
13Please say that you are my sister so that it may go well for me because of you, and that I may live on account of you.'
14Now it came about, when Abram entered Egypt, that the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.
15Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.
16Therefore he treated Abram well for her sake; and he gave him sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
17But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.
18Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, 'What is this that you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?
19Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for myself as a wife? Now then, here is your wife, take her and go!'
20And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they escorted him away, with his wife and all that belonged to him.
2Now Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold.
3And he went on his journeys from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,
4to the place of the altar which he had made there previously; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord.
5Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks, herds, and tents.
6And the land could not support both of them while living together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together.
7And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at that time.
8So Abram said to Lot, 'Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are relatives!
9Is the entire land not before you? Please separate from me; if you choose the left, then I will go to the right; or if you choose the right, then I will go to the left.'
10Lot raised his eyes and saw all the vicinity of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere— this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt going toward Zoar.
11So Lot chose for himself all the vicinity of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. So they separated from each other.
12Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the vicinity of the Jordan, and moved his tents as far as Sodom.
13Now the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked sinners against the Lord.
14The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, 'Now raise your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward, and eastward and westward;
15for all the land which you see I will give to you and to your descendants forever.
16I will make your descendants as plentiful as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can count the dust of the earth, then your descendants could also be counted.
17Arise, walk about in the land through its length and width; for I will give it to you.'
18Then Abram moved his tent and came and lived by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron; and there he built an altar to the Lord.
Chapter 14
1And it came about in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, 2that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 3All these kings came as allies to the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). 4For twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5And in the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, 6and the Horites on their Mount Seir, as far as El-paran, which is by the wilderness. 7Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and conquered all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, who lived in Hazazon-tamar. 8And the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) came out; and they lined up for battle against them in the Valley of Siddim, 9against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. 10Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell into them. But those who survived fled to the hill country. 11Then they took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food supply, and departed. 12They also took Lot, Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed, for he was living in Sodom.
13Then a survivor came and told Abram the Hebrew. Now he was residing by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and they were allies with Abram.
14When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he led out his trained men, born in his house, numbering 318, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.
15Then he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus.
16He brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women, and the other people.
17Then after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).
18And Melchizedek the king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High.
20And blessed be God Most High, Who has handed over your enemies to you.' And he gave him a tenth of everything.
21Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, 'Give the people to me and take the possessions for yourself.'
22But Abram said to the king of Sodom, 'I have sworn to the Lord God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth,
23that I will not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, so that you do not say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’
24I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their share.'
2But Abram said, 'Lord God, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?'
3Abram also said, 'Since You have given me no son, one who has been born in my house is my heir.'
4Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 'This man will not be your heir; but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.'
5And He took him outside and said, 'Now look toward the heavens and count the stars, if you are able to count them.' And He said to him, 'So shall your descendants be.'
6Then he believed in the Lord; and He credited it to him as righteousness.
7And He said to him, 'I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it.'
8But he said, 'Lord God, how may I know that I will possess it?'
9So He said to him, 'Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.'
10Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds.
11And birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.
12Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him.
13Then God said to Abram, 'Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.
14But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions.
15As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age.
16Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the wrongdoing of the Amorite is not yet complete.'
19the land of the Kenite, the Kenizzite, the Kadmonite,
20the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Rephaim,
21the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.'
Chapter 16
1Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not borne him a child, but she had an Egyptian slave woman whose name was Hagar. 2So Sarai said to Abram, 'See now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Please have relations with my slave woman; perhaps I will obtain children through her.' And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3And so after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her slave woman, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. 4Then he had relations with Hagar, and she conceived; and when Hagar became aware that she had conceived, her mistress was insignificant in her sight. 5So Sarai said to Abram, 'May the wrong done to me be upon you! I put my slave woman into your arms, but when she saw that she had conceived, I was insignificant in her sight. May the Lord judge between you and me.' 6But Abram said to Sarai, 'Look, your slave woman is in your power; do to her what is good in your sight.' So Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her presence.
7Now the angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur.
8He said, 'Hagar, Sarai’s slave woman, from where have you come, and where are you going?' And she said, 'I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.'
9So the angel of the Lord said to her, 'Return to your mistress, and submit to her authority.'
10The angel of the Lord also said to her, 'I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be too many to count.'
King James Version
Chapter 12
1Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
4So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
5And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
6And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.
7And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.
8And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.
9And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.
10And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.
11And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:
12Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.
13Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.
14And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair.
15The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.
16And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels.
17And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife.
18And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?
19Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.
20And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.
Chapter 13
1And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south. 2And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. 3And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai; 4Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.
