Genesis 13-22
New American Standard Bible
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.'
13Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, 'You are a God who sees me'; for she said, 'Have I even seen Him here and lived after He saw me?'
14Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
15So Hagar bore a son to Abram; and Abram named his son, to whom Hagar gave birth, Ishmael.
16Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him.
Chapter 17
1Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, 'I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless. 2I will make My covenant between Me and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly.'
6I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.
7I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations as an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you.
8And I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land where you live as a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.'
9God said further to Abraham, 'Now as for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.
10This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised.
11And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you.
12And every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, including a slave who is born in the house or who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your descendants.
13A slave who is born in your house or who is bought with your money shall certainly be circumcised; so My covenant shall be in your flesh as an everlasting covenant.
14But as for an uncircumcised male, one who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.'
15Then God said to Abraham, 'As for your wife Sarai, you shall not call her by the name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.
16I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.'
17Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, 'Will a child be born to a man a hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, give birth to a child?'
18And Abraham said to God, 'Oh that Ishmael might live before You!'
19But God said, 'No, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you shall name him Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.
20As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him, and make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation.
21But I will establish My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this season next year.'
22When He finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham.
23Then Abraham took his son Ishmael, and all the slaves who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s household, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin on this very same day, as God had said to him.
24Now Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
25And his son Ishmael was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
26On this very same day Abraham was circumcised, as well as his son Ishmael.
27And all the men of his household, those who were born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
Chapter 18
1Now the Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. 2When he raised his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed down to the ground, 3and said, 'My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please do not pass Your servant by. 4Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and make yourselves comfortable under the tree; 5and I will bring a piece of bread, so that you may refresh yourselves; after that you may go on, since you have visited your servant.' And they said, 'So do as you have said.' 6So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, 'Quickly, prepare three measures of fine flour, knead it, and make bread cakes.' 7Abraham also ran to the herd, and took a tender and choice calf and gave it to the servant, and he hurried to prepare it. 8He took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree as they ate.
9Then they said to him, 'Where is your wife Sarah?' And he said, 'There, in the tent.'
10He said, 'I will certainly return to you at this time next year; and behold, your wife Sarah will have a son.' And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him.
11Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing.
12So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, 'After I have become old, am I to have pleasure, my lord being old also?'
13But the Lord said to Abraham, 'Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I actually give birth to a child, when I am so old?’
14Is anything too difficult for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.'
15Sarah denied it, however, saying, 'I did not laugh'; for she was afraid. And He said, 'No, but you did laugh.'
16Then the men rose up from there, and looked down toward Sodom; and Abraham was walking with them to send them off.
17The Lord said, 'Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do,
18since Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed?
19For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.'
20And the Lord said, 'The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave.
21I will go down now and see whether they have done entirely as the outcry, which has come to Me indicates; and if not, I will know.'
22Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the Lord.
23Abraham approached and said, 'Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
24Suppose there are fifty righteous people within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it?
25Far be it from You to do such a thing, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?'
26So the Lord said, 'If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the entire place on their account.'
27And Abraham replied, 'Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am only dust and ashes.
28Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the entire city because of five?' And He said, 'I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.'
29And he spoke to Him yet again and said, 'Suppose forty are found there?' And He said, 'I will not do it on account of the forty.'
30Then he said, 'Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?' And He said, 'I will not do it if I find thirty there.'
31And he said, 'Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?' And He said, 'I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.'
32Then he said, 'Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once: suppose ten are found there?' And He said, 'I will not destroy it on account of the ten.'
33As soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham the Lord departed, and Abraham returned to his place.
Chapter 19
1Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting at the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he stood up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. 2And he said, 'Now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your servant’s house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.' They said, 'No, but we shall spend the night in the public square.' 3Yet he strongly urged them, so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he prepared a feast for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. 4Before they lay down, the men of the city—the men of Sodom—surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter; 5and they called to Lot and said to him, 'Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them.' 6But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him, 7and said, 'Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly. 8Now look, I have two daughters who have not had relations with any man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them whatever you like; only do not do anything to these men, because they have come under the shelter of my roof.' 9But they said, 'Get out of the way!' They also said, 'This one came in as a foreigner, and already he is acting like a judge; now we will treat you worse than them!' So they pressed hard against Lot and moved forward to break the door. 10But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. 11Then they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, from the small to the great, so that they became weary of trying to find the doorway.
12Then the two men said to Lot, 'Whom else do you have here? A son-in-law and your sons and daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of the place;
13for we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the Lord that the Lord has sent us to destroy it.'
14So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, and said, 'Up, get out of this place, for the Lord is destroying the city.' But he appeared to his sons-in-law to be joking.
15When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, 'Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.'
16But he hesitated. So the men grasped his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, because the compassion of the Lord was upon him; and they brought him out and put him outside the city.
17When they had brought them outside, one said, 'Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the surrounding area; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away.'
18But Lot said to them, 'Oh no, my lords!
19Now behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your compassion, which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, for the disaster will overtake me and I will die;
20now behold, this town is near enough to flee to, and it is small. Please, let me escape there (is it not small?) so that my life may be saved.'
21And he said to him, 'Behold, I grant you this request also, not to overthrow the town of which you have spoken.
22Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.' Therefore the town was named Zoar.
23The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar.
24Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord out of heaven,
25and He overthrew those cities, and all the surrounding area, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.
26But Lot’s wife, from behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
27Now Abraham got up early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before the Lord;
28and he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the surrounding area; and behold, he saw the smoke of the land ascended like the smoke of a furnace.
30Now Lot went up from Zoar with his two daughters and stayed in the mountains, because he was afraid to stay in Zoar; and he stayed in a cave, he and his two daughters.
31Then the firstborn said to the younger, 'Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to have relations with us according to the custom of all the earth.
32Come, let’s make our father drink wine, and let’s sleep with him so that we may keep our family alive through our father.'
33So they made their father drink wine that night, and the firstborn went in and slept with her father; and he did not know when she lay down or got up.
34On the following day, the firstborn said to the younger, 'Look, I slept last night with my father; let’s make him drink wine tonight too, then you go in and sleep with him, so that we may keep our family alive through our father.'
35So they had their father drink wine that night too, and the younger got up and slept with him; and he did not know when she lay down or got up.
36And so both of the daughters of Lot conceived by their father.
37The firstborn gave birth to a son, and named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day.
