13:1 So Abram went up from Egypt into the Negev. 1 He took his wife and all his possessions with him, as well as Lot. 2 13:2 (Now Abram was very wealthy 3 in livestock, silver, and gold.) 4
13:3 And he journeyed from place to place 5 from the Negev as far as Bethel. 6 He returned 7 to the place where he had pitched his tent 8 at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai. 13:4 This was the place where he had first built the altar, 9 and there Abram worshiped the Lord. 10
13:5 Now Lot, who was traveling 11 with Abram, also had 12 flocks, herds, and tents. 13:6 But the land could 13 not support them while they were living side by side. 14 Because their possessions were so great, they were not able to live 15 alongside one another. 13:7 So there were quarrels 16 between Abram’s herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen. 17 (Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at that time.) 18
13:8 Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no quarreling between me and you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are close relatives. 19 13:9 Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself now from me. If you go 20 to the left, then I’ll go to the right, but if you go to the right, then I’ll go to the left.”
13:10 Lot looked up and saw 21 the whole region 22 of the Jordan. He noticed 23 that all of it was well-watered (before the Lord obliterated 24 Sodom and Gomorrah) 25 like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, 26 all the way to Zoar. 13:11 Lot chose for himself the whole region of the Jordan and traveled 27 toward the east.
So the relatives separated from each other. 28 13:12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, but Lot settled among the cities of the Jordan plain 29 and pitched his tents next to Sodom. 13:13 (Now 30 the people 31 of Sodom were extremely wicked rebels against the Lord.) 32
13:14 After Lot had departed, the Lord said to Abram, 33 “Look 34 from the place where you stand to the north, south, east, and west. 13:15 I will give all the land that you see to you and your descendants 35 forever. 13:16 And I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone is able to count the dust of the earth, then your descendants also can be counted. 36 13:17 Get up and 37 walk throughout 38 the land, 39 for I will give it to you.”
13:18 So Abram moved his tents and went to live 40 by the oaks 41 of Mamre in Hebron, and he built an altar to the Lord there.
14:1 At that time 42 Amraphel king of Shinar, 43 Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations 44 14:2 went to war 45 against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 46 14:3 These last five kings 47 joined forces 48 in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). 49 14:4 For twelve years 50 they had served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year 51 they rebelled. 52 14:5 In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings who were his allies came and defeated 53 the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 14:6 and the Horites in their hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is near the desert. 54 14:7 Then they attacked En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh) again, 55 and they conquered all the territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazazon Tamar.
14:8 Then 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 prepared for battle. In the Valley of Siddim they met 56 14:9 Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, 57 Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar. Four kings fought against 58 five. 14:10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. 59 When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into them, 60 but some survivors 61 fled to the hills. 62 14:11 The four victorious kings 63 took all the possessions and food of Sodom and Gomorrah and left. 14:12 They also took Abram’s nephew 64 Lot and his possessions when 65 they left, for Lot 66 was living in Sodom. 67
14:13 A fugitive 68 came and told Abram the Hebrew. 69 Now Abram was living by the oaks 70 of Mamre the Amorite, the brother 71 of Eshcol and Aner. (All these were allied by treaty 72 with Abram.) 73 14:14 When Abram heard that his nephew 74 had been taken captive, he mobilized 75 his 318 trained men who had been born in his household, and he pursued the invaders 76 as far as Dan. 77 14:15 Then, during the night, 78 Abram 79 divided his forces 80 against them and defeated them. He chased them as far as Hobah, which is north 81 of Damascus. 14:16 He retrieved all the stolen property. 82 He also brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, as well as the women and the rest of 83 the people.
14:17 After Abram 84 returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet Abram 85 in the Valley of Shaveh (known as the King’s Valley). 86 14:18 Melchizedek king of Salem 87 brought out bread and wine. (Now he was the priest of the Most High God.) 88 14:19 He blessed Abram, saying,
“Blessed be Abram by 89 the Most High God,
Creator 90 of heaven and earth. 91
14:20 Worthy of praise is 92 the Most High God,
who delivered 93 your enemies into your hand.”
Abram gave Melchizedek 94 a tenth of everything.
14:21 Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and take the possessions for yourself.” 14:22 But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I raise my hand 95 to the Lord, the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth, and vow 96 14:23 that I will take nothing 97 belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal. That way you can never say, ‘It is I 98 who made Abram rich.’ 14:24 I will take nothing 99 except compensation for what the young men have eaten. 100 As for the share of the men who went with me – Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre – let them take their share.”
15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield 101 and the one who will reward you in great abundance.” 102
15:2 But Abram said, “O sovereign Lord, 103 what will you give me since 104 I continue to be 105 childless, and my heir 106 is 107 Eliezer of Damascus?” 108 15:3 Abram added, 109 “Since 110 you have not given me a descendant, then look, one born in my house will be my heir!” 111
15:4 But look, 112 the word of the Lord came to him: “This man 113 will not be your heir, 114 but instead 115 a son 116 who comes from your own body will be 117 your heir.” 118 15:5 The Lord 119 took him outside and said, “Gaze into the sky and count the stars – if you are able to count them!” Then he said to him, “So will your descendants be.”
15:6 Abram believed 120 the Lord, and the Lord 121 considered his response of faith 122 as proof of genuine loyalty. 123
15:7 The Lord said 124 to him, “I am the Lord 125 who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans 126 to give you this land to possess.” 15:8 But 127 Abram 128 said, “O sovereign Lord, 129 by what 130 can I know that I am to possess it?”
15:9 The Lord 131 said to him, “Take for me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” 15:10 So Abram 132 took all these for him and then cut them in two 133 and placed each half opposite the other, 134 but he did not cut the birds in half. 15:11 When birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
15:12 When the sun went down, Abram fell sound asleep, 135 and great terror overwhelmed him. 136 15:13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain 137 that your descendants will be strangers 138 in a foreign country. 139 They will be enslaved and oppressed 140 for four hundred years. 15:14 But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve. 141 Afterward they will come out with many possessions. 15:15 But as for you, 142 you will go to your ancestors 143 in peace and be buried at a good old age. 144 15:16 In the fourth generation 145 your descendants 146 will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.” 147
15:17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch 148 passed between the animal parts. 149 15:18 That day the Lord made a covenant 150 with Abram: “To your descendants I give 151 this land, from the river of Egypt 152 to the great river, the Euphrates River – 15:19 the land 153 of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 15:20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 15:21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.” 154
16:1 Now Sarai, 155 Abram’s wife, had not given birth to any children, 156 but she had an Egyptian servant 157 named Hagar. 158 16:2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Since 159 the Lord has prevented me from having children, have sexual relations with 160 my servant. Perhaps I can have a family by her.” 161 Abram did what 162 Sarai told him.
16:3 So after Abram had lived 163 in Canaan for ten years, Sarai, Abram’s wife, gave Hagar, her Egyptian servant, 164 to her husband to be his wife. 165 16:4 He had sexual relations with 166 Hagar, and she became pregnant. 167 Once Hagar realized she was pregnant, she despised Sarai. 168 16:5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You have brought this wrong on me! 169 I allowed my servant to have sexual relations with you, 170 but when she realized 171 that she was pregnant, she despised me. 172 May the Lord judge between you and me!” 173
16:6 Abram said to Sarai, “Since your 174 servant is under your authority, 175 do to her whatever you think best.” 176 Then Sarai treated Hagar 177 harshly, 178 so she ran away from Sarai. 179
16:7 The Lord’s angel 180 found Hagar near a spring of water in the desert – the spring that is along the road to Shur. 181 16:8 He said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She replied, “I’m running away from 182 my mistress, Sarai.”
16:9 Then the Lord’s angel said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit 183 to her authority. 16:10 I will greatly multiply your descendants,” the Lord’s angel added, 184 “so that they will be too numerous to count.” 185 16:11 Then the Lord’s angel said to her,
“You are now 186 pregnant
and are about to give birth 187 to a son.
You are to name him Ishmael, 188
for the Lord has heard your painful groans. 189
16:12 He will be a wild donkey 190 of a man.
He will be hostile to everyone, 191
and everyone will be hostile to him. 192
He will live away from 193 his brothers.”
16:13 So Hagar named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are the God who sees me,” 194 for she said, “Here I have seen one who sees me!” 195 16:14 That is why the well was called 196 Beer Lahai Roi. 197 (It is located 198 between Kadesh and Bered.)
16:15 So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, whom Abram named Ishmael. 199 16:16 (Now 200 Abram was 86 years old 201 when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.) 202
17:1 When Abram was 99 years old, 203 the Lord appeared to him and said, 204 “I am the sovereign God. 205 Walk 206 before me 207 and be blameless. 208 17:2 Then I will confirm my covenant 209 between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.” 210
17:3 Abram bowed down with his face to the ground, 211 and God said to him, 212 17:4 “As for me, 213 this 214 is my covenant with you: You will be the father of a multitude of nations. 17:5 No longer will your name be 215 Abram. Instead, your name will be Abraham 216 because I will make you 217 the father of a multitude of nations. 17:6 I will make you 218 extremely 219 fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you. 220 17:7 I will confirm 221 my covenant as a perpetual 222 covenant between me and you. It will extend to your descendants after you throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 223 17:8 I will give the whole land of Canaan – the land where you are now residing 224 – to you and your descendants after you as a permanent 225 possession. I will be their God.”
17:9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep 226 the covenantal requirement 227 I am imposing on you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 17:10 This is my requirement that you and your descendants after you must keep: 228 Every male among you must be circumcised. 229 17:11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskins. This will be a reminder 230 of the covenant between me and you. 17:12 Throughout your generations every male among you who is eight days old 231 must be circumcised, whether born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not one of your descendants. 17:13 They must indeed be circumcised, 232 whether born in your house or bought with money. The sign of my covenant 233 will be visible in your flesh as a permanent 234 reminder. 17:14 Any uncircumcised male 235 who has not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off 236 from his people – he has failed to carry out my requirement.” 237
17:15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for your wife, you must no longer call her Sarai; 238 Sarah 239 will be her name. 17:16 I will bless her and will give you a son through her. I will bless her and she will become a mother of nations. 240 Kings of countries 241 will come from her!”
17:17 Then Abraham bowed down with his face to the ground and laughed 242 as he said to himself, 243 “Can 244 a son be born to a man who is a hundred years old? 245 Can Sarah 246 bear a child at the age of ninety?” 247 17:18 Abraham said to God, “O that 248 Ishmael might live before you!” 249
17:19 God said, “No, Sarah your wife is going to bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. 250 I will confirm my covenant with him as a perpetual 251 covenant for his descendants after him. 17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. 252 I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants. 253 He will become the father of twelve princes; 254 I will make him into a great nation. 17:21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this set time next year.” 17:22 When he finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him. 255
17:23 Abraham took his son Ishmael and every male in his household (whether born in his house or bought with money) 256 and circumcised them 257 on that very same day, just as God had told him to do. 17:24 Now Abraham was 99 years old 258 when he was circumcised; 259 17:25 his son Ishmael was thirteen years old 260 when he was circumcised. 17:26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on the very same day. 17:27 All the men of his household, whether born in his household or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.