5And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.
6And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.
7And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.
8And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.
9Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.
10And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
11Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.
12Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.
13But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.
14And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
15For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
16And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
17Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
18Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.
Chapter 14
1And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations; 2That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar. 3All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea. 4Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 6And the Horites in their mount Seir, unto Elparan, which is by the wilderness. 7And they returned, and came to Enmishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezontamar. 8And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim; 9With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five. 10And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain. 11And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way. 12And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
13And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.
14And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.
15And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.
16And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.
17And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale.
18And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
19And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
20And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
21And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.
22And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,
23That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:
24Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.
2And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
3And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
4And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
5And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
6And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
7And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.
8And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
9And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.
10And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.
11And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.
12And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
13And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
14And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
15And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
16But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
17And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.
18In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
19The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,
20And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,
21And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
Chapter 16
1Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. 2And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. 3And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.
4And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
5And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.
6But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.
7And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.
8And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.
9And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.
10And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.
11And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.
13And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?
14Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 12
1The Lord said to Abram: Go from your land, your relatives, and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
4So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
5He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated, and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,
6Abram passed through the land to the site of Shechem, at the oak of Moreh. (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.)
7The Lord appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.
8From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. He built an altar to the Lord there, and he called on the name of the Lord.
9Then Abram journeyed by stages to the Negev.
10There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt to stay there for a while because the famine in the land was severe.
11When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife, Sarai, "Look, I know what a beautiful woman you are.
12When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' They will kill me but let you live.
13Please say you're my sister so it will go well for me because of you, and my life will be spared on your account."
14When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.
15Pharaoh's officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh, so the woman was taken to Pharaoh's household.
16He treated Abram well because of her, and Abram acquired flocks and herds, male and female donkeys, male and female slaves, and camels.
17But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Abram's wife, Sarai.
18So Pharaoh sent for Abram and said, "What have you done to me? Why didn't you tell me she was your wife?
19Why did you say, 'She's my sister,' so that I took her as my wife? Now, here is your wife. Take her and go! "
20Then Pharaoh gave his men orders about him, and they sent him away with his wife and all he had.
Chapter 13
1Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev--he, his wife, and all he had, and Lot with him. 2Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold. 3He went by stages from the Negev to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had formerly been, 4to the site where he had built the altar. And Abram called on the name of the Lord there.
5Now Lot, who was traveling with Abram, also had flocks, herds, and tents.
6But the land was unable to support them as long as they stayed together, for they had so many possessions that they could not stay together,
7and there was quarreling between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. (At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land.)
8So Abram said to Lot, "Please, let's not have quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, since we are relatives.
9Isn't the whole land before you? Separate from me: if you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left."
10Lot looked out and saw that the entire plain of the Jordan as far as Zoar was well watered everywhere like the Lord's garden and the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)
11So Lot chose the entire plain of the Jordan for himself. Then Lot journeyed eastward, and they separated from each other.
12Abram lived in the land of Canaan, but Lot lived in the cities on the plain and set up his tent near Sodom.
13(Now the men of Sodom were evil, sinning immensely against the Lord.)
14After Lot had separated from him, the Lord said to Abram, "Look from the place where you are. Look north and south, east and west,
15for I will give you and your offspring forever all the land that you see.
16I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust of the earth, then your offspring could be counted.
17Get up and walk around the land, through its length and width, for I will give it to you."
Chapter 14
1In those days King Amraphel of Shinar, King Arioch of Ellasar, King Chedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim 2waged war against King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, and King Shemeber of Zeboiim, as well as the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 3All of these came as allies to the Siddim Valley (that is, the Dead Sea). 4They were subject to Chedorlaomer for twelve years, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, 6and the Horites in the mountains of Seir, as far as El-paran by the wilderness. 7Then they came back to invade En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they defeated the whole territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-tamar.
8Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and lined up for battle in the Siddim Valley
9against King Chedorlaomer of Elam, King Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel of Shinar, and King Arioch of Ellasar--four kings against five.
10Now the Siddim Valley contained many asphalt pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, but the rest fled to the mountains.
11The four kings took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food and went on.
12They also took Abram's nephew Lot and his possessions, for he was living in Sodom, and they went on.
13One of the survivors came and told Abram the Hebrew, who lived near the oaks belonging to Mamre the Amorite, the brother of Eshcol and the brother of Aner. They were bound by a treaty with Abram.
14When Abram heard that his relative had been taken prisoner, he assembled his 318 trained men, born in his household, and they went in pursuit as far as Dan.
15And he and his servants deployed against them by night, defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah to the north of Damascus.
16He brought back all the goods and also his relative Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the other people.
17After Abram returned from defeating Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the Shaveh Valley (that is, the King's Valley).
18Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine; he was a priest to God Most High.
21Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people, but take the possessions for yourself."
22But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand in an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,
23that I will not take a thread or sandal strap or anything that belongs to you, so you can never say, 'I made Abram rich.'
24I will take nothing except what the servants have eaten. But as for the share of the men who came with me--Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre--they can take their share."
2But Abram said, "Lord God, what can you give me, since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus? "
3Abram continued, "Look, you have given me no offspring, so a slave born in my house will be my heir."
4Now the word of the Lord came to him: "This one will not be your heir; instead, one who comes from your own body will be your heir."
5He took him outside and said, "Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them." Then he said to him, "Your offspring will be that numerous."
10So he brought all these to him, cut them in half, and laid the pieces opposite each other, but he did not cut the birds in half.
11Birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
12As the sun was setting, a deep sleep came over Abram, and suddenly great terror and darkness descended on him.
13Then the Lord said to Abram, "Know this for certain: Your offspring will be resident aliens for four hundred years in a land that does not belong to them and will be enslaved and oppressed.
14However, I will judge the nation they serve, and afterward they will go out with many possessions.
15But you will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age.
16In the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."
17When the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the divided animals.
18On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, "I give this land to your offspring, from the Brook of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River:
19the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,
20Hethites, Perizzites, Rephaim,
21Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites."
Chapter 16
1Abram's wife, Sarai, had not borne any children for him, but she owned an Egyptian slave named Hagar. 2Sarai said to Abram, "Since the Lord has prevented me from bearing children, go to my slave; perhaps through her I can build a family." And Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3So Abram's wife, Sarai, took Hagar, her Egyptian slave, and gave her to her husband, Abram, as a wife for him. This happened after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan ten years. 4He slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she saw that she was pregnant, her mistress became contemptible to her. 5Then Sarai said to Abram, "You are responsible for my suffering! I put my slave in your arms, and when she saw that she was pregnant, I became contemptible to her. May the Lord judge between me and you."
9The angel of the Lord said to her, "Go back to your mistress and submit to her authority."
10The angel of the Lord said to her, "I will greatly multiply your offspring, and they will be too many to count."
11The angel of the Lord said to her, "You have conceived and will have a son. You will name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard your cry of affliction.
12This man will be like a wild donkey. His hand will be against everyone, and everyone's hand will be against him; he will settle near all his relatives."
New Living Translation
Chapter 12
1The Lord had said to Abram, 'Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.'
4So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
5He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth — his livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran — and headed for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in Canaan,
6Abram traveled through the land as far as Shechem. There he set up camp beside the oak of Moreh. At that time, the area was inhabited by Canaanites.
7Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, 'I will give this land to your descendants. ' And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
8After that, Abram traveled south and set up camp in the hill country, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built another altar and dedicated it to the Lord, and he worshiped the Lord.
9Then Abram continued traveling south by stages toward the Negev.
10At that time a severe famine struck the land of Canaan, forcing Abram to go down to Egypt, where he lived as a foreigner.
11As he was approaching the border of Egypt, Abram said to his wife, Sarai, 'Look, you are a very beautiful woman.
12When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife. Let’s kill him; then we can have her!’
13So please tell them you are my sister. Then they will spare my life and treat me well because of their interest in you.'
14And sure enough, when Abram arrived in Egypt, everyone noticed Sarai’s beauty.
15When the palace officials saw her, they sang her praises to Pharaoh, their king, and Sarai was taken into his palace.
16Then Pharaoh gave Abram many gifts because of her — sheep, goats, cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.
17But the Lord sent terrible plagues upon Pharaoh and his household because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.
18So Pharaoh summoned Abram and accused him sharply. 'What have you done to me?' he demanded. 'Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?
19Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ and allow me to take her as my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and get out of here!'
20Pharaoh ordered some of his men to escort them, and he sent Abram out of the country, along with his wife and all his possessions.
Chapter 13
1So Abram left Egypt and traveled north into the Negev, along with his wife and Lot and all that they owned. 2(Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold.) 3From the Negev, they continued traveling by stages toward Bethel, and they pitched their tents between Bethel and Ai, where they had camped before. 4This was the same place where Abram had built the altar, and there he worshiped the Lord again.
5Lot, who was traveling with Abram, had also become very wealthy with flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and many tents.
6But the land could not support both Abram and Lot with all their flocks and herds living so close together.
7So disputes broke out between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot. (At that time Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land.)