38As for the younger, she also gave birth to a son, and named him Ben-ammi; he is the father of the sons of Ammon to this day.
Chapter 20
1Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev, and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he lived for a time in Gerar. 2And Abraham said of his wife Sarah, 'She is my sister.' So Abimelech king of Gerar sent men and took Sarah. 3But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, 'Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married.' 4Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, 'Lord, will You kill a nation, even though blameless? 5Did he himself not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.' 6Then God said to him in the dream, 'Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. 7Now then, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, know that you will certainly die, you and all who are yours.'
8So Abimelech got up early in the morning and called all his servants, and told all these things in their presence; and the people were greatly frightened.
9Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, 'What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.'
10And Abimelech said to Abraham, 'What have you encountered, that you have done this thing?'
11Abraham said, 'Because I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.
12Besides, she actually is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife;
13and it came about, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is the kindness which you will show to me: everywhere we go, say of me, 'He is my brother.'?’?'
14Abimelech then took sheep and oxen and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned his wife Sarah to him.
15Abimelech said, 'Behold, my land is before you; settle wherever you please.'
16To Sarah he said, 'Look, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is your vindication before all who are with you, and before everyone you are cleared.'
17Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his female slaves, so that they gave birth to children.
18For the Lord had completely closed all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
Chapter 21
1Then the Lord took note of Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had promised. 2So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him. 3Abraham named his son who was born to him, the son whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac. 4Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5Now Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6Sarah said, 'God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.' 7And she said, 'Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have given birth to a son in his old age.'
8And the child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.
9Now Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking Isaac.
10Therefore she said to Abraham, 'Drive out this slave woman and her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be an heir with my son Isaac!'
11The matter distressed Abraham greatly because of his son Ishmael.
12But God said to Abraham, 'Do not be distressed because of the boy and your slave woman; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her, for through Isaac your descendants shall be named.
13And of the son of the slave woman I will make a nation also, because he is your descendant.'
14So Abraham got up early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water, and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder, and gave her the boy, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba.
15When the water in the skin was used up, she left the boy under one of the bushes.
16Then she went and sat down opposite him, about a bowshot away, for she said, 'May I not see the boy die!' And she sat opposite him, and raised her voice and wept.
17God heard the boy crying; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, 'What is the matter with you, Hagar? Do not fear, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.
18Get up, lift up the boy, and hold him by the hand, for I will make a great nation of him.'
19Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.
20And God was with the boy, and he grew; and he lived in the wilderness and became an archer.
21He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
22Now it came about at that time that Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, 'God is with you in all that you do;
23so now, swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring or with my descendants, but according to the kindness that I have shown to you, you shall show to me and to the land in which you have resided.'
24Abraham said, 'I swear it.'
25But Abraham complained to Abimelech because of the well of water which the servants of Abimelech had seized.
26And Abimelech said, 'I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor did I hear of it until today.'
27So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.
28But Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.
29Then Abimelech said to Abraham, 'What do these seven ewe lambs mean, which you have set by themselves?'
30He said, 'You shall take these seven ewe lambs from my hand so that it may be a witness for me, that I dug this well.'
31Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because there the two of them took an oath.
32So they made a covenant at Beersheba; and Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, got up and returned to the land of the Philistines.
33Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God.
34And Abraham resided in the land of the Philistines for many days.
Chapter 22
1Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, 'Abraham!' And he said, 'Here I am.' 2Then He said, 'Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.' 3So Abraham got up early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and set out and went to the place of which God had told him. 4On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance. 5Then Abraham said to his young men, 'Stay here with the donkey, and I and the boy will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.' 6And Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. 7Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, 'My father!' And he said, 'Here I am, my son.' And he said, 'Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?' 8Abraham said, 'God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.' So the two of them walked on together.
9Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
10And Abraham reached out with his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.
11But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, 'Abraham, Abraham!' And he said, 'Here I am.'
12He said, 'Do not reach out your hand against the boy, and do not do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.'
13Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram caught in the thicket by its horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering in the place of his son.
14And Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, 'On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.'
15Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven,
16and said, 'By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son,
17indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand, which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies.
18And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.'
19So Abraham returned to his young men, and they got up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham lived in Beersheba.
20Now it came about after these things, that Abraham was told, saying, 'Behold, Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor:
21Uz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel (the father of Aram),
22Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel'—
23and it was Bethuel who fathered Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother.
24His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also gave birth to Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.
King James Version
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
15And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.
16And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.
Chapter 17
1And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. 2And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
3And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
4As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
5Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
6And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
7And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
8And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
9And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
10This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
11And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.
12And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.
13He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
14And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.
15And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
16And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.
17Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
18And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
19And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
20And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.
21But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.
22And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
23And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.
24And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
25And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
26In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son.
27And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.
Chapter 18
1And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,
3And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:
4Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:
5And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.
6And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.
7And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.
8And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.
9And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.
10And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
11Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
12Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
13And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?
14Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
15Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.
16And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.
17And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;
18Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
19For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.
20And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
21I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.
22And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord.
23And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
24Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?
25That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
27And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:
28Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.
3And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.
4But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:
5And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.
6And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,
7And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.
8Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.
10But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.
11And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
12And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:
13For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord; and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it.
15And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.
16And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the Lord being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.
17And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.
18And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord:
19Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:
20Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.
21And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken.
22Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
23The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.
24Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven;
25And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.
26But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
27And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord:
28And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.
30And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.
31And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:
32Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
33And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
34And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
35And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
36Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.
37And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.
38And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.
Chapter 20
1And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar. 2And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
4But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?
5Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.
6And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.
7Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.
8Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid.
9Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.
10And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?
11And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake.
12And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.
13And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.
14And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.
15And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee.
17So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.
18For the Lord had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham's wife.
Chapter 21
1And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken. 2For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. 4And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.
6And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.
7And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.
8And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.
9And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.
10Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.
11And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son.
12And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.
13And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.
14And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
15And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.
16And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.
17And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.
18Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.
19And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.
20And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.
21And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.
22And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest:
23Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned.
24And Abraham said, I will swear.
25And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away.
26And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to day.
27And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant.
28And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.
29And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves?
30And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.
31Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them.
32Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.
33And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God.
34And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines' land many days.
Chapter 22
1And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. 2And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
4Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
5And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.
6And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
7And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
8And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
9And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
10And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
11And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
12And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
13And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
14And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.
15And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,
16And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
17That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
18And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
20And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor;
21Huz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram,
22And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel.
