¹⁸ seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be ^(A)blessed in him? ¹⁹ For I have ^(B)chosen^[a] him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.”

The Call of Abram

12 Now ^(A)the Lord said^[a] to Abram, “Go from your country^[b] and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. ^2 (B)And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ^3 (C)I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and ^(D)in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”^[c]

⁴ So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from ^(E)Haran. ⁵ And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,

⁵ And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, ⁶ so that ^(A)the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together, ^7 (B)and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. At that time ^(C)the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land.

⁸ Then Abram said to Lot, ^(D)“Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, ^(E)for we are kinsmen.^{[a] 9 (F)}Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.” ¹⁰ And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the ^(G)Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like ^(H)the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of ^(I)Zoar. (This was before the Lord ^(J)destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) ¹¹ So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other.

The Sacrifice of Isaac

22 After these things ^(A)God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” ² He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to ^(B)the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” ³ So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.

¹² He said, ^(A)“Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for ^(B)now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”

God Rescues Lot

19 The ^(A)two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth ² and said, “My lords, ^(B)please turn aside to your servant's house and spend the night ^(C)and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way.” They said, ^(D)“No; we will spend the night in the town square.” ³ But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

^8 (A)Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.”

¹² Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, ^(A)bring them out of the place.

¹⁴ So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, ^(A)“Up! Get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.