8Finally Abram said to Lot, 'Let’s not allow this conflict to come between us or our herdsmen. After all, we are close relatives!
9The whole countryside is open to you. Take your choice of any section of the land you want, and we will separate. If you want the land to the left, then I’ll take the land on the right. If you prefer the land on the right, then I’ll go to the left.'
10Lot took a long look at the fertile plains of the Jordan Valley in the direction of Zoar. The whole area was well watered everywhere, like the garden of the Lord or the beautiful land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)
11Lot chose for himself the whole Jordan Valley to the east of them. He went there with his flocks and servants and parted company with his uncle Abram.
12So Abram settled in the land of Canaan, and Lot moved his tents to a place near Sodom and settled among the cities of the plain.
13But the people of this area were extremely wicked and constantly sinned against the Lord.
14After Lot had gone, the Lord said to Abram, 'Look as far as you can see in every direction — north and south, east and west.
15I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants as a permanent possession.
16And I will give you so many descendants that, like the dust of the earth, they cannot be counted!
17Go and walk through the land in every direction, for I am giving it to you.'
Chapter 14
1About this time war broke out in the region. King Amraphel of Babylonia, King Arioch of Ellasar, King Kedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim 2fought against King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (also called Zoar).
3This second group of kings joined forces in Siddim Valley (that is, the valley of the Dead Sea ).
4For twelve years they had been subject to King Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled against him.
5One year later Kedorlaomer and his allies arrived and defeated the Rephaites at Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzites at Ham, the Emites at Shaveh-kiriathaim,
6and the Horites at Mount Seir, as far as El-paran at the edge of the wilderness.
7Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (now called Kadesh) and conquered all the territory of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites living in Hazazon-tamar.
8Then the rebel kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (also called Zoar) prepared for battle in the valley of the Dead Sea.
9They fought against King Kedorlaomer of Elam, King Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel of Babylonia, and King Arioch of Ellasar — four kings against five.
10As it happened, the valley of the Dead Sea was filled with tar pits. And as the army of the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into the tar pits, while the rest escaped into the mountains.
11The victorious invaders then plundered Sodom and Gomorrah and headed for home, taking with them all the spoils of war and the food supplies.
12They also captured Lot — Abram’s nephew who lived in Sodom — and carried off everything he owned.
14When Abram heard that his nephew Lot had been captured, he mobilized the 318 trained men who had been born into his household. Then he pursued Kedorlaomer’s army until he caught up with them at Dan.
15There he divided his men and attacked during the night. Kedorlaomer’s army fled, but Abram chased them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.
16Abram recovered all the goods that had been taken, and he brought back his nephew Lot with his possessions and all the women and other captives.
22Abram replied to the king of Sodom, 'I solemnly swear to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,
23that I will not take so much as a single thread or sandal thong from what belongs to you. Otherwise you might say, ‘I am the one who made Abram rich.’
24I will accept only what my young warriors have already eaten, and I request that you give a fair share of the goods to my allies — Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre.'
2But Abram replied, 'O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth.
3You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.'
4Then the Lord said to him, 'No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.'
5Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, 'Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!'
9The Lord told him, 'Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.'
10So Abram presented all these to him and killed them. Then he cut each animal down the middle and laid the halves side by side; he did not, however, cut the birds in half.
11Some vultures swooped down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away.
12As the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a terrifying darkness came down over him.
13Then the Lord said to Abram, 'You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years.
14But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth.
15(As for you, you will die in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.)
16After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.'
17After the sun went down and darkness fell, Abram saw a smoking firepot and a flaming torch pass between the halves of the carcasses.
18So the Lord made a covenant with Abram that day and said, 'I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River —
19the land now occupied by the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,
20Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,
21Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.'
Chapter 16
1Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to bear children for him. But she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar. 2So Sarai said to Abram, 'The Lord has prevented me from having children. Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her.' And Abram agreed with Sarai’s proposal. 3So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian servant and gave her to Abram as a wife. (This happened ten years after Abram had settled in the land of Canaan.)
4So Abram had sexual relations with Hagar, and she became pregnant. But when Hagar knew she was pregnant, she began to treat her mistress, Sarai, with contempt.
5Then Sarai said to Abram, 'This is all your fault! I put my servant into your arms, but now that she’s pregnant she treats me with contempt. The Lord will show who’s wrong — you or me!'
9The angel of the Lord said to her, 'Return to your mistress, and submit to her authority.'
10Then he added, 'I will give you more descendants than you can count.'
11And the angel also said, 'You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael (which means ‘God hears’), for the Lord has heard your cry of distress.