23And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham's brother.
24And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah.
Christian Standard Bible
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 fathers 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."
13So she named the Lord who spoke to her: "You are El-roi," for she said, "In this place, have I actually seen the one who sees me?"
14That is why the well is called Beer-lahai-roi. It is between Kadesh and Bered.
15So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, and Abram named his son (whom Hagar bore) Ishmael.
16Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him.
Chapter 17
1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him, saying, "I am God Almighty. Live in my presence and be blameless. 2I will set up my covenant between me and you, and I will multiply you greatly."
3Then Abram fell facedown and God spoke with him:
4"As for me, here is my covenant with you: You will become the father of many nations.
5Your name will no longer be Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I will make you the father of many nations.
6I will make you extremely fruitful and will make nations and kings come from you.
7I will confirm my covenant that is between me and you and your future offspring throughout their generations. It is a permanent covenant to be your God and the God of your offspring after you.
8And to you and your future offspring I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as a permanent possession, and I will be their God."
9God also said to Abraham, "As for you, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations are to keep my covenant.
10This is my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you, which you are to keep: Every one of your males must be circumcised.
11You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskin to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and you.
12Throughout your generations, every male among you is to be circumcised at eight days old—every male born in your household or purchased from any foreigner and not your offspring.
13Whether born in your household or purchased, he must be circumcised. My covenant will be marked in your flesh as a permanent covenant.
14If any male is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that man will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant."
15God said to Abraham, "As for your wife Sarai, do not call her Sarai, for Sarah will be her name.
16I will bless her; indeed, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will produce nations; kings of peoples will come from her."
17Abraham fell facedown. Then he laughed and said to himself, "Can a child be born to a hundred-year-old man? Can Sarah, a ninety-year-old woman, give birth?"
18So Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael were acceptable to you!"
19But God said, "No. Your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. I will confirm my covenant with him as a permanent covenant for his future offspring.
20As for Ishmael, I have heard you. I will certainly bless him; I will make him fruitful and will multiply him greatly. He will father twelve tribal leaders, and I will make him into a great nation.
21But I will confirm my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year."
22When he finished talking with him, God withdrew from Abraham.
23So Abraham took his son Ishmael and those born in his household or purchased—every male among the members of Abraham’s household—and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin on that very day, just as God had said to him.
24Abraham was ninety-nine years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised,
25and his son Ishmael was thirteen years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised.
26On that same day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised.
27And all the men of his household—whether born in his household or purchased from a foreigner—were circumcised with him.
Chapter 18
1The Lord appeared to Abraham at the oaks of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the heat of the day. 2He looked up, and he saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them, bowed to the ground, 3and said, "My lord, if I have found favor with you, please do not go on past your servant. 4Let a little water be brought, that you may wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree.
6So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, "Quick! Knead three measures of fine flour and make bread."
7Abraham ran to the herd and got a tender, choice calf. He gave it to a young man, who hurried to prepare it.
8Then Abraham took curds and milk, as well as the calf that he had prepared, and set them before the men. He served them as they ate under the tree.
11Abraham and Sarah were old and getting on in years. Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.
12So she laughed to herself: "After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I have delight?"
13But the Lord asked Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Can I really have a baby when I’m old?’
14Is anything impossible for the Lord? At the appointed time I will come back to you, and in about a year she will have a son."
16The men got up from there and looked out over Sodom, and Abraham was walking with them to see them off.
17Then the Lord said, "Should I hide what I am about to do from Abraham?
18Abraham is to become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him.
19For I have chosen him so that he will command his children and his house after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. This is how the Lord will fulfill to Abraham what he promised him."
20Then the Lord said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is immense, and their sin is extremely serious.
21I will go down to see if what they have done justifies the cry that has come up to me. If not, I will find out."
22The men turned from there and went toward Sodom while Abraham remained standing before the Lord.
23Abraham stepped forward and said, "Will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
24What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away instead of sparing the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people who are in it?
25You could not possibly do such a thing: to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. You could not possibly do that! Won’t the Judge of the whole earth do what is just?"
27Then Abraham answered, "Since I have ventured to speak to my lord—even though I am dust and ashes—
32Then he said, "Let my lord not be angry, and I will speak one more time. Suppose ten are found there?" He answered, "I will not destroy it on account of ten."
33When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he departed, and Abraham returned to his place.
2and said, "My lords, turn aside to your servant’s house, wash your feet, and spend the night. Then you can get up early and go on your way." "No," they said. "We would rather spend the night in the square."
3But he urged them so strongly that they followed him and went into his house. He prepared a feast and baked unleavened bread for them, and they ate.
4Before they went to bed, the men of the city of Sodom, both young and old, the whole population, surrounded the house.
5They called out to Lot and said, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Send them out to us so we can have sex with them!"
6Lot went out to them at the entrance and shut the door behind him.
7He said, "Don’t do this evil, my brothers.
8Look, I’ve got two daughters who haven’t been intimate with a man. I’ll bring them out to you, and you can do whatever you want to them. However, don’t do anything to these men, because they have come under the protection of my roof."
9"Get out of the way!" they said, adding, "This one came here as an alien, but he’s acting like a judge! Now we’ll do more harm to you than to them." They put pressure on Lot and came up to break down the door.
10But the angels reached out, brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door.
11They struck the men who were at the entrance of the house, both young and old, with blindness so that they were unable to find the entrance.
12Then the angels said to Lot, "Do you have anyone else here: a son-in-law, your sons and daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of this place,
13for we are about to destroy this place because the outcry against its people is so great before the Lord, that the Lord has sent us to destroy it."
15At daybreak the angels urged Lot on: "Get up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city."
16But he hesitated. Because of the Lord’s compassion for him, the men grabbed his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters. They brought him out and left him outside the city.
18But Lot said to them, "No, my lords —please.
19Your servant has indeed found favor with you, and you have shown me great kindness by saving my life. But I can’t run to the mountains; the disaster will overtake me, and I will die.
20Look, this town is close enough for me to flee to. It is a small place. Please let me run to it—it’s only a small place, isn’t it?—so that I can survive."
21And he said to him, "All right, I’ll grant your request about this matter too and will not demolish the town you mentioned.
22Hurry up! Run to it, for I cannot do anything until you get there." Therefore the name of the city is Zoar.
23The sun had risen over the land when Lot reached Zoar.
