Genesis 12-15 (New American Standard Bible)

Genesis 12

Abram Journeys to Egypt

 ¹Now ^(A)the LORD said to Abram,
         "Go forth from your country,
         And from your relatives
         And from your father's house,
         To the land which I will show you;
    ²And ^(B)I will make you a great nation,
         And ^(C)I will bless you,
         And make your name great;
         And so ^(D)you shall be a blessing;
    ³And ^(E)I will bless those who bless you,
         And the one who curses you I will curse
         ^(F)And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."

 ⁴So Abram went forth 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.

 ⁵Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their ^(H)possessions which they had accumulated, and ^(I)the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; ^(J)thus they came to the land of Canaan.

 ⁶Abram passed through the land as far as the site of ^(K)Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land.

 ⁷The LORD ^(L)appeared to Abram and said, "^(M)To your descendants I will give this land " So he built ^(N)an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him.

 ⁸Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with ^(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.

 ⁹Abram journeyed on, continuing toward ^(Q)the ^[a]Negev.

 ¹⁰Now there was ^(R)a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was ^(S)severe in the land.

 ¹¹It came about when he came near to Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, "See now, I know that you are a ^(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 with me because of you, and that ^(W)I may live on account of you."

 ¹⁴It came about when Abram came into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.

 ¹⁵Pharaoh's officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and ^(X)the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.

 ¹⁶Therefore ^(Y)he treated Abram well for her sake; and ^(Z)gave him sheep and oxen and donkeys and male and female servants and female donkeys and camels.

 ¹⁷But the LORD ^(AA)struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife.

 ¹⁸Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, "^(AB)What is this 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 my wife? Now then, here is your wife, take her and go."

 ²⁰Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they escorted him away, with his wife and all that belonged to him.

Genesis 13

Abram and Lot

 ¹So Abram went up from Egypt to ^(AC)the ^[b]Negev, he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him.

 ²Now Abram was ^(AD)very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold.

 ³He went on his journeys from the ^[c]Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, ^(AE)between Bethel and Ai,

 ⁴to the place of the ^(AF)altar which he had made there formerly; and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.

 ⁵Now ^(AG)Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents.

 ⁶And ^(AH)the land could not sustain them while dwelling 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 Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land.

 ^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 brothers.

 ⁹"Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left."

 ¹⁰Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the ^(AM)valley of the 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 as you go to ^(AQ)Zoar.

 ¹¹So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other.

 ¹²Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in ^(AR)the cities of the valley, and moved his tents as far as Sodom.

 ¹³Now ^(AS)the men of Sodom were wicked exceedingly and ^(AT)sinners against the LORD.

 ¹⁴The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, "^(AU)Now lift up 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 it to you and to your descendants forever.

 ¹⁶"I will make your descendants ^(AY)as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered.

 ¹⁷"Arise, ^(AZ)walk about the land through its length and breadth; for ^(BA)I will give it to you."

 ¹⁸Then Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt by the ^(BB)oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built ^(BC)an altar to the LORD.

Genesis 14

War of the Kings

 ¹And 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 Goiim,

 ²that 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).

 ³All these came as allies to ^(BI)the valley of Siddim (that is, ^(BJ)the Salt Sea).

 ⁴Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but the thirteenth year they rebelled.

 ⁵In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, came and defeated the ^(BK)Rephaim in ^(BL)Ashteroth-karnaim and the Zuzim in Ham and the Emim in ^(BM)Shaveh-kiriathaim,

 ⁶and the ^(BN)Horites in their Mount Seir, as far as ^(BO)El-paran, which is by the wilderness.

 ⁷Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, ^(BP)Kadesh), and conquered all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, who lived in ^(BQ)Hazazon-tamar.

 ⁸And the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah and the king of Admah and the king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) came out; and they arrayed for battle against them in ^(BR)the valley of Siddim,

 ⁹against Chedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goiim and Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar--four kings against five.

 ¹⁰Now the valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and ^(BS)the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell into them But those who survived fled to the ^(BT)hill country.

 ¹¹Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food supply, and departed.

 ¹²They also took Lot, ^(BU)Abram's nephew, and his possessions and departed, ^(BV)for he was living in Sodom.

 ¹³Then a fugitive came and told Abram the ^(BW)Hebrew Now he was living by the ^(BX)oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and these were ^(BY)allies with Abram.

 ¹⁴When Abram heard that ^(BZ)his relative had been taken captive, he led out his trained men, ^(CA)born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far as ^(CB)Dan.

 ^15(CC)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 ^(CD)Damascus.

 ¹⁶He ^(CE)brought back all the goods, and also brought back ^(CF)his relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women, and the people.

God's Promise to Abram

 ¹⁷Then after his return from the 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).

 ¹⁸And ^(CI)Melchizedek king of Salem brought out ^(CJ)bread and wine; now he was a ^(CK)priest of God Most High.

 ¹⁹He blessed him and said,
         "Blessed be Abram of God Most High,
         ^(CL)Possessor of heaven and earth;
    ²⁰And blessed be God Most High,
         Who has delivered your enemies into your hand."
         ^(CM)He gave him a tenth of all.

 ²¹The king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give the people to me and take the goods for yourself."

 ²²Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have sworn to the LORD ^(CN)God Most High, ^(CO)possessor of heaven and earth,

 ²³that ^(CP)I will not take a thread or a sandal thong or anything that is yours, for fear you would say, 'I have made Abram rich.'

 ²⁴"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."

Genesis 15

Abram Promised a Son

 ¹After these things ^(CR)the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying,
         "^(CS)Do not fear, Abram,
         I am ^(CT)a shield to you;
         Your ^(CU)reward shall be very great."

 ²Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?"

 ³And Abram said, "Since You have given no offspring to me, one ^(CV)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; ^(CW)but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir."

 ⁵And 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 descendants be."

 ^6(CZ)Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.

 ⁷And 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 possess it."

 ⁸He said, "O Lord GOD, ^(DC)how may I know that I will possess it?"

 ⁹So He said to him, "Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon."

 ¹⁰Then he brought all these to Him and ^(DD)cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he ^(DE)did not cut the birds.

 ¹¹The birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.

 ¹²Now when the sun was going down, ^(DF)a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him.

 ¹³God said to Abram, "Know for certain that ^(DG)your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where ^(DH)they will be enslaved and oppressed ^(DI)four hundred years.

 ¹⁴"But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out ^(DJ)with 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 iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete."

 ¹⁷It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which ^(DN)passed between these pieces.

 ¹⁸On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying,
         "^(DO)To your descendants I have given this land,
         From ^(DP)the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:

 ^19(DQ)the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite

 ²⁰and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim

 ²¹and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite."