Genesis 12-16
New American Standard Bible
Abram Journeys to Egypt
12 Now (A)the Lord said to Abram,
“Go from your country,
And from your relatives
And from your father’s house,
To the land which I will show you;
2 And (B)I will make you into a great nation,
And (C)I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And you shall (D)be a blessing;
3 And (E)I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who [a]curses you I will [b]curse.
(F)And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
4 So Abram went away as the Lord had spoken to him; and (G)Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Abram took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot, and all their (H)possessions which they had accumulated, and (I)the [c]people which they had acquired in Haran, and they [d]set out for the land of Canaan; (J)so they came to the land of Canaan. 6 Abram passed through the land as far as the site of (K)Shechem, to the [e]oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanites were in the land at that time. 7 And the Lord (L)appeared to Abram and said, “(M)To your [f]descendants I will give this land.” So he built (N)an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him. 8 Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent with (O)Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and (P)called upon the name of the Lord. 9 Then Abram journeyed on, continuing toward (Q)the [g]Negev.
10 Now there was (R)a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a time, because the famine was (S)severe in the land. 11 It came about, when he [h]was approaching Egypt, that he said to his wife Sarai, “See now, I know that you are a [i](T)beautiful woman; 12 (U)and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 Please say that you are (V)my sister so that it may go well for me because of you, and that [j](W)I may live on account of you.” 14 Now it came about, when Abram entered Egypt, that the Egyptians [k]saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15 Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and (X)the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16 Therefore (Y)he treated Abram well for her sake; and [l](Z)he gave him sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
17 But the Lord (AA)struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18 Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, “(AB)What is this that you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for myself as a wife? Now then, [m]here is your wife, take her and go!” 20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they [n]escorted him away, with his wife and all that belonged to him.
Abram and Lot
13 So Abram went up from Egypt to (AC)the [o]Negev, he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him.
2 Now Abram was (AD)very rich in livestock, silver, and gold. 3 And he went [p]on his journeys from the [q]Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, (AE)between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place of the (AF)altar which he had made there previously; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord. 5 Now (AG)Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks, herds, and tents. 6 And (AH)the land could not [r]support both of them [s]while living together, (AI)for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together. 7 (AJ)And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now (AK)the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at that time.
8 (AL)So 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! 9 Is 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.” 10 Lot raised his eyes and saw all the [t]vicinity of the (AM)Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere—this was before the Lord (AN)destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like (AO)the garden of the Lord, (AP)like the land of Egypt [u]going toward (AQ)Zoar. 11 So Lot chose for himself all the [v]vicinity of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. So they separated from each other. 12 Abram [w]settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot [x]settled in (AR)the cities of the [y]vicinity of the Jordan, and moved his tents as far as Sodom. 13 Now (AS)the men of Sodom were [z]exceedingly wicked (AT)sinners against the Lord.
14 The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “(AU)Now raise your eyes and look from the place where you are, (AV)northward and southward, and eastward and westward; 15 (AW)for all the land which you see (AX)I will give to you and to your [aa]descendants forever. 16 I will make your [ab]descendants (AY)as plentiful as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can count the dust of the earth, then your [ac]descendants could also be counted. 17 Arise, (AZ)walk about in the land through its length and width; for (BA)I will give it to you.” 18 Then Abram moved his tent and came and lived by the [ad](BB)oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron; and there he built (BC)an altar to the Lord.
War of the Kings
14 And it came about in the days of Amraphel king of (BD)Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of (BE)Elam, and Tidal king of [ae]Goiim, 2 that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of (BF)Admah, and Shemeber king of (BG)Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, (BH)Zoar). 3 All these kings [af]came as allies to (BI)the Valley of Siddim (that is, (BJ)the Salt Sea). 4 For twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5 And in the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and [ag]defeated the (BK)Rephaim in (BL)Ashteroth-karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in [ah](BM)Shaveh-kiriathaim, 6 and the (BN)Horites on their Mount Seir, as far as (BO)El-paran, which is by the wilderness. 7 Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, (BP)Kadesh), and [ai]conquered all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, who lived in (BQ)Hazazon-tamar. 8 And 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 (BR)the Valley of Siddim, 9 against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of [aj]Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and (BS)the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell [ak]into them. But those who survived fled to the (BT)hill country. 11 Then they took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food supply, and departed. 12 They also took Lot, (BU)Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed, (BV)for he was living in Sodom.
13 Then [al]a survivor came and told Abram the (BW)Hebrew. Now he was residing by the [am](BX)oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and they were [an](BY)allies with Abram. 14 When Abram heard that (BZ)his relative had been taken captive, he [ao]led out his trained men, (CA)born in his house, numbering 318, and went in pursuit as far as (CB)Dan. 15 Then (CC)he divided [ap]his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and [aq]defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is [ar]north of (CD)Damascus. 16 He (CE)brought back all the possessions, and also brought back (CF)his relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women, and the other people.
God’s Promise to Abram
17 Then after his return from the [as]defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, (CG)the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, (CH)the King’s Valley). 18 And (CI)Melchizedek the king of Salem brought out (CJ)bread and wine; now he was a (CK)priest of [at]God Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said,
“Blessed be Abram of [au]God Most High,
[av](CL)Possessor of heaven and earth;
20 And blessed be [aw]God Most High,
Who has handed over your enemies to you.”
And (CM)he gave him a tenth of everything. 21 Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give the [ax]people to me and take the possessions for yourself.” 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have [ay]sworn to the Lord [az](CN)God Most High, [ba](CO)Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that (CP)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.’ 24 [bb]I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me, (CQ)Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their share.”
Abram Promised a Son
15 After these things (CR)the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying,
2 But Abram said, “Lord [bd]God, what will You give me, since I [be]am childless, and the [bf]heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 Abram also said, “[bg]Since You have given me no [bh]son, [bi]one who has been (CV)born in my house is my heir.” 4 Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; (CW)but one who will come from your own [bj]body shall be your heir.” 5 And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens and (CX)count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “(CY)So shall your [bk]descendants be.” 6 (CZ)Then he believed in the Lord; and He [bl]credited it to him as righteousness. 7 And He said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of (DA)Ur of the Chaldeans, to (DB)give you this land to [bm]possess it.” 8 But he said, “Lord [bn]God, (DC)how may I know that I will [bo]possess it?” 9 So He said to him, “[bp]Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 Then he [bq]brought all these to Him and (DD)cut them [br]in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he (DE)did not cut the birds. 11 And birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.
12 Now when the sun was going down, (DF)a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, [bs]terror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then God said to Abram, “Know for certain that (DG)your [bt]descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, [bu]where (DH)they will be enslaved and oppressed for (DI)four hundred years. 14 But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out (DJ)with [bv]many possessions. 15 As for you, (DK)you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. 16 Then in (DL)the fourth generation they will return here, for (DM)the wrongdoing of the Amorite is not yet complete.”
17 Now it came about, when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, a smoking oven and a flaming torch appeared which (DN)passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying,
“(DO)To your [bw]descendants I have given this land,
From (DP)the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:
19 (DQ)the land of the Kenite, the Kenizzite, the Kadmonite, 20 the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.”
Sarai and Hagar
16 Now (DR)Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not borne him a child, but she had (DS)an Egyptian slave woman whose name was Hagar. 2 So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. (DT)Please have relations with my slave woman; perhaps I will [bx]obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 And so after Abram had lived (DU)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. 4 Then he had relations with Hagar, and she conceived; and when Hagar became aware that she had conceived, her mistress was insignificant in her sight. 5 So Sarai said to Abram, “(DV)May the wrong done to me be upon you! I put my slave woman into your [by]arms, but when she saw that she had conceived, I was insignificant in her [bz]sight. (DW)May the Lord judge between [ca]you and me.” 6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Look, your slave woman is in your [cb]power; do to her what is good in your [cc]sight.” So Sarai treated her harshly, and (DX)she fled from her presence.
7 Now (DY)the angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to (DZ)Shur. 8 He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s slave woman, (EA)from where have you come, and where are you going?” And she said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.” 9 So the angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit [cd]to her authority.” 10 The (EB)angel of the Lord also said to her, “(EC)I will greatly multiply your [ce]descendants so that [cf]they will be too many to count.” 11 The angel of the Lord said to her further,
“Behold, you are pregnant,
And you will give birth to a son;
And you shall name him [cg]Ishmael,
Because (ED)the Lord has heard your affliction.
12 But he will be a (EE)wild donkey of a man;
His hand will be against everyone,
And everyone’s hand will be against him;
And he will live [ch](EF)in defiance of all his brothers.”
13 Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “[ci]You are [cj]a God who sees me”; for she said, “(EG)Have I even seen Him here and lived after [ck]He saw me?” 14 Therefore the well was called [cl]Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between (EH)Kadesh and Bered.