24Then out of the sky the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah burning sulfur from the Lord.
25He demolished these cities, the entire plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and whatever grew on the ground.
26But Lot’s wife looked back and became a pillar of salt.
27Early in the morning Abraham went to the place where he had stood before the Lord.
28He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of the plain, and he saw that smoke was going up from the land like the smoke of a furnace.
29So it was, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham and brought Lot out of the middle of the upheaval when he demolished the cities where Lot had lived.
30Lot departed from Zoar and lived in the mountains along with his two daughters, because he was afraid to live in Zoar. Instead, he and his two daughters lived in a cave.
31Then the firstborn said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is no man in the land to sleep with us as is the custom of all the land.
32Come, let’s get our father to drink wine so that we can sleep with him and preserve our father’s line."
33So they got their father to drink wine that night, and the firstborn came and slept with her father; he did not know when she lay down or when she got up.
34The next day the firstborn said to the younger, "Look, I slept with my father last night. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight so you can go sleep with him and we can preserve our father’s line."
35That night they again got their father to drink wine, and the younger went and slept with him; he did not know when she lay down or when she got up.
36So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father.
37The firstborn gave birth to a son and named him Moab. He is the father of the Moabites of today.
38The younger also gave birth to a son, and she named him Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites of today.
Chapter 20
1From there Abraham traveled to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was staying in Gerar, 2Abraham said about his wife Sarah, "She is my sister." So King Abimelech of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.
4Now Abimelech had not approached her, so he said, "Lord, would you destroy a nation even though it is innocent?
5Didn’t he himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ I did this with a clear conscience and clean hands."
6Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience. I have also kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I have not let you touch her.
7Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, know that you will certainly die, you and all who are yours."
9Then Abimelech called Abraham in and said to him, "What have you done to us? How did I sin against you that you have brought such enormous guilt on me and on my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done."
10Abimelech also asked Abraham, "What made you do this?"
11Abraham replied, "I thought, ‘There is absolutely no fear of God in this place. They will kill me because of my wife.’
12Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife.
13So when God had me wander from my father’s house, I said to her: Show your loyalty to me wherever we go and say about me: ‘He’s my brother.’"
14Then Abimelech took flocks and herds and male and female slaves, gave them to Abraham, and returned his wife Sarah to him.
15Abimelech said, "Look, my land is before you. Settle wherever you want."
16And he said to Sarah, "Look, I am giving your brother one thousand pieces of silver. It is a verification of your honor to all who are with you. You are fully vindicated."
17Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female slaves so that they could bear children,
18for the Lord had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech’s household on account of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
Chapter 21
1The Lord came to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. 2Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time God had told him. 3Abraham named his son who was born to him—the one Sarah bore to him—Isaac. 4When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded him. 5Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
6Sarah said, "God has made me laugh, and everyone who hears will laugh with me."
7She also said, "Who would have told Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne a son for him in his old age."
8The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned.
9But Sarah saw the son mocking—the one Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham.
10So she said to Abraham, "Drive out this slave with her son, for the son of this slave will not be a coheir with my son Isaac!"
11This was very distressing to Abraham because of his son.
12But God said to Abraham, "Do not be distressed about the boy and about your slave. Whatever Sarah says to you, listen to her, because your offspring will be traced through Isaac,
13and I will also make a nation of the slave’s son because he is your offspring."
14Early in the morning Abraham got up, took bread and a waterskin, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her and the boy away. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beer-sheba.
15When the water in the skin was gone, she left the boy under one of the bushes
16and went and sat at a distance, about a bowshot away, for she said, "I can’t bear to watch the boy die!" While she sat at a distance, she wept loudly.
17God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What’s wrong, Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard the boy crying from the place where he is.
18Get up, help the boy up, and grasp his hand, for I will make him a great nation."
19Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well. So she went and filled the waterskin and gave the boy a drink.
20God was with the boy, and he grew; he settled in the wilderness and became an archer.
21He settled in the Wilderness of Paran, and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
22At that time Abimelech, accompanied by Phicol the commander of his army, said to Abraham, "God is with you in everything you do.
23Swear to me by God here and now, that you will not break an agreement with me or with my children and descendants. As I have been loyal to you, so you will be loyal to me and to the country where you are a resident alien."
24And Abraham said, "I swear it."
25But Abraham complained to Abimelech because of the well that Abimelech’s servants had seized.
27Abraham took flocks and herds and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.
28Abraham separated seven ewe lambs from the flock.
29And Abimelech said to Abraham, "Why have you separated these seven ewe lambs?"
30He replied, "You are to accept the seven ewe lambs from me so that this act will serve as my witness that I dug this well."
31Therefore that place was called Beer-sheba because it was there that the two of them swore an oath.
32After they had made a covenant at Beer-sheba, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, left and returned to the land of the Philistines.
33Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and there he called on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God.
34And Abraham lived as an alien in the land of the Philistines for many days.
Chapter 22
1After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he answered.
3So Abraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took with him two of his young men and his son Isaac. He split wood for a burnt offering and set out to go to the place God had told him about.
4On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.
5Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there to worship; then we’ll come back to you."
6Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac. In his hand he took the fire and the knife, and the two of them walked on together.
9When they arrived at the place that God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood.
10Then Abraham reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.
12Then he said, "Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me."
13Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.
14And Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide, so today it is said: "It will be provided on the Lord’s mountain."
15Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven
16and said, "By myself I have sworn," this is the Lord’s declaration: "Because you have done this thing and have not withheld your only son,
17I will indeed bless you and make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your offspring will possess the city gates of their enemies.
18And all the nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring because you have obeyed my command."
20Now after these things Abraham was told, "Milcah also has borne sons to your brother Nahor:
21Uz his firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel the father of Aram,
22Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel."
23And Bethuel fathered Rebekah. Milcah bore these eight to Nahor, Abraham’s brother.
24His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.
New Living Translation
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.
15So Hagar gave Abram a son, and Abram named him Ishmael.
16Abram was eighty-six years old when Ishmael was born.
Chapter 17
1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, 'I am El-Shaddai — ‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. 2I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.'
3At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him,
4This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations!
5What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations.
6I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them!
7I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
8And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.'
9Then God said to Abraham, 'Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility.
10This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised.
11You must cut off the flesh of your foreskin as a sign of the covenant between me and you.
