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Genesis 11:4-14:19
English Standard Version

4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower (A)with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” 5 And (B)the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, (C)let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech.” 8 So (D)the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore its name was called (E)Babel, because there the Lord confused[a] the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.

Shem's Descendants

10 (F)These are the generations of Shem. When Shem was 100 years old, he fathered Arpachshad two years after the flood. 11 And Shem lived after he fathered Arpachshad 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

12 When Arpachshad had lived 35 years, he fathered Shelah. 13 And Arpachshad lived after he fathered Shelah 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

14 When Shelah had lived 30 years, he fathered Eber. 15 And Shelah lived after he fathered Eber 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

16 When Eber had lived 34 years, he fathered Peleg. 17 And Eber lived after he fathered Peleg 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

18 When Peleg had lived 30 years, he fathered Reu. 19 And Peleg lived after he fathered Reu 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

20 When Reu had lived 32 years, he fathered Serug. 21 And Reu lived after he fathered Serug 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

22 When Serug had lived 30 years, he fathered Nahor. 23 And Serug lived after he fathered Nahor 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

24 When (G)Nahor had lived 29 years, he fathered Terah. 25 And Nahor lived after he fathered Terah 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

26 When (H)Terah had lived 70 years, he fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

Terah's Descendants

27 Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot. 28 Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans. 29 And Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram's wife was (I)Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife, (J)Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah. 30 Now Sarai was barren; she had no child.

31 Terah (K)took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife, and they went forth together (L)from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there. 32 The days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran.

The Call of Abram

12 Now (M)the Lord said[b] to Abram, “Go from your country[c] and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 (N)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 (O)I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and (P)in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”[d]

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 (Q)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, 6 Abram (R)passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to (S)the oak[e] of (T)Moreh. At that time (U)the Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, (V)“To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved to the hill country on the east of (W)Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. 9 And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.

Abram and Sarai in Egypt

10 Now (X)there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11 When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, 12 and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they (Y)will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.” 14 When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15 And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. 16 And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

17 But the Lord (Z)afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. 18 So Pharaoh called Abram and said, “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.” 20 And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had.

Abram and Lot Separate

13 So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, (AA)into the Negeb.

2 (AB)Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4 to (AC)the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of the Lord. 5 And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, 6 so that (AD)the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together, 7 (AE)and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. At that time (AF)the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land.

8 Then Abram said to Lot, (AG)“Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, (AH)for we are kinsmen.[f] 9 (AI)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 (AJ)Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like (AK)the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of (AL)Zoar. (This was before the Lord (AM)destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. 12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom (AN)were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.

14 The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, (AO)northward and southward and eastward and westward, 15 for all the land that you see I will give (AP)to you and (AQ)to your offspring forever. 16 (AR)I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. 17 Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” 18 So Abram moved his tent and came and (AS)settled by the (AT)oaks[g] of Mamre, which (AU)are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.

Abram Rescues Lot

14 In the days of Amraphel king of (AV)Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of (AW)Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, 2 these kings made war with (AX)Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of (AY)Admah, Shemeber king of (AZ)Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 3 And all these joined forces in the Valley of Siddim ((BA)that is, the Salt Sea). 4 Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5 In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and defeated the (BB)Rephaim in (BC)Ashteroth-karnaim, the (BD)Zuzim in Ham, the (BE)Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, 6 and the (BF)Horites in their hill country of Seir as far as (BG)El-paran on the border of the wilderness. 7 Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, (BH)Kadesh) and defeated all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who were dwelling (BI)in Hazazon-tamar.

8 Then 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 they joined battle in the Valley of Siddim 9 with Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar, four kings against five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of (BJ)bitumen pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled (BK)to the hill country. 11 So the enemy took (BL)all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. 12 They also took Lot, (BM)the son of Abram's brother, (BN)who was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way.

13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, (BO)who was living by the (BP)oaks[h] of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner. These were allies of Abram. 14 When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, (BQ)born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as (BR)Dan. 15 And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot (BS)with his possessions, and the women and the people.

Abram Blessed by Melchizedek

17 After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the (BT)King's Valley). 18 And (BU)Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was (BV)priest of (BW)God Most High.) 19 And he blessed him and said,

(BX)“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
    (BY)Possessor[i] of heaven and earth;

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 11:9 Babel sounds like the Hebrew for confused
  2. Genesis 12:1 Or had said
  3. Genesis 12:1 Or land
  4. Genesis 12:3 Or by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves
  5. Genesis 12:6 Or terebinth
  6. Genesis 13:8 Hebrew we are men, brothers
  7. Genesis 13:18 Or terebinths
  8. Genesis 14:13 Or terebinths
  9. Genesis 14:19 Or Creator; also verse 22
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Genesis 11:4-14:19
New International Version

4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens,(A) so that we may make a name(B) for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered(C) over the face of the whole earth.”(D)

5 But the Lord came down(E) to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language(F) they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us(G) go down(H) and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”(I)

8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth,(J) and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel[a](K)—because there the Lord confused the language(L) of the whole world.(M) From there the Lord scattered(N) them over the face of the whole earth.

From Shem to Abram(O)

10 This is the account(P) of Shem’s family line.

Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father[b] of Arphaxad.(Q) 11 And after he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

12 When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah.(R) 13 And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.[c]

14 When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber.(S) 15 And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

16 When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg.(T) 17 And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

18 When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu.(U) 19 And after he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

20 When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug.(V) 21 And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

22 When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor.(W) 23 And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

24 When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah.(X) 25 And after he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

26 After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram,(Y) Nahor(Z) and Haran.(AA)

Abram’s Family

27 This is the account(AB) of Terah’s family line.

Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor(AC) and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot.(AD) 28 While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans,(AE) in the land of his birth. 29 Abram and Nahor(AF) both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai,(AG) and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milkah;(AH) she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milkah and Iskah. 30 Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive.(AI)

31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot(AJ) son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law(AK) Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans(AL) to go to Canaan.(AM) But when they came to Harran,(AN) they settled there.

32 Terah(AO) lived 205 years, and he died in Harran.

The Call of Abram

12 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household(AP) to the land(AQ) I will show you.(AR)

2 “I will make you into a great nation,(AS)
    and I will bless you;(AT)
I will make your name great,
    and you will be a blessing.[d](AU)
3 I will bless those who bless you,
    and whoever curses you I will curse;(AV)
and all peoples on earth
    will be blessed through you.(AW)”[e]

4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot(AX) went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old(AY) when he set out from Harran.(AZ) 5 He took his wife Sarai,(BA) his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated(BB) and the people(BC) they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan,(BD) and they arrived there.

6 Abram traveled through the land(BE) as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh(BF) at Shechem.(BG) At that time the Canaanites(BH) were in the land. 7 The Lord appeared to Abram(BI) and said, “To your offspring[f] I will give this land.(BJ)”(BK) So he built an altar there to the Lord,(BL) who had appeared to him.

8 From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel(BM) and pitched his tent,(BN) with Bethel on the west and Ai(BO) on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.(BP)

9 Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.(BQ)

Abram in Egypt(BR)

10 Now there was a famine in the land,(BS) and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.(BT) 11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai,(BU) “I know what a beautiful woman(BV) you are. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister,(BW) so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”

14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman.(BX) 15 And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. 16 He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.(BY)

17 But the Lord inflicted(BZ) serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household(CA) because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?”(CB) he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?(CC) 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’(CD) so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” 20 Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.

Abram and Lot Separate

13 So Abram went up from Egypt(CE) to the Negev,(CF) with his wife and everything he had, and Lot(CG) went with him. 2 Abram had become very wealthy(CH) in livestock(CI) and in silver and gold.

3 From the Negev(CJ) he went from place to place until he came to Bethel,(CK) to the place between Bethel and Ai(CL) where his tent had been earlier 4 and where he had first built an altar.(CM) There Abram called on the name of the Lord.(CN)

5 Now Lot,(CO) who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. 6 But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together.(CP) 7 And quarreling(CQ) arose between Abram’s herders and Lot’s. The Canaanites(CR) and Perizzites(CS) were also living in the land(CT) at that time.

8 So Abram said to Lot,(CU) “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me,(CV) or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives.(CW) 9 Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”(CX)

10 Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain(CY) of the Jordan toward Zoar(CZ) was well watered, like the garden of the Lord,(DA) like the land of Egypt.(DB) (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom(DC) and Gomorrah.)(DD) 11 So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: 12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan,(DE) while Lot(DF) lived among the cities of the plain(DG) and pitched his tents near Sodom.(DH) 13 Now the people of Sodom(DI) were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.(DJ)

14 The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west.(DK) 15 All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring[g] forever.(DL) 16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted.(DM) 17 Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land,(DN) for I am giving it to you.”(DO)

18 So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre(DP) at Hebron,(DQ) where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the Lord.(DR)

Abram Rescues Lot

14 At the time when Amraphel was king of Shinar,[h](DS) Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer(DT) king of Elam(DU) and Tidal king of Goyim, 2 these kings went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboyim,(DV) and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).(DW) 3 All these latter kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim(DX) (that is, the Dead Sea Valley(DY)). 4 For twelve years they had been subject to Kedorlaomer,(DZ) but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

5 In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer(EA) and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites(EB) in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites(EC) in Shaveh Kiriathaim 6 and the Horites(ED) in the hill country of Seir,(EE) as far as El Paran(EF) near the desert. 7 Then they turned back and went to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh),(EG) and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites,(EH) as well as the Amorites(EI) who were living in Hazezon Tamar.(EJ)

8 Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah,(EK) the king of Admah, the king of Zeboyim(EL) and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar)(EM) marched out and drew up their battle lines in the Valley of Siddim(EN) 9 against Kedorlaomer(EO) king of Elam,(EP) Tidal king of Goyim, Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim(EQ) was full of tar(ER) pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah(ES) fled, some of the men fell into them and the rest fled to the hills.(ET) 11 The four kings seized all the goods(EU) of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. 12 They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot(EV) and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.

13 A man who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew.(EW) Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre(EX) the Amorite, a brother[i] of Eshkol(EY) and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. 14 When Abram heard that his relative(EZ) had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained(FA) men born in his household(FB) and went in pursuit as far as Dan.(FC) 15 During the night Abram divided his men(FD) to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.(FE) 16 He recovered(FF) all the goods(FG) and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.

17 After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer(FH) and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom(FI) came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).(FJ)

18 Then Melchizedek(FK) king of Salem(FL) brought out bread(FM) and wine.(FN) He was priest of God Most High,(FO) 19 and he blessed Abram,(FP) saying,

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,(FQ)
    Creator of heaven and earth.(FR)

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 11:9 That is, Babylon; Babel sounds like the Hebrew for confused.
  2. Genesis 11:10 Father may mean ancestor; also in verses 11-25.
  3. Genesis 11:13 Hebrew; Septuagint (see also Luke 3:35, 36 and note at Gen. 10:24) 35 years, he became the father of Cainan. 13 And after he became the father of Cainan, Arphaxad lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters, and then he died. When Cainan had lived 130 years, he became the father of Shelah. And after he became the father of Shelah, Cainan lived 330 years and had other sons and daughters
  4. Genesis 12:2 Or be seen as blessed
  5. Genesis 12:3 Or earth / will use your name in blessings (see 48:20)
  6. Genesis 12:7 Or seed
  7. Genesis 13:15 Or seed; also in verse 16
  8. Genesis 14:1 That is, Babylonia; also in verse 9
  9. Genesis 14:13 Or a relative; or an ally
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