Lot’s Captivity and Rescue

14 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king ^(A)of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of ^(B)Elam, and Tidal king of ^[a]nations, ² that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of ^(C)Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, ^(D)Zoar). ³ All these joined together in the Valley of Siddim ^(E)(that is, the Salt Sea). ⁴ Twelve years ^(F)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 ^(G)the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, ^(H)the Zuzim in Ham, ^(I)the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim, ^6 (J)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 ^(K)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 ^[b]nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. ¹⁰ Now the Valley of Siddim was full of ^(L)asphalt pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled; some fell there, and the remainder fled ^(M)to the mountains. ¹¹ Then they took ^(N)all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. ¹² They also took Lot, Abram’s ^(O)brother’s son ^(P)who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

¹³ Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the ^(Q)Hebrew, for ^(R)he dwelt by ^[c]the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; ^(S)and they were allies with Abram. ¹⁴ Now ^(T)when Abram heard that ^(U)his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were ^(V)born in his own house, and went in pursuit ^(W)as far as Dan. ¹⁵ He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants ^(X)attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is ^[d]north of Damascus. ¹⁶ So he ^(Y)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 ^(Z)went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the ^(AA)King’s Valley), ^(AB)after his return from the ^[e]defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him.

Abram and Melchizedek^(AC)

¹⁸ Then ^(AD)Melchizedek king of Salem brought out ^(AE)bread and wine; he was ^(AF)the priest of ^(AG)God Most High. ¹⁹ And he blessed him and said:

And he ^(AK)gave him ^[f]a tithe of all.

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

²² But Abram ^(AL)said to the king of Sodom, “I ^(AM)have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, ^(AN)the Possessor of heaven and earth, ²³ that ^(AO)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.”

Dealing with a Sinning Brother

¹⁵ “Moreover ^(A)if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, ^(B)you have gained your brother. ¹⁶ But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ^(C)‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ ¹⁷ And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a ^(D)heathen and a tax collector.

¹⁸ “Assuredly, I say to you, ^(E)whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

^19 (F)“Again^[a] I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, ^(G)it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three are gathered ^(H)together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

²¹ Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? ^(I)Up to seven times?”

²² Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, ^(J)up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. ²³ Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. ²⁵ But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded ^(K)that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. ²⁶ The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ ²⁷ Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

²⁸ “But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ ²⁹ So his fellow servant fell down ^[b]at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you ^[c]all.’ ³⁰ And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. ³¹ So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. ³² Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you ^(L)all that debt because you begged me. ³³ Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ ³⁴ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.

^35 (M)“So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother ^[d]his trespasses.”

God’s Covenant with Abram^(A)

15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram ^(B)in a vision, saying, ^(C)“Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your ^(D)shield, ^[a]your exceedingly ^(E)great reward.”

^2 (F)But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, ^(G)seeing I ^[b]go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed ^(H)one^[c] 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 ^(I)will come from your own body shall be your heir.” ⁵ Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and ^(J)count the ^(K)stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, ^(L)“So shall your ^(M)descendants be.”

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

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

⁸ And he said, “Lord God, ^(S)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 ^(T)cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut ^(U)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, ^(V)a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. ¹³ Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly ^(W)that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and ^(X)they will afflict them four hundred years. ¹⁴ And also the nation whom they serve ^(Y)I will judge; afterward ^(Z)they shall come out with great possessions. ¹⁵ Now as for you, ^(AA)you shall ^[d]go ^(AB)to your fathers in peace; ^(AC)you shall be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶ But ^(AD)in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity ^(AE)of the Amorites ^(AF)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 ^(AG)passed between those pieces. ¹⁸ On the same day the Lord ^(AH)made a covenant with Abram, saying:

^(AI)“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.”

Faith Triumphs in Trouble

5 Therefore, ^(A)having been justified by faith, ^[a]we have ^(B)peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ^2 (C)through whom also we have access by faith into this grace ^(D)in which we stand, and ^(E)rejoice in hope of the glory of God. ³ And not only that, but ^(F)we also glory in tribulations, ^(G)knowing that tribulation produces ^[b]perseverance; ^4 (H)and perseverance, ^[c]character; and character, hope. ^5 (I)Now hope does not disappoint, ^(J)because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Christ in Our Place

⁶ For when we were still without strength, ^[d]in due time ^(K)Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. ⁸ But ^(L)God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Much more then, having now been justified ^(M)by His blood, we shall be saved ^(N)from wrath through Him. ¹⁰ For ^(O)if when we were enemies ^(P)we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved ^(Q)by His life. ¹¹ And not only that, but we also ^(R)rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

Death in Adam, Life in Christ^(S)

¹² Therefore, just as ^(T)through one man sin entered the world, and ^(U)death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— ¹³ (For until the law sin was in the world, but ^(V)sin is not imputed when there is no law. ¹⁴ Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, ^(W)who is a type of Him who was to come. ¹⁵ But the free gift is not like the ^[e]offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded ^(X)to many. ¹⁶ And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many ^[f]offenses resulted in justification. ¹⁷ For if by the one man’s ^[g]offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)

¹⁸ Therefore, as through ^[h]one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through ^(Y)one^[i] Man’s righteous act the free gift came ^(Z)to all men, resulting in justification of life. ¹⁹ For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by ^(AA)one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

²⁰ Moreover ^(AB)the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace ^(AC)abounded much more, ²¹ so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.