12From generation to generation, every male child must be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. This applies not only to members of your family but also to the servants born in your household and the foreign-born servants whom you have purchased.
13All must be circumcised. Your bodies will bear the mark of my everlasting covenant.
14Any male who fails to be circumcised will be cut off from the covenant family for breaking the covenant.'
15Then God said to Abraham, 'Regarding Sarai, your wife — her name will no longer be Sarai. From now on her name will be Sarah.
16And I will bless her and give you a son from her! Yes, I will bless her richly, and she will become the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will be among her descendants.'
17Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief. 'How could I become a father at the age of 100?' he thought. 'And how can Sarah have a baby when she is ninety years old?'
18So Abraham said to God, 'May Ishmael live under your special blessing!'
19But God replied, 'No — Sarah, your wife, will give birth to a son for you. You will name him Isaac, and I will confirm my covenant with him and his descendants as an everlasting covenant.
20As for Ishmael, I will bless him also, just as you have asked. I will make him extremely fruitful and multiply his descendants. He will become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.
21But my covenant will be confirmed with Isaac, who will be born to you and Sarah about this time next year.'
22When God had finished speaking, he left Abraham.
23On that very day Abraham took his son, Ishmael, and every male in his household, including those born there and those he had bought. Then he circumcised them, cutting off their foreskins, just as God had told him.
24Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised,
25and Ishmael, his son, was thirteen.
26Both Abraham and his son, Ishmael, were circumcised on that same day,
27along with all the other men and boys of the household, whether they were born there or bought as servants. All were circumcised with him.
Chapter 18
1The Lord appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest part of the day. 2He looked up and noticed three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran to meet them and welcomed them, bowing low to the ground.
3My lord,' he said, 'if it pleases you, stop here for a while.
4Rest in the shade of this tree while water is brought to wash your feet.
6So Abraham ran back to the tent and said to Sarah, 'Hurry! Get three large measures of your best flour, knead it into dough, and bake some bread.'
7Then Abraham ran out to the herd and chose a tender calf and gave it to his servant, who quickly prepared it.
8When the food was ready, Abraham took some yogurt and milk and the roasted meat, and he served it to the men. As they ate, Abraham waited on them in the shade of the trees.
10Then one of them said, 'I will return to you about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah, will have a son!' Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent.
11Abraham and Sarah were both very old by this time, and Sarah was long past the age of having children.
12So she laughed silently to herself and said, 'How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master — my husband — is also so old?'
13Then the Lord said to Abraham, 'Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’
14Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.'
17Should I hide my plan from Abraham?' the Lord asked.
18For Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him.
19I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. Then I will do for Abraham all that I have promised.'
20So the Lord told Abraham, 'I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant.
21I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know.'
22The other men turned and headed toward Sodom, but the Lord remained with Abraham.
23Abraham approached him and said, 'Will you sweep away both the righteous and the wicked?
24Suppose you find fifty righteous people living there in the city — will you still sweep it away and not spare it for their sakes?
25Surely you wouldn’t do such a thing, destroying the righteous along with the wicked. Why, you would be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same! Surely you wouldn’t do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?'
3But Lot insisted, so at last they went home with him. Lot prepared a feast for them, complete with fresh bread made without yeast, and they ate.
4But before they retired for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house.
5They shouted to Lot, 'Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!'
6So Lot stepped outside to talk to them, shutting the door behind him.
7Please, my brothers,' he begged, 'don’t do such a wicked thing.
8Look, I have two virgin daughters. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do with them as you wish. But please, leave these men alone, for they are my guests and are under my protection.'
10But the two angels reached out, pulled Lot into the house, and bolted the door.
11Then they blinded all the men, young and old, who were at the door of the house, so they gave up trying to get inside.
12Meanwhile, the angels questioned Lot. 'Do you have any other relatives here in the city?' they asked. 'Get them out of this place — your sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else.
13For we are about to destroy this city completely. The outcry against this place is so great it has reached the Lord, and he has sent us to destroy it.'
16When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the Lord was merciful.
17When they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, 'Run for your lives! And don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away!'
18Oh no, my lord!' Lot begged.
19You have been so gracious to me and saved my life, and you have shown such great kindness. But I cannot go to the mountains. Disaster would catch up to me there, and I would soon die.
20See, there is a small village nearby. Please let me go there instead; don’t you see how small it is? Then my life will be saved.'
21All right,' the angel said, 'I will grant your request. I will not destroy the little village.
22But hurry! Escape to it, for I can do nothing until you arrive there.' (This explains why that village was known as Zoar, which means 'little place.')
23Lot reached the village just as the sun was rising over the horizon.
24Then the Lord rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah.
25He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, wiping out all the people and every bit of vegetation.
26But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt.
27Abraham got up early that morning and hurried out to the place where he had stood in the Lord’s presence.
28He looked out across the plain toward Sodom and Gomorrah and watched as columns of smoke rose from the cities like smoke from a furnace.
30Afterward Lot left Zoar because he was afraid of the people there, and he went to live in a cave in the mountains with his two daughters.
31One day the older daughter said to her sister, 'There are no men left anywhere in this entire area, so we can’t get married like everyone else. And our father will soon be too old to have children.
32Come, let’s get him drunk with wine, and then we will have sex with him. That way we will preserve our family line through our father.'
34The next morning the older daughter said to her younger sister, 'I had sex with our father last night. Let’s get him drunk with wine again tonight, and you go in and have sex with him. That way we will preserve our family line through our father.'
35So that night they got him drunk with wine again, and the younger daughter went in and had intercourse with him. As before, he was unaware of her lying down or getting up again.
36As a result, both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their own father.
37When the older daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Moab. He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Moabites.
38When the younger daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Ben-ammi. He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Ammonites.
Chapter 20
1Abraham moved south to the Negev and lived for a while between Kadesh and Shur, and then he moved on to Gerar. While living there as a foreigner, 2Abraham introduced his wife, Sarah, by saying, 'She is my sister.' So King Abimelech of Gerar sent for Sarah and had her brought to him at his palace.
4But Abimelech had not slept with her yet, so he said, 'Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation?
5Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘Yes, he is my brother.’ I acted in complete innocence! My hands are clean.'
6In the dream God responded, 'Yes, I know you are innocent. That’s why I kept you from sinning against me, and why I did not let you touch her.
7Now return the woman to her husband, and he will pray for you, for he is a prophet. Then you will live. But if you don’t return her to him, you can be sure that you and all your people will die.'
8Abimelech got up early the next morning and quickly called all his servants together. When he told them what had happened, his men were terrified.
9Then Abimelech called for Abraham. 'What have you done to us?' he demanded. 'What crime have I committed that deserves treatment like this, making me and my kingdom guilty of this great sin? No one should ever do what you have done!
10Whatever possessed you to do such a thing?'
11Abraham replied, 'I thought, ‘This is a godless place. They will want my wife and will kill me to get her.’
12And she really is my sister, for we both have the same father, but different mothers. And I married her.
13When God called me to leave my father’s home and to travel from place to place, I told her, ‘Do me a favor. Wherever we go, tell the people that I am your brother.’'
14Then Abimelech took some of his sheep and goats, cattle, and male and female servants, and he presented them to Abraham. He also returned his wife, Sarah, to him.
15Then Abimelech said, 'Look over my land and choose any place where you would like to live.'
16And he said to Sarah, 'Look, I am giving your ‘brother’ 1,000 pieces of silver in the presence of all these witnesses. This is to compensate you for any wrong I may have done to you. This will settle any claim against me, and your reputation is cleared.'
17Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants, so they could have children.
18For the Lord had caused all the women to be infertile because of what happened with Abraham’s wife, Sarah.
Chapter 21
1The Lord kept his word and did for Sarah exactly what he had promised. 2She became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. This happened at just the time God had said it would. 3And Abraham named their son Isaac. 4Eight days after Isaac was born, Abraham circumcised him as God had commanded. 5Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born.
6And Sarah declared, 'God has brought me laughter. All who hear about this will laugh with me.
7Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse a baby? Yet I have given Abraham a son in his old age!'
8When Isaac grew up and was about to be weaned, Abraham prepared a huge feast to celebrate the occasion.
9But Sarah saw Ishmael — the son of Abraham and her Egyptian servant Hagar — making fun of her son, Isaac.
10So she turned to Abraham and demanded, 'Get rid of that slave woman and her son. He is not going to share the inheritance with my son, Isaac. I won’t have it!'
11This upset Abraham very much because Ishmael was his son.
12But God told Abraham, 'Do not be upset over the boy and your servant. Do whatever Sarah tells you, for Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.
13But I will also make a nation of the descendants of Hagar’s son because he is your son, too.'
15When the water was gone, she put the boy in the shade of a bush.
16Then she went and sat down by herself about a hundred yards away. 'I don’t want to watch the boy die,' she said, as she burst into tears.
17But God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, 'Hagar, what’s wrong? Do not be afraid! God has heard the boy crying as he lies there.
18Go to him and comfort him, for I will make a great nation from his descendants.'
20And God was with the boy as he grew up in the wilderness. He became a skillful archer,
21and he settled in the wilderness of Paran. His mother arranged for him to marry a woman from the land of Egypt.
22About this time, Abimelech came with Phicol, his army commander, to visit Abraham. 'God is obviously with you, helping you in everything you do,' Abimelech said.
23Swear to me in God’s name that you will never deceive me, my children, or any of my descendants. I have been loyal to you, so now swear that you will be loyal to me and to this country where you are living as a foreigner.'
24Abraham replied, 'Yes, I swear to it!'
25Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well that Abimelech’s servants had taken by force from Abraham’s servants.
27Abraham then gave some of his sheep, goats, and cattle to Abimelech, and they made a treaty.
28But Abraham also took seven additional female lambs and set them off by themselves.
29Abimelech asked, 'Why have you set these seven apart from the others?'
30Abraham replied, 'Please accept these seven lambs to show your agreement that I dug this well.'
31Then he named the place Beersheba (which means 'well of the oath'), because that was where they had sworn the oath.
32After making their covenant at Beersheba, Abimelech left with Phicol, the commander of his army, and they returned home to the land of the Philistines.
33Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he worshiped the Lord, the Eternal God.
34And Abraham lived as a foreigner in Philistine country for a long time.
Chapter 22
1Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. 'Abraham!' God called. 'Yes,' he replied. 'Here I am.'
3The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about.
4On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.
5Stay here with the donkey,' Abraham told the servants. 'The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.'
9When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood.
10And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice.
13Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son.
14Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means 'the Lord will provide'). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: 'On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.'
15Then the angel of the Lord called again to Abraham from heaven.
16This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that
17I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies.
18And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed — all because you have obeyed me.'
20Soon after this, Abraham heard that Milcah, his brother Nahor’s wife, had borne Nahor eight sons.
21The oldest was named Uz, the next oldest was Buz, followed by Kemuel (the ancestor of the Arameans),
22Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.
23(Bethuel became the father of Rebekah.) In addition to these eight sons from Milcah,
24Nahor had four other children from his concubine Reumah. Their names were Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.
English Standard Version
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.
15And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.
16Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
Chapter 17
1When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, 2that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly." 3Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4"Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God."
9And God said to Abraham, "As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations.
10This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.
11You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.
12He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring,
13both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant.
14Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant."
15And God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.
16I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her."
17Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, "Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?"
18And Abraham said to God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before you!"
19God said, "No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.
20As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation.
21But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year."
22When he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham.
23Then Abraham took Ishmael his son and all those born in his house or bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham 's house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very day, as God had said to him.
24Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
25And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
26That very day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised.
27And all the men of his house, those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
Chapter 18
1And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. 2He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth 3and said, "O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. 4Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, 5while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on — since you have come to your servant." So they said, "Do as you have said." 6And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, "Quick! Three seahs of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes." 7And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly. 8Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate.
9They said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" And he said, "She is in the tent."
10The Lord said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him.
11Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah.
12So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?"
13The Lord said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’
14Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son."
15But Sarah denied it, saying, "I did not laugh," for she was afraid. He said, "No, but you did laugh."
16Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way.
17The Lord said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do,
18seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
19For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him."
20Then the Lord said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave,
21I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know."
22So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.
23Then Abraham drew near and said, "Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
24Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it?
25Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?"
26And the Lord said, "If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake."
27Abraham answered and said, "Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.
28Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?" And he said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there."
29Again he spoke to him and said, "Suppose forty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of forty I will not do it."
30Then he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there." He answered, "I will not do it, if I find thirty there."
31He said, "Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it."
32Then he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there." He answered, "For the sake of ten I will not destroy it."
33And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.
Chapter 19
1The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth 2and said, "My lords, please turn aside to your servant 's house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way." They said, "No; we will spend the night in the town square." 3But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
4But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house.
5And they called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them."
6Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him,
7and said, "I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly.
8Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof."
9But they said, "Stand back!" And they said, "This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them." Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down.
10But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door.
11And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door.
12Then the men said to Lot, "Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place.
13For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it."
14So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, "Up! Get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city." But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.
15As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city."
16But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.
17And as they brought them out, one said, "Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away."
18And Lot said to them, "Oh, no, my lords.
19Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die.
20Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there — is it not a little one? — and my life will be saved!"
21He said to him, "Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken.
22Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there." Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
23The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar.
24Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven.
25And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.
26But Lot 's wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
27And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord.
28And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.
30Now Lot went up out of Zoar and lived in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters.
31And the firstborn said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth.
32Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father."
33So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father. He did not know when she lay down or when she arose.
34The next day, the firstborn said to the younger, "Behold, I lay last night with my father. Let us make him drink wine tonight also. Then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father."
35So they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.
36Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father.
37The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab. He is the father of the Moabites to this day.
38The younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites to this day.
Chapter 20
1From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. 2And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, "She is my sister." And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, "Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man 's wife." 4Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, "Lord, will you kill an innocent people? 5Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this." 6Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. 7Now then, return the man 's wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours."
8So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid.
9Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, "What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done."
10And Abimelech said to Abraham, "What did you see, that you did this thing?"
11Abraham said, "I did it because I thought, ‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’
12Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife.
13And when God caused me to wander from my father 's house, I said to her, ‘This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, "He is my brother."’"
14Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him.
15And Abimelech said, "Behold, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you."
16To Sarah he said, "Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated."
17Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children.
18For the Lord had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham 's wife.
Chapter 21
1The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised. 2And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. 3Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. 4And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6And Sarah said, "God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me." 7And she said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age."
8And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.
9But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing.
10So she said to Abraham, "Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac."
11And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son.
12But God said to Abraham, "Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named.
13And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring."
14So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
15When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes.
16Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, "Let me not look on the death of the child." And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept.
17And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.
18Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation."
19Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.
20And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow.
21He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
22At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, "God is with you in all that you do.
23Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my descendants or with my posterity, but as I have dealt kindly with you, so you will deal with me and with the land where you have sojourned."
24And Abraham said, "I will swear."
25When Abraham reproved Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech 's servants had seized,
26Abimelech said, "I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, and I have not heard of it until today."
27So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a covenant.
28Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock apart.
29And Abimelech said to Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?"
30He said, "These seven ewe lambs you will take from my hand, that this may be a witness for me that I dug this well."
31Therefore that place was called Beersheba, because there both of them swore an oath.
32So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army rose up and returned to the land of the Philistines.
33Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God.
34And Abraham sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines.
Chapter 22
1After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." 2He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." 3So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you." 6And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. 7And Isaac said to his father Abraham, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." He said, "Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" 8Abraham said, "God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they went both of them together.
9When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
10Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.
11But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."
12He said, "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me."
13And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.
14So Abraham called the name of that place, "The Lord will provide"; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided."
15And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven
16and said, "By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,
17I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies,
18and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice."
19So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba.
20Now after these things it was told to Abraham, "Behold, Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor:
21Uz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram,
22Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel."
23(Bethuel fathered Rebekah.) These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham 's brother.
24Moreover, his concubine, whose name was Reumah, bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.
New International Version
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."
13She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me."
14That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi ; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.
15So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne.
16Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.
Chapter 17
1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty ; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. 2Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers."
3Abram fell facedown, and God said to him,
4"As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations.
5No longer will you be called Abram ; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.
6I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.
7I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
8The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God."
9Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come.
10This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.
11You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.
12For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring.
13Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant.
14Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant."
15God also said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah.
16I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her."
17Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?"
18And Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!"
19Then God said, "Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.
20And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation.
21But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year."
22When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.
23On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him.
24Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised,
25and his son Ishmael was thirteen;
26Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that very day.
27And every male in Abraham’s household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.
Chapter 18
1The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. 2Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
3He said, "If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by.
4Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree.
7Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it.
8He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.
10Then one of them said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son." Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him.
11Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing.
12So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?"
13Then the Lord said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’
14Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son."
16When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way.
17Then the Lord said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?
18Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.
19For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him."
20Then the Lord said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous
21that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."
22The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord.
23Then Abraham approached him and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
24What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?
25Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?"
3But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate.
4Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house.
5They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them."
6Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him
7and said, "No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing.
8Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof."
10But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door.
11Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.
12The two men said to Lot, "Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here,
13because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it."
16When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them.
17As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, "Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!"
18But Lot said to them, "No, my lords, please!
19Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can’t flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die.
20Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared."
21He said to him, "Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of.
22But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it." (That is why the town was called Zoar. )
23By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land.
24Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens.
25Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land.
26But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
27Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord.
28He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.
30Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave.
31One day the older daughter said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth.
32Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father."
34The next day the older daughter said to the younger, "Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father."
35So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.
36So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father.
37The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab ; he is the father of the Moabites of today.
38The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi ; he is the father of the Ammonites of today.
Chapter 20
1Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, 2and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, "She is my sister." Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.
4Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, "Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation?
5Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands."
6Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her.
7Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die."
8Early the next morning Abimelek summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid.
9Then Abimelek called Abraham in and said, "What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done."
10And Abimelek asked Abraham, "What was your reason for doing this?"
11Abraham replied, "I said to myself, ‘There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’
12Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife.
13And when God had me wander from my father’s household, I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, "He is my brother." ’ "
14Then Abimelek brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him.
15And Abimelek said, "My land is before you; live wherever you like."
17Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again,
18for the Lord had kept all the women in Abimelek’s household from conceiving because of Abraham’s wife Sarah.
Chapter 21
1Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. 2Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. 3Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. 4When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. 5Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
6Sarah said, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me."
7And she added, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age."
8The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast.
9But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking,
10and she said to Abraham, "Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac."
11The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son.
12But God said to him, "Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.
13I will make the son of the slave into a nation also, because he is your offspring."
15When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes.
16Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, "I cannot watch the boy die." And as she sat there, she began to sob.
17God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there.
18Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation."
20God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer.
21While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt.
22At that time Abimelek and Phicol the commander of his forces said to Abraham, "God is with you in everything you do.
23Now swear to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or my descendants. Show to me and the country where you now reside as a foreigner the same kindness I have shown to you."
25Then Abraham complained to Abimelek about a well of water that Abimelek’s servants had seized.
26But Abimelek said, "I don’t know who has done this. You did not tell me, and I heard about it only today."
27So Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelek, and the two men made a treaty.
28Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock,
29and Abimelek asked Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs you have set apart by themselves?"
32After the treaty had been made at Beersheba, Abimelek and Phicol the commander of his forces returned to the land of the Philistines.
33Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the Lord, the Eternal God.
34And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time.
3Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.
4On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.
5He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you."
9When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
10Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
13Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.
14So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided."
15The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time
16and said, "I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,
17I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,
18and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."
20Some time later Abraham was told, "Milkah is also a mother; she has borne sons to your brother Nahor:
21Uz the firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel (the father of Aram),
22Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bethuel."
23Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milkah bore these eight sons to Abraham’s brother Nahor.
24His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also had sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maakah.
New King James Version
Chapter 13
1Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South. 2Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3And he went on his journey from the South 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 at first. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord.
5Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents.
6Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell 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. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land.
8So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren.
9Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.”
10And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar.
11Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other.
12Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom.
13But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord.
14And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are— northward, southward, eastward, and westward;
15for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever.
16And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered.
17Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.”
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 they 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). 3All these joined together in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). 4Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
5In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him came and attacked the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim,
6and the Horites in their mountain of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is by the wilderness.
7Then they turned back and came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and attacked all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who dwelt in Hazezon Tamar.
8And 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 joined together in battle in the Valley of Siddim
9against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five.
10Now the Valley of Siddim was full of asphalt pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled; some fell there, and the remainder fled to the mountains.
11Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way.
12They also took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
13Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; and they were allies with Abram.
14Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.
15He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus.
16So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.
22But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth,
23that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’—
24except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.”
2But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
3Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”
4And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.”
5Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
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, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.
11And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him.
13Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years.
14And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions.
15Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age.
16But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
18On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates—
19the Kenites, the Kenezzites, 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. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. 2So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. 3Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. 4So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes.
9The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.”
10Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.”
11And the Angel of the Lord said to her: “Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, Because the Lord has heard your affliction.
12 He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And every man’s hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”
13Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?”
14Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; observe, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
15So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.
16Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
Chapter 17
1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. 2And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” 3Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: 4“As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. 5No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. 6I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. 7And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. 8Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
9And God said to Abraham: “As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.
10This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised;
11and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.
12He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant.
13He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
14And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
15Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.
16And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.”
17Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”
18And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”
19Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.
20And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.
21But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.”
22Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
23So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had said to him.
24Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
25And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
26That very same day Abraham was circumcised, and his son Ishmael;
27and all the men of his house, born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
Chapter 18
1Then the Lord appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. 2So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, 3and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. 4Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.
6So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes.”
7And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it.
8So he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.
10And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.” (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.)
11Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.
12Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”
13And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’
14Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”
16Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way.
17And the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing,
18since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
19For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”
20And the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave,
21I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”
22Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.
23And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
24Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it?
25Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
32Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.”
33So the Lord went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.
4Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house.
5And they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.”
6So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him,
7and said, “Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly!
8See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof.”
9And they said, “Stand back!” Then they said, “This one came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them.” So they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break down the door.
10But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door.
11And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they became weary trying to find the door.
12Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city— take them out of this place!
13For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”
15When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.”
16And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.
17So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.”
18Then Lot said to them, “Please, no, my lords!
19Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die.
20See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there ( is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.”
23The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar.
24Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens.
25So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.
27And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord.
28Then he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain; and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace.
29And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt.
30Then Lot went up out of Zoar and dwelt in the mountains, and his two daughters were with him; for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar. And he and his two daughters dwelt in a cave.
31Now the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man on the earth to come in to us as is the custom of all the earth.
32Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve the lineage of our father.”
33So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.
34It happened on the next day that the firstborn said to the younger, “Indeed I lay with my father last night; let us make him drink wine tonight also, and you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve the lineage of our father.”
35Then they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.
36Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father.
37The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day.
38And the younger, she also bore a son and called his name Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the people of Ammon to this day.
Chapter 20
1And Abraham journeyed from there to the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar. 2Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.
4But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also?
5Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.”
6And God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her.
7Now therefore, restore the man’s wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”
8So Abimelech rose early in the morning, called all his servants, and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were very much afraid.
9And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? How have I offended you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me that ought not to be done.”
10Then Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you have in view, that you have done this thing?”
11And Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will kill me on account of my wife.
12But indeed she is truly my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.
13And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is your kindness that you should do for me: in every place, wherever we go, say of me, “He is my brother.” ’ ”
14Then Abimelech took sheep, oxen, and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham; and he restored Sarah his wife to him.
15And Abimelech said, “See, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.”
16Then to Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; indeed this vindicates you before all who are with you and before everybody.” Thus she was rebuked.
17So Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants. Then they bore children;
18for the Lord had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
Chapter 21
1And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. 2For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him— Isaac. 4Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6And Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me.” 7She also said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age.”
9And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing.
10Therefore she said to Abraham, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac.”
11And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham’s sight because of his son.
12But God said to Abraham, “Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called.
13Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed.”
14So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba.
15And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs.
16Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, “Let me not see the death of the boy.” So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept.
17And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is.
18Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation.”
19Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink.
20So God was with the lad; and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.
21He dwelt in the Wilderness of Paran; and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
22And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phichol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, “God is with you in all that you do.
23Now therefore, swear to me by God that you will not deal falsely with me, with my offspring, or with my posterity; but that according to the kindness that I have done to you, you will do to me and to the land in which you have dwelt.”
25Then Abraham rebuked Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech’s servants had seized.
26And Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor had I heard of it until today.”
27So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.
28And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.
30And he said, “You will take these seven ewe lambs from my hand, that they may be my witness that I have dug this well.”
31Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because the two of them swore an oath there.
32Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba. So Abimelech rose with Phichol, the commander of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines.
33Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there called on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God.
34And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines many days.
3So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.
4Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off.
5And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.”
9Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.
10And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
13Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.
14And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
15Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven,
16and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son—
17blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.
18In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
19So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.
20Now it came to pass after these things that it was told Abraham, saying, “Indeed Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor:
21Huz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram,
22Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.”
23And Bethuel begot Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother.
24His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Thahash, and Maachah.
