Abram Inherits Canaan

13 Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and ^(A)Lot with him, ^(B)to the ^[a]South. ^2 (C)Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. ³ And he went on his journey ^(D)from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, ⁴ to the ^(E)place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram ^(F)called on the name of the Lord.

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

⁸ So Abram said to Lot, ^(J)“Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren. ^9 (K)Is not the whole land before you? Please ^(L)separate from me. ^(M)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 ^(N)the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the Lord ^(O)destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) ^(P)like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go toward ^(Q)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 ^(R)dwelt in the cities of the plain and ^(S)pitched his tent even as far as Sodom. ¹³ But the men of Sodom ^(T)were exceedingly wicked and ^(U)sinful against the Lord.

¹⁴ And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot ^(V)had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—^(W)northward, southward, eastward, and westward; ¹⁵ for all the land which you see ^(X)I give to you and ^(Y)your ^[c]descendants forever. ¹⁶ And ^(Z)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 (AA)Then Abram moved his tent, and went and ^(AB)dwelt by ^[d]the terebinth trees of Mamre, ^(AC)which are in Hebron, and built an ^(AD)altar there to the Lord.

Lot’s Captivity and Rescue

14 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king ^(AE)of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of ^(AF)Elam, and Tidal king of ^[e]nations, ² that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of ^(AG)Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, ^(AH)Zoar). ³ All these joined together in the Valley of Siddim ^(AI)(that is, the Salt Sea). ⁴ Twelve years ^(AJ)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 ^(AK)the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, ^(AL)the Zuzim in Ham, ^(AM)the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim, ^6 (AN)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 ^(AO)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 ^[f]nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. ¹⁰ Now the Valley of Siddim was full of ^(AP)asphalt pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled; some fell there, and the remainder fled ^(AQ)to the mountains. ¹¹ Then they took ^(AR)all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. ¹² They also took Lot, Abram’s ^(AS)brother’s son ^(AT)who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

¹³ Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the ^(AU)Hebrew, for ^(AV)he dwelt by ^[g]the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; ^(AW)and they were allies with Abram. ¹⁴ Now ^(AX)when Abram heard that ^(AY)his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were ^(AZ)born in his own house, and went in pursuit ^(BA)as far as Dan. ¹⁵ He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants ^(BB)attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is ^[h]north of Damascus. ¹⁶ So he ^(BC)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 ^(BD)went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the ^(BE)King’s Valley), ^(BF)after his return from the ^[i]defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him.

Abram and Melchizedek^(BG)

¹⁸ Then ^(BH)Melchizedek king of Salem brought out ^(BI)bread and wine; he was ^(BJ)the priest of ^(BK)God Most High. ¹⁹ And he blessed him and said:

And he ^(BO)gave him ^[j]a tithe of all.

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

²² But Abram ^(BP)said to the king of Sodom, “I ^(BQ)have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, ^(BR)the Possessor of heaven and earth, ²³ that ^(BS)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.”

The Value of Wisdom

Do Good to Please God

6 “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. ² Therefore, ^(A)when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. ³ But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret ^(B)will Himself reward you ^[a]openly.

The Model Prayer^(C)

⁵ “And when you pray, you shall not be like the ^[b]hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. ⁶ But you, when you pray, ^(D)go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you ^[c]openly. ⁷ And when you pray, ^(E)do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. ^(F)For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

⁸ “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father ^(G)knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. ⁹ In this ^(H)manner, therefore, pray:

^14 (Q)“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But ^(R)if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Fasting to Be Seen Only by God

¹⁶ “Moreover, ^(S)when you fast, do not be like the ^[e]hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. ¹⁷ But you, when you fast, ^(T)anoint your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you ^[f]openly.