⁵ Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents. ⁶ Now ^(A)the land was not able to ^[a]support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together. ⁷ And there was ^(B)strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. ^(C)The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land.

⁸ So Abram said to Lot, ^(D)“Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren. ^9 (E)Is not the whole land before you? Please ^(F)separate from me. ^(G)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.”

¹⁰ And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all ^(H)the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the Lord ^(I)destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) ^(J)like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go toward ^(K)Zoar. ¹¹ Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other. ¹² Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot ^(L)dwelt in the cities of the plain and ^(M)pitched his tent even as far as Sodom. ¹³ But the men of Sodom ^(N)were exceedingly wicked and ^(O)sinful against the Lord.

¹⁴ And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot ^(P)had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—^(Q)northward, southward, eastward, and westward; ¹⁵ for all the land which you see ^(R)I give to you and ^(S)your ^[b]descendants forever. ¹⁶ And ^(T)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. ¹⁷ Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.”

^18 (U)Then Abram moved his tent, and went and ^(V)dwelt by ^[c]the terebinth trees of Mamre, ^(W)which are in Hebron, and built an ^(X)altar there to the Lord.

Lot’s Captivity and Rescue

14 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king ^(Y)of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of ^(Z)Elam, and Tidal king of ^[d]nations, ² that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of ^(AA)Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, ^(AB)Zoar). ³ All these joined together in the Valley of Siddim ^(AC)(that is, the Salt Sea). ⁴ Twelve years ^(AD)they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

⁵ In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him came and attacked ^(AE)the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, ^(AF)the Zuzim in Ham, ^(AG)the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim, ^6 (AH)and the Horites in their mountain of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is by the wilderness. ⁷ Then 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 ^(AI)in Hazezon Tamar.

⁸ And 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 ⁹ against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of ^[e]nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. ¹⁰ Now the Valley of Siddim was full of ^(AJ)asphalt pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled; some fell there, and the remainder fled ^(AK)to the mountains. ¹¹ Then they took ^(AL)all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. ¹² They also took Lot, Abram’s ^(AM)brother’s son ^(AN)who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

¹³ Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the ^(AO)Hebrew, for ^(AP)he dwelt by ^[f]the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; ^(AQ)and they were allies with Abram. ¹⁴ Now ^(AR)when Abram heard that ^(AS)his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were ^(AT)born in his own house, and went in pursuit ^(AU)as far as Dan. ¹⁵ He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants ^(AV)attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is ^[g]north of Damascus. ¹⁶ So he ^(AW)brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.

¹⁷ And the king of Sodom ^(AX)went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the ^(AY)King’s Valley), ^(AZ)after his return from the ^[h]defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him.

Abram and Melchizedek^(BA)

¹⁸ Then ^(BB)Melchizedek king of Salem brought out ^(BC)bread and wine; he was ^(BD)the priest of ^(BE)God Most High. ¹⁹ And he blessed him and said:

And he ^(BI)gave him ^[i]a tithe of all.

²¹ Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the ^[j]persons, and take the goods for yourself.”

²² But Abram ^(BJ)said to the king of Sodom, “I ^(BK)have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, ^(BL)the Possessor of heaven and earth, ²³ that ^(BM)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’— ²⁴ except 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.”

God’s Covenant with Abram^(BN)

15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram ^(BO)in a vision, saying, ^(BP)“Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your ^(BQ)shield, ^[k]your exceedingly ^(BR)great reward.”

^2 (BS)But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, ^(BT)seeing I ^[l]go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed ^(BU)one^[m] born in my house is my heir!”

⁴ And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who ^(BV)will come from your own body shall be your heir.” ⁵ Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and ^(BW)count the ^(BX)stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, ^(BY)“So shall your ^(BZ)descendants be.”

⁶ And he ^(CA)believed in the Lord, and He ^(CB)accounted it to him for righteousness.

⁷ Then He said to him, “I am the Lord, who ^(CC)brought you out of ^(CD)Ur of the Chaldeans, ^(CE)to give you this land to inherit it.”

⁸ And he said, “Lord God, ^(CF)how shall I know that I will inherit it?”

⁹ So 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.” ¹⁰ Then he brought all these to Him and ^(CG)cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut ^(CH)the birds in two. ¹¹ And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

¹² Now when the sun was going down, ^(CI)a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. ¹³ Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly ^(CJ)that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and ^(CK)they will afflict them four hundred years. ¹⁴ And also the nation whom they serve ^(CL)I will judge; afterward ^(CM)they shall come out with great possessions. ¹⁵ Now as for you, ^(CN)you shall ^[n]go ^(CO)to your fathers in peace; ^(CP)you shall be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶ But ^(CQ)in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity ^(CR)of the Amorites ^(CS)is not yet complete.”

¹⁷ And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that ^(CT)passed between those pieces. ¹⁸ On the same day the Lord ^(CU)made a covenant with Abram, saying:

^(CV)“To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates— ¹⁹ the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, ²⁰ the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, ²¹ the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

Adultery in the Heart

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said ^[a]to those of old, ^(A)‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸ But I say to you that whoever ^(B)looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ^29 (C)If your right eye causes you to ^[b]sin, ^(D)pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to ^[c]sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

Marriage Is Sacred and Binding^(E)

³¹ “Furthermore it has been said, ^(F)‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³² But I say to you that ^(G)whoever divorces his wife for any reason except ^[d]sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.

Jesus Forbids Oaths

³³ “Again you have heard that ^(H)it was said to those of ^[e]old, ^(I)‘You shall not swear falsely, but ^(J)shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ ³⁴ But I say to you, ^(K)do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is ^(L)God’s throne; ³⁵ nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of ^(M)the great King. ³⁶ Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. ^37 (N)But let ^[f]your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

Go the Second Mile^(O)

³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ^(P)‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ^39 (Q)But I tell you not to resist an evil person. ^(R)But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. ⁴⁰ If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. ⁴¹ And whoever ^(S)compels you to go one mile, go with him two. ⁴² Give to him who asks you, and ^(T)from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.

Love Your Enemies^(U)

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ^(V)‘You shall love your neighbor ^(W)and hate your enemy.’ ^44 [g]But I say to you, ^(X)love your enemies, bless those who curse you, ^(Y)do good to those who hate you, and pray ^(Z)for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for ^(AA)He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ^46 (AB)For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet your ^[h]brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the ^[i]tax collectors do so? ^48 (AC)Therefore you shall be perfect, just ^(AD)as your Father in heaven is perfect.

A Prayer of Faith in Time of Distress

To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. ^(A)On ^[a]an eight-stringed harp. A Psalm of David.