Genesis 11-15

New American Standard Bible

The Tower of Babel

11 Now all the earth ^[a]used the same language and ^[b]the same words. ² And it came about, as they journeyed ^[c]east, that they found a plain in the land ^(A)of Shinar and ^[d]settled there. ³ Then they said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks and ^[e]fire them thoroughly.” And they used brick for stone, and they used ^(B)tar for mortar. ⁴ And they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top ^(C)will reach into heaven, and let’s make ^(D)a name for ourselves; otherwise we ^(E)will be scattered abroad over the face of all the earth.” ⁵ Now ^(F)the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the ^[f]men had built. ⁶ And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have ^[g](G)the same language. And this is what they have started to do, and now nothing which they plan to do will be ^[h]impossible for them. ⁷ Come, ^[i](H)let Us go down and there ^(I)confuse their ^[j]language, so that they will not understand one another’s ^[k]speech.” ⁸ So the Lord ^(J)scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth; and they stopped building the city. ⁹ Therefore it was named ^[l](K)Babel, because there the Lord confused the ^[m]language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

Descendants of Shem

^10 (L)These are the records of the generations of Shem. Shem was a hundred years old when he fathered Arpachshad, two years after the flood; ¹¹ and Shem lived five hundred years after he fathered Arpachshad, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

¹² Arpachshad lived thirty-five years, and fathered Shelah; ¹³ and Arpachshad lived 403 years after he fathered Shelah, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

¹⁴ Shelah lived thirty years, and fathered Eber; ¹⁵ and Shelah lived 403 years after he fathered Eber, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

¹⁶ Eber lived thirty-four years, and fathered Peleg; ¹⁷ and Eber lived 430 years after he fathered Peleg, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

¹⁸ Peleg lived thirty years, and fathered Reu; ¹⁹ and Peleg lived 209 years after he fathered Reu, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

²⁰ Reu lived thirty-two years, and fathered Serug; ²¹ and Reu lived 207 years after he fathered Serug, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

²² Serug lived thirty years, and fathered Nahor; ²³ and Serug lived two hundred years after he fathered Nahor, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

²⁴ Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and fathered ^(M)Terah; ²⁵ and Nahor lived 119 years after he fathered Terah, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

²⁶ Terah lived seventy years, and ^(N)fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

²⁷ Now these are the records of the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and ^(O)Haran fathered ^(P)Lot. ²⁸ Haran died ^[n]during the lifetime of his father Terah in the land of his birth, in ^(Q)Ur of the Chaldeans. ²⁹ Abram and ^(R)Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was ^(S)Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was ^(T)Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah ^[o]and Iscah. ^30 (U)Sarai was unable to conceive; she did not have a child.

³¹ Now Terah took his son Abram, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they departed ^[p]together from ^(V)Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they went as far as Haran and ^[q]settled there. ³² The days of Terah were 205 years; and Terah died in Haran.

Abram Journeys to Egypt

12 Now ^(W)the Lord said to Abram,

⁴ So Abram went away as the Lord had spoken to him; and ^(AC)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 ^(AD)possessions which they had accumulated, and ^(AE)the ^[t]people which they had acquired in Haran, and they ^[u]set out for the land of Canaan; ^(AF)so they came to the land of Canaan. ⁶ Abram passed through the land as far as the site of ^(AG)Shechem, to the ^[v]oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanites were in the land at that time. ⁷ And the Lord ^(AH)appeared to Abram and said, “^(AI)To your ^[w]descendants I will give this land.” So he built ^(AJ)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 ^(AK)Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and ^(AL)called upon the name of the Lord. ⁹ Then Abram journeyed on, continuing toward ^(AM)the ^[x]Negev.

¹⁰ Now there was ^(AN)a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a time, because the famine was ^(AO)severe in the land. ¹¹ It came about, when he ^[y]was approaching Egypt, that he said to his wife Sarai, “See now, I know that you are a ^[z](AP)beautiful woman; ^12 (AQ)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 ^(AR)my sister so that it may go well for me because of you, and that ^[aa](AS)I may live on account of you.” ¹⁴ Now it came about, when Abram entered Egypt, that the Egyptians ^[ab]saw that the woman was very beautiful. ¹⁵ Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and ^(AT)the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. ¹⁶ Therefore ^(AU)he treated Abram well for her sake; and ^[ac](AV)he gave him sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

¹⁷ But the Lord ^(AW)struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. ¹⁸ Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, “^(AX)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, ^[ad]here is your wife, take her and go!” ²⁰ And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they ^[ae]escorted him away, with his wife and all that belonged to him.

Abram and Lot

13 So Abram went up from Egypt to ^(AY)the ^[af]Negev, he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him.

² Now Abram was ^(AZ)very rich in livestock, silver, and gold. ³ And he went ^[ag]on his journeys from the ^[ah]Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, ^(BA)between Bethel and Ai, ⁴ to the place of the ^(BB)altar which he had made there previously; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord. ⁵ Now ^(BC)Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks, herds, and tents. ⁶ And ^(BD)the land could not ^[ai]support both of them ^[aj]while living together, ^(BE)for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together. ^7 (BF)And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now ^(BG)the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at that time.

