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.”

God’s Covenant with Abram^(AP)

15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram ^(AQ)in a vision, saying, ^(AR)“Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your ^(AS)shield, ^[h]your exceedingly ^(AT)great reward.”

^2 (AU)But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, ^(AV)seeing I ^[i]go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed ^(AW)one^[j] 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 ^(AX)will come from your own body shall be your heir.” ⁵ Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and ^(AY)count the ^(AZ)stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, ^(BA)“So shall your ^(BB)descendants be.”

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

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

⁸ And he said, “Lord God, ^(BH)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 ^(BI)cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut ^(BJ)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, ^(BK)a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. ¹³ Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly ^(BL)that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and ^(BM)they will afflict them four hundred years. ¹⁴ And also the nation whom they serve ^(BN)I will judge; afterward ^(BO)they shall come out with great possessions. ¹⁵ Now as for you, ^(BP)you shall ^[k]go ^(BQ)to your fathers in peace; ^(BR)you shall be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶ But ^(BS)in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity ^(BT)of the Amorites ^(BU)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 ^(BV)passed between those pieces. ¹⁸ On the same day the Lord ^(BW)made a covenant with Abram, saying:

^(BX)“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.”

The Twelve Apostles^(A)

10 And ^(B)when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. ² Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, ^(C)who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; ³ Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and ^[a]Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; ^4 (D)Simon the ^[b]Cananite, and Judas ^(E)Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

Sending Out the Twelve^(F)

⁵ These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: ^(G)“Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of ^(H)the Samaritans. ^6 (I)But go rather to the ^(J)lost sheep of the house of Israel. ^7 (K)And as you go, preach, saying, ^(L)‘The kingdom of heaven ^[c]is at hand.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, ^[d]cleanse the lepers, ^[e]raise the dead, cast out demons. ^(M)Freely you have received, freely give. ^9 (N)Provide neither gold nor silver nor ^(O)copper in your money belts, ¹⁰ nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; ^(P)for a worker is worthy of his food.

^11 (Q)“Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. ¹² And when you go into a household, greet it. ^13 (R)If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. ^(S)But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. ^14 (T)And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, ^(U)shake off the dust from your feet. ¹⁵ Assuredly, I say to you, ^(V)it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!

Persecutions Are Coming^(W)

^16 (X)“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. ^(Y)Therefore be wise as serpents and ^(Z)harmless^[f] as doves. ¹⁷ But beware of men, for ^(AA)they will deliver you up to councils and ^(AB)scourge you in their synagogues. ^18 (AC)You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. ^19 (AD)But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For ^(AE)it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; ^20 (AF)for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

^21 (AG)“Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. ²² And ^(AH)you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. ^(AI)But he who endures to the end will be saved. ^23 (AJ)When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have ^(AK)gone through the cities of Israel ^(AL)before the Son of Man comes.

^24 (AM)“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If ^(AN)they have called the master of the house ^[g]Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household! ²⁶ Therefore do not fear them. ^(AO)For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.

Jesus Teaches the Fear of God^(AP)

²⁷ “Whatever I tell you in the dark, ^(AQ)speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. ^28 (AR)And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather ^(AS)fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in ^[h]hell. ²⁹ Are not two ^(AT)sparrows sold for a ^[i]copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. ^30 (AU)But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.