12This son of yours will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild donkey! He will raise his fist against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live in open hostility against all his relatives.'
13Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, 'You are the God who sees me.' She also said, 'Have I truly seen the One who sees me?'
14So that well was named Beer-lahai-roi (which means 'well of the Living One who sees me'). It can still be found between Kadesh and Bered.
English Standard Version
Chapter 12
1Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
4So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
5And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,
6Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.
7Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
8From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD.
9And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.
10Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.
11When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance,
12and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me, but they will let you live.
13Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.”
14When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.
15And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.
16And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
17But the LORD afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.
18So Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?
19Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and go.”
20And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had.
Chapter 13
1So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negeb.
2Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.
3And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,
4to the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of the LORD.
5And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents,
6so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together,
7and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land.
8Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen.
9Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.”
10And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)
11So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other.
12Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom.
13Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD.
14The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward,
15for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever.
16I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted.
17Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.”
18So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the LORD.
Chapter 14
1In the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, 2these kings made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 3And all these joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). 4Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, 6and the Horites in their hill country of Seir as far as El-paran on the border of the wilderness. 7Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh) and defeated all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who were dwelling in Hazazon-tamar.
8Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out, and they joined battle in the Valley of Siddim
9with Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar, four kings against five.
10Now the Valley of Siddim was full of bitumen pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled to the hill country.
11So the enemy took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way.
12They also took Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, who was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way.
13Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner. These were allies of Abram.
14When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.
15And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus.
16Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people.
17After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).
18And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.)
19And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth;
20and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
21And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.”
22But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth,
23that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’
24I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.”
Chapter 15
1After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” 4And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” 5And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
7And he said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”
8But he said, “O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”
9He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
10And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half.
11And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him.
13Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.
14But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.
15As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.
16And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
17When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.
18On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,
19the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,
20the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,
21the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”
Chapter 16
1Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. 2And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. 4And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. 5And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me!” 6But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.
7The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur.
8And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.”
9The angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.”
10The angel of the LORD also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.”
11And the angel of the LORD said to her, “Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has listened to your affliction.
12He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.”
13So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”
14Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and Bered.
New International Version
2I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
3I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.'
4So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran.
5He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.
6Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.
7The LORD appeared to Abram and said, 'To your offspring I will give this land.' So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
10Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.
11As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, 'I know what a beautiful woman you are.
12When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live.
13Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.'
14When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman.
15And when Pharaoh's officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace.
16He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.
17But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai.
18So Pharaoh summoned Abram. 'What have you done to me?' he said. 'Why didn't you tell me she was your wife?
19Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!'
20Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.
Chapter 13
1So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. 2Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.
3From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier
4and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the LORD.
5Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents.
6But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together.
7And quarreling arose between Abram's herders and Lot's. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time.
8So Abram said to Lot, 'Let's not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives.
9Is not the whole land before you? Let's part company. If you go to the left, I'll go to the right; if you go to the right, I'll go to the left.'
10Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)
11So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company:
12Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom.
13Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD.
14The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, 'Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west.
15All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.
16I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted.
17Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.'
Chapter 14
1At the time when Amraphel was king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goyim, 2these kings went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 3All these latter kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Dead Sea Valley). 4For twelve years they had been subject to Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
5In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim
6and the Horites in the hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran near the desert.
7Then they turned back and went to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazezon Tamar.
8Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboyim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and drew up their battle lines in the Valley of Siddim
9against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goyim, Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar--four kings against five.
10Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some of the men fell into them and the rest fled to the hills.
11The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away.
12They also carried off Abram's nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.
13A man who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshkol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram.
14When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan.
15During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.
16He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.
22But Abram said to the king of Sodom, 'With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,
23that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.'
24I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me--to Aner, Eshkol and Mamre. Let them have their share.'
2But Abram said, 'Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?'
3And Abram said, 'You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.'
4Then the word of the LORD came to him: 'This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.'
5He took him outside and said, 'Look up at the sky and count the stars--if indeed you can count them.' Then he said to him, 'So shall your offspring be.'
10Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half.
11Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
12As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him.
13Then the LORD said to him, 'Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there.
14But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.
15You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age.
16In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.'
17When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.
18On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, 'To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates--
19the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,
20Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,
21Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.'
Chapter 16
1Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar;
2so she said to Abram, 'The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.' Abram agreed to what Sarai said.
3So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife.
4He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.
5Then Sarai said to Abram, 'You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me.'
9Then the angel of the LORD told her, 'Go back to your mistress and submit to her.'
10The angel added, 'I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.'
11The angel of the LORD also said to her: 'You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery.
12He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.'