^8 (BH)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 ^[ak]vicinity of the ^(BI)Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere—this was before the Lord ^(BJ)destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like ^(BK)the garden of the Lord, ^(BL)like the land of Egypt ^[al]going toward ^(BM)Zoar. ¹¹ So Lot chose for himself all the ^[am]vicinity of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. So they separated from each other. ¹² Abram ^[an]settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot ^[ao]settled in ^(BN)the cities of the ^[ap]vicinity of the Jordan, and moved his tents as far as Sodom. ¹³ Now ^(BO)the men of Sodom were ^[aq]exceedingly wicked ^(BP)sinners against the Lord.

¹⁴ The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “^(BQ)Now raise your eyes and look from the place where you are, ^(BR)northward and southward, and eastward and westward; ^15 (BS)for all the land which you see ^(BT)I will give to you and to your ^[ar]descendants forever. ¹⁶ I will make your ^[as]descendants ^(BU)as plentiful as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can count the dust of the earth, then your ^[at]descendants could also be counted. ¹⁷ Arise, ^(BV)walk about in the land through its length and width; for ^(BW)I will give it to you.” ¹⁸ Then Abram moved his tent and came and lived by the ^[au](BX)oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron; and there he built ^(BY)an altar to the Lord.

War of the Kings

14 And it came about in the days of Amraphel king of ^(BZ)Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of ^(CA)Elam, and Tidal king of ^[av]Goiim, ² that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of ^(CB)Admah, and Shemeber king of ^(CC)Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, ^(CD)Zoar). ³ All these kings ^[aw]came as allies to ^(CE)the Valley of Siddim (that is, ^(CF)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 ^[ax]defeated the ^(CG)Rephaim in ^(CH)Ashteroth-karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in ^[ay](CI)Shaveh-kiriathaim, ⁶ and the ^(CJ)Horites on their Mount Seir, as far as ^(CK)El-paran, which is by the wilderness. ⁷ Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, ^(CL)Kadesh), and ^[az]conquered all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, who lived in ^(CM)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 ^(CN)the Valley of Siddim, ⁹ against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of ^[ba]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 ^(CO)the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell ^[bb]into them. But those who survived fled to the ^(CP)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, ^(CQ)Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed, ^(CR)for he was living in Sodom.

¹³ Then ^[bc]a survivor came and told Abram the ^(CS)Hebrew. Now he was residing by the ^[bd](CT)oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and they were ^[be](CU)allies with Abram. ¹⁴ When Abram heard that ^(CV)his relative had been taken captive, he ^[bf]led out his trained men, ^(CW)born in his house, numbering 318, and went in pursuit as far as ^(CX)Dan. ¹⁵ Then ^(CY)he divided ^[bg]his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and ^[bh]defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is ^[bi]north of ^(CZ)Damascus. ¹⁶ He ^(DA)brought back all the possessions, and also brought back ^(DB)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 ^[bj]defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, ^(DC)the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, ^(DD)the King’s Valley). ¹⁸ And ^(DE)Melchizedek the king of Salem brought out ^(DF)bread and wine; now he was a ^(DG)priest of ^[bk]God Most High. ¹⁹ And he blessed him and said,

And ^(DI)he gave him a tenth of everything. ²¹ Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give the ^[bo]people to me and take the possessions for yourself.” ²² But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have ^[bp]sworn to the Lord ^[bq](DJ)God Most High, ^[br](DK)Possessor of heaven and earth, ²³ that ^(DL)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 [bs]I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me, ^(DM)Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their share.”

Abram Promised a Son

15 After these things ^(DN)the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying,

² But Abram said, “Lord ^[bu]God, what will You give me, since I ^[bv]am childless, and the ^[bw]heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ Abram also said, “^[bx]Since You have given me no ^[by]son, ^[bz]one who has been ^(DR)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; ^(DS)but one who will come from your own ^[ca]body shall be your heir.” ⁵ And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens and ^(DT)count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “^(DU)So shall your ^[cb]descendants be.” ^6 (DV)Then he believed in the Lord; and He ^[cc]credited it to him as righteousness. ⁷ And He said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of ^(DW)Ur of the Chaldeans, to ^(DX)give you this land to ^[cd]possess it.” ⁸ But he said, “Lord ^[ce]God, ^(DY)how may I know that I will ^[cf]possess it?” ⁹ So He said to him, “^[cg]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 ^[ch]brought all these to Him and ^(DZ)cut them ^[ci]in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he ^(EA)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, ^(EB)a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, ^[cj]terror and great darkness fell upon him. ¹³ Then God said to Abram, “Know for certain that ^(EC)your ^[ck]descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, ^[cl]where ^(ED)they will be enslaved and oppressed for ^(EE)four hundred years. ¹⁴ But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out ^(EF)with ^[cm]many possessions. ¹⁵ As for you, ^(EG)you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶ Then in ^(EH)the fourth generation they will return here, for ^(EI)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 ^(EJ)passed between these pieces. ¹⁸ On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying,

^19 (EM)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.”