15 So Hagar bore a son to Abram; and Abram named his son, to whom Hagar gave birth, Ishmael. 16 Abram was (EI)eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to [cm]him.
Footnotes
- Genesis 12:3 Or reviles
- Genesis 12:3 Or bind under a curse
- Genesis 12:5 Lit souls
- Genesis 12:5 Lit went forth to go to
- Genesis 12:6 Or terebinth
- Genesis 12:7 Lit seed
- Genesis 12:9 I.e., South country
- Genesis 12:11 Lit came near to enter
- Genesis 12:11 Lit woman of beautiful appearance
- Genesis 12:13 Lit my soul
- Genesis 12:14 Lit saw the woman that she was
- Genesis 12:16 Lit there was to him
- Genesis 12:19 Or behold
- Genesis 12:20 Lit sent
- Genesis 13:1 I.e., South country
- Genesis 13:3 Lit by his stages
- Genesis 13:3 I.e., South country
- Genesis 13:6 Lit bear
- Genesis 13:6 Lit to live
- Genesis 13:10 Lit circle
- Genesis 13:10 Lit as you go
- Genesis 13:11 Lit circle
- Genesis 13:12 Lit dwelt
- Genesis 13:12 Lit dwelt
- Genesis 13:12 Lit circle
- Genesis 13:13 Lit wicked and sinners exceedingly
- Genesis 13:15 Lit seed
- Genesis 13:16 Lit seed
- Genesis 13:16 Lit seed
- Genesis 13:18 Or terebinths
- Genesis 14:1 Or nations
- Genesis 14:3 Lit joined together
- Genesis 14:5 Lit struck
- Genesis 14:5 Or the plain of Kiriathaim
- Genesis 14:7 Lit struck
- Genesis 14:9 Or nations
- Genesis 14:10 Lit there
- Genesis 14:13 Lit the
- Genesis 14:13 Or terebinths
- Genesis 14:13 Lit possessors of the covenant
- Genesis 14:14 Or mustered
- Genesis 14:15 Lit himself
- Genesis 14:15 Lit struck
- Genesis 14:15 Lit on the left
- Genesis 14:17 Lit striking
- Genesis 14:18 Heb El Elyon
- Genesis 14:19 Heb El Elyon
- Genesis 14:19 Or Creator
- Genesis 14:20 Heb El Elyon
- Genesis 14:21 Lit soul
- Genesis 14:22 Lit lifted up my hand
- Genesis 14:22 Heb El Elyon
- Genesis 14:22 Or Creator
- Genesis 14:24 Lit Not to me except
- Genesis 15:1 Or Your very great reward
- Genesis 15:2 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Genesis 15:2 Lit go
- Genesis 15:2 Lit son of acquisition
- Genesis 15:3 Lit Behold
- Genesis 15:3 Lit seed
- Genesis 15:3 Lit then behold, a son of my
- Genesis 15:4 Lit inward parts
- Genesis 15:5 Lit seed
- Genesis 15:6 Or imputed
- Genesis 15:7 Or inherit
- Genesis 15:8 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Genesis 15:8 Or inherit
- Genesis 15:9 Lit Take
- Genesis 15:10 Lit took
- Genesis 15:10 Lit in the midst
- Genesis 15:12 Or a terror of great darkness
- Genesis 15:13 Lit seed
- Genesis 15:13 Lit and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them
- Genesis 15:14 Lit great
- Genesis 15:18 Lit seed
- Genesis 16:2 Lit be built from her
- Genesis 16:5 Lit breast
- Genesis 16:5 Lit eyes
- Genesis 16:5 Lit me and you
- Genesis 16:6 Lit hand
- Genesis 16:6 Lit eyes
- Genesis 16:9 Lit under her hands
- Genesis 16:10 Lit seed
- Genesis 16:10 Lit they shall not be counted for multitude
- Genesis 16:11 I.e., God hears
- Genesis 16:12 Lit before the face of; or opposite
- Genesis 16:13 Or You, God, see me
- Genesis 16:13 Heb Elroi
- Genesis 16:13 Lit His seeing me
- Genesis 16:14 I.e., the well of the living one who sees me
- Genesis 16:16 Lit Abram
Genesis 12-16
The Message
Abram and Sarai
12 God told Abram: “Leave your country, your family, and your father’s home for a land that I will show you.
2-3 I’ll make you a great nation
and bless you.
I’ll make you famous;
you’ll be a blessing.
I’ll bless those who bless you;
those who curse you I’ll curse.
All the families of the Earth
will be blessed through you.”
4-6 So Abram left just as God said, and Lot left with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot with him, along with all the possessions and people they had gotten in Haran, and set out for the land of Canaan and arrived safe and sound.
Abram passed through the country as far as Shechem and the Oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites occupied the land.
7 God appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your children.” Abram built an altar at the place God had appeared to him.
8 He moved on from there to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent between Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. He built an altar there and prayed to God.
9 Abram kept moving, steadily making his way south, to the Negev.
10-13 Then a famine came to the land. Abram went down to Egypt to live; it was a hard famine. As he drew near to Egypt, he said to his wife, Sarai, “Look. We both know that you’re a beautiful woman. When the Egyptians see you they’re going to say, ‘Aha! That’s his wife!’ and kill me. But they’ll let you live. Do me a favor: tell them you’re my sister. Because of you, they’ll welcome me and let me live.”
14-15 When Abram arrived in Egypt, the Egyptians took one look and saw that his wife was stunningly beautiful. Pharaoh’s princes raved over her to Pharaoh. She was taken to live with Pharaoh.
16-17 Because of her, Abram got along very well: he accumulated sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, men and women servants, and camels. But God hit Pharaoh hard because of Abram’s wife Sarai; everybody in the palace got seriously sick.
18-19 Pharaoh called for Abram, “What’s this that you’ve done to me? Why didn’t you tell me that she’s your wife? Why did you say, ‘She’s my sister’ so that I’d take her as my wife? Here’s your wife back—take her and get out!”
20 Pharaoh ordered his men to get Abram out of the country. They sent him and his wife and everything he owned on their way.
13 1-2 So Abram left Egypt and went back to the Negev, he and his wife and everything he owned, and Lot still with him. By now Abram was very rich, loaded with cattle and silver and gold.
3-4 He moved on from the Negev, camping along the way, to Bethel, the place he had first set up his tent between Bethel and Ai and built his first altar. Abram prayed there to God.
5-7 Lot, who was traveling with Abram, was also rich in sheep and cattle and tents. But the land couldn’t support both of them; they had too many possessions. They couldn’t both live there—quarrels broke out between Abram’s shepherds and Lot’s shepherds. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living on the land at the time.
8-9 Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have fighting between us, between your shepherds and my shepherds. After all, we’re family. Look around. Isn’t there plenty of land out there? Let’s separate. If you go left, I’ll go right; if you go right, I’ll go left.”
10-11 Lot looked. He saw the whole plain of the Jordan spread out, well watered (this was before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah), like God’s garden, like Egypt, and stretching all the way to Zoar. Lot took the whole plain of the Jordan. Lot set out to the east.
11-12 That’s how they came to part company, uncle and nephew. Abram settled in Canaan; Lot settled in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent near Sodom.
13 The people of Sodom were evil—flagrant sinners against God.
14-17 After Lot separated from him, God said to Abram, “Open your eyes, look around. Look north, south, east, and west. Everything you see, the whole land spread out before you, I will give to you and your children forever. I’ll make your descendants like dust—counting your descendants will be as impossible as counting the dust of the Earth. So—on your feet, get moving! Walk through the country, its length and breadth; I’m giving it all to you.”
18 Abram moved his tent. He went and settled by the Oaks of Mamre in Hebron. There he built an altar to God.
* * *
14 1-2 Then this: Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim went off to war to fight Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, that is, Zoar.
3-4 This second group of kings, the attacked, came together at the Valley of Siddim, that is, the Salt Sea. They had been under the thumb of Kedorlaomer for twelve years. In the thirteenth year, they revolted.
5-7 In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him set out and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim, and the Horites in their hill country of Seir as far as El Paran on the far edge of the desert. On their way back they stopped at En Mishpat, that is, Kadesh, and conquered the whole region of the Amalekites as well as that of the Amorites who lived in Hazazon Tamar.
8-9 That’s when the king of Sodom marched out with the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, that is, Zoar. They drew up in battle formation against their enemies in the Valley of Siddim—against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar, four kings against five.
10-12 The Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into the tar pits, but the rest escaped into the mountains. The four kings captured all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, all their food and equipment, and went on their way. They captured Lot, Abram’s nephew who was living in Sodom at the time, taking everything he owned with them.
13-16 A fugitive came and reported to Abram the Hebrew. Abram was living at the Oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and Aner. They were allies of Abram. When Abram heard that his nephew had been taken prisoner, he lined up his servants, all of them born in his household—there were 318 of them—and chased after the captors all the way to Dan. Abram and his men split into small groups and attacked by night. They chased them as far as Hobah, just north of Damascus. They recovered all the plunder along with nephew Lot and his possessions, including the women and the people.
17-20 After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and his allied kings, the king of Sodom came out to greet him in the Valley of Shaveh, the King’s Valley. Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine—he was priest of The High God—and blessed him:
Blessed be Abram by The High God,
Creator of Heaven and Earth.
And blessed be The High God,
who handed your enemies over to you.
Abram gave him a tenth of all the recovered plunder.
21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me back the people but keep all the plunder for yourself.”
22-24 But Abram told the king of Sodom, “I swear to God, The High God, Creator of Heaven and Earth, this solemn oath, that I’ll take nothing from you, not so much as a thread or a shoestring. I’m not going to have you go around saying, ‘I made Abram rich.’ Nothing for me other than what the young men ate and the share of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; they’re to get their share of the plunder.”
* * *
15 After all these things, this word of God came to Abram in a vision: “Don’t be afraid, Abram. I’m your shield. Your reward will be grand!”
2-3 Abram said, “God, Master, what use are your gifts as long as I’m childless and Eliezer of Damascus is going to inherit everything?” Abram continued, “See, you’ve given me no children, and now a mere house servant is going to get it all.”
4 Then God’s Message came: “Don’t worry, he won’t be your heir; a son from your body will be your heir.”
5 Then he took him outside and said, “Look at the sky. Count the stars. Can you do it? Count your descendants! You’re going to have a big family, Abram!”
6 And he believed! Believed God! God declared him “Set-Right-with-God.”
7 God continued, “I’m the same God who brought you from Ur of the Chaldees and gave you this land to own.”
8 Abram said, “Master God, how am I to know this, that it will all be mine?”
9 God said, “Bring me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, and a dove and a young pigeon.”
10-12 He brought all these animals to him, split them down the middle, and laid the halves opposite each other. But he didn’t split the birds. Vultures swooped down on the carcasses, but Abram scared them off. As the sun went down a deep sleep overcame Abram and then a sense of dread, dark and heavy.
13-16 God said to Abram, “Know this: your descendants will live as outsiders in a land not theirs; they’ll be enslaved and beaten down for 400 years. Then I’ll punish their slave masters; your offspring will march out of there loaded with plunder. But not you; you’ll have a long and full life and die a good and peaceful death. Not until the fourth generation will your descendants return here; sin is still a thriving business among the Amorites.”
17-21 When the sun was down and it was dark, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch moved between the split carcasses. That’s when God made a covenant with Abram: “I’m giving this land to your children, from the Nile River in Egypt to the River Euphrates in Assyria—the country of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaim, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”
* * *
16 1-2 Sarai, Abram’s wife, hadn’t yet produced a child.
She had an Egyptian maid named Hagar. Sarai said to Abram, “God has not seen fit to let me have a child. Sleep with my maid. Maybe I can get a family from her.” Abram agreed to do what Sarai said.
3-4 So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took her Egyptian maid Hagar and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife. Abram had been living ten years in Canaan when this took place. He slept with Hagar and she got pregnant. When Hagar learned she was pregnant, she looked down on her mistress.
5 Sarai told Abram, “It’s all your fault that I’m suffering this abuse. I put my maid in bed with you and the minute she knows she’s pregnant, she treats me like I’m nothing. May God decide which of us is right.”
6 “You decide,” said Abram. “Your maid is your business.”
Sarai was abusive to Hagar and Hagar ran away.
7-8 An angel of God found her beside a spring in the desert; it was the spring on the road to Shur. He said, “Hagar, maid of Sarai, what are you doing here?”
She said, “I’m running away from Sarai my mistress.”
9-12 The angel of God said, “Go back to your mistress. Put up with her abuse.” He continued, “I’m going to give you a big family, children past counting.
From this pregnancy, you’ll get a son: Name him Ishmael;
for God heard you, God answered you.
He’ll be a bucking bronco of a man,
a real fighter, fighting and being fought,
Always stirring up trouble,
always at odds with his family.”
13 She answered God by name, praying to the God who spoke to her, “You’re the God who sees me!
“Yes! He saw me; and then I saw him!”
14 That’s how that desert spring got named “God-Alive-Sees-Me Spring.” That spring is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.
15-16 Hagar gave Abram a son. Abram named him Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar gave him his son, Ishmael.
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New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson