Genesis 12-17

New American Standard Bible 1995

Abram Journeys to Egypt

12 Now ^(A)the Lord said to Abram,

⁴ So Abram went forth as the Lord had spoken to him; and ^(G)Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. ⁵ Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their ^(H)possessions which they had accumulated, and ^(I)the ^[e]persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they ^[f]set out for the land of Canaan; ^(J)thus they came to the land of Canaan. ⁶ Abram passed through the land as far as the site of ^(K)Shechem, to the ^[g]oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land. ⁷ The Lord ^(L)appeared to Abram and said, “^(M)To your ^[h]descendants I will give this land.” So he built ^(N)an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him. ⁸ Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with ^(O)Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and ^(P)called upon the name of the Lord. ⁹ Abram journeyed on, continuing toward ^(Q)the ^[i]Negev.

¹⁰ Now there was ^(R)a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was ^(S)severe in the land. ¹¹ It came about when he ^[j]came near to Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a ^[k](T)beautiful woman; ^12 (U)and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. ¹³ Please say that you are ^(V)my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that ^[l](W)I may live on account of you.” ¹⁴ It came about when Abram came into Egypt, the Egyptians ^[m]saw that the woman was very beautiful. ¹⁵ Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and ^(X)the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. ¹⁶ Therefore ^(Y)he treated Abram well for her sake; and ^[n](Z)gave him sheep and oxen and donkeys and male and female servants and female donkeys and camels.

¹⁷ But the Lord ^(AA)struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. ¹⁸ Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, “^(AB)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, ^[o]here is your wife, take her and go.” ²⁰ Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they ^[p]escorted him away, with his wife and all that belonged to him.

Abram and Lot

13 So Abram went up from Egypt to ^(AC)the ^[q]Negev, he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him.

² Now Abram was ^(AD)very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold. ³ He went ^[r]on his journeys from the ^[s]Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, ^(AE)between Bethel and Ai, ⁴ to the place of the ^(AF)altar which he had made there formerly; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord. ⁵ Now ^(AG)Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. ⁶ And ^(AH)the land could not ^[t]sustain them ^[u]while dwelling together, ^(AI)for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together. ^7 (AJ)And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now ^(AK)the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land.

^8 (AL)So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers. ⁹ Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left.” ¹⁰ Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the ^[v](AM)valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere—this was before the Lord ^(AN)destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like ^(AO)the garden of the Lord, ^(AP)like the land of Egypt as you go to ^(AQ)Zoar. ¹¹ So Lot chose for himself all the ^[w]valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other. ¹² Abram ^[x]settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot ^[y]settled in ^(AR)the cities of the ^[z]valley, and moved his tents as far as Sodom. ¹³ Now ^(AS)the men of Sodom were wicked ^[aa]exceedingly and ^(AT)sinners against the Lord.

¹⁴ The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “^(AU)Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, ^(AV)northward and southward and eastward and westward; ^15 (AW)for all the land which you see, ^(AX)I will give it to you and to your ^[ab]descendants forever. ¹⁶ I will make your ^[ac]descendants ^(AY)as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your ^[ad]descendants can also be numbered. ¹⁷ Arise, ^(AZ)walk about the land through its length and breadth; for ^(BA)I will give it to you.” ¹⁸ Then Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt by the ^[ae](BB)oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built ^(BC)an altar to the Lord.

War of the Kings

14 And it came about in the days of Amraphel king of ^(BD)Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of ^(BE)Elam, and Tidal king of ^[af]Goiim, ² that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of ^(BF)Admah, and Shemeber king of ^(BG)Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, ^(BH)Zoar). ³ All these ^[ag]came as allies to ^(BI)the valley of Siddim (that is, ^(BJ)the Salt Sea). ⁴ Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but the thirteenth year they rebelled. ⁵ In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, came and ^[ah]defeated the ^(BK)Rephaim in ^(BL)Ashteroth-karnaim and the Zuzim in Ham and the Emim in ^[ai](BM)Shaveh-kiriathaim, ⁶ and the ^(BN)Horites in their Mount Seir, as far as ^(BO)El-paran, which is by the wilderness. ⁷ Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, ^(BP)Kadesh), and ^[aj]conquered all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, who lived in ^(BQ)Hazazon-tamar. ⁸ And the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah and the king of Admah and the king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) came out; and they arrayed for battle against them in ^(BR)the valley of Siddim, ⁹ against Chedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of ^[ak]Goiim and Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. ¹⁰ Now the valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and ^(BS)the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell ^[al]into them. But those who survived fled to the ^(BT)hill country. ¹¹ Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food supply, and departed. ¹² They also took Lot, ^(BU)Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed, ^(BV)for he was living in Sodom.

¹³ Then ^[am]a fugitive came and told Abram the ^(BW)Hebrew. Now he was ^[an]living by the ^[ao](BX)oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and these were ^[ap](BY)allies with Abram. ¹⁴ When Abram heard that ^(BZ)his ^[aq]relative had been taken captive, he ^[ar]led out his trained men, ^(CA)born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far as ^(CB)Dan. ^15 (CC)He divided ^[as]his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and ^[at]defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is ^[au]north of ^(CD)Damascus. ¹⁶ He ^(CE)brought back all the goods, and also brought back ^(CF)his ^[av]relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women, and the people.

God’s Promise to Abram

¹⁷ Then after his return from the ^[aw]defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, ^(CG)the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the valley of Shaveh (that is, ^(CH)the King’s Valley). ¹⁸ And ^(CI)Melchizedek king of Salem brought out ^(CJ)bread and wine; now he was a ^(CK)priest of ^[ax]God Most High. ¹⁹ He blessed him and said,

^(CM)He gave him a tenth of all. ²¹ The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give the ^[bb]people to me and take the goods for yourself.” ²² Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have ^[bc]sworn to the Lord ^[bd](CN)God Most High, ^[be](CO)possessor of heaven and earth, ²³ that ^(CP)I will not take a thread or a sandal thong or anything that is yours, for fear you would say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ ^24 [bf]I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me, ^(CQ)Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their share.”

Abram Promised a Son

15 After these things ^(CR)the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying,

² Abram said, “O Lord ^[bh]God, what will You give me, since I ^[bi]am childless, and the ^[bj]heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ And Abram said, “^[bk]Since You have given no ^[bl]offspring to me, ^[bm]one ^(CV)born in my house is my heir.” ⁴ Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; ^(CW)but one who will come forth from your own ^[bn]body, he shall be your heir.” ⁵ And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and ^(CX)count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “^(CY)So shall your ^[bo]descendants be.” ^6 (CZ)Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. ⁷ And He said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of ^(DA)Ur of the Chaldeans, to ^(DB)give you this land to ^[bp]possess it.” ⁸ He said, “O Lord ^[bq]God, ^(DC)how may I know that I will ^[br]possess it?” ⁹ So He said to him, “^[bs]Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” ¹⁰ Then he ^[bt]brought all these to Him and ^(DD)cut them ^[bu]in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he ^(DE)did not cut the birds. ¹¹ The birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.

¹² Now when the sun was going down, ^(DF)a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, ^[bv]terror and great darkness fell upon him. ¹³ God said to Abram, “Know for certain that ^(DG)your ^[bw]descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, ^[bx]where ^(DH)they will be enslaved and oppressed ^(DI)four hundred years. ¹⁴ But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out ^(DJ)with ^[by]many possessions. ¹⁵ As for you, ^(DK)you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶ Then in ^(DL)the fourth generation they will return here, for ^(DM)the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.”

¹⁷ It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which ^(DN)passed between these pieces. ¹⁸ On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying,

^19 (DQ)the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite ²⁰ and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim ²¹ and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite.”

Sarai and Hagar

16 Now ^(DR)Sarai, Abram’s wife had borne him no children, and she had ^(DS)an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar. ² So Sarai said to Abram, “Now behold, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. ^(DT)Please go in to my maid; perhaps I will ^[ca]obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. ³ After Abram had ^[cb]lived ^(DU)ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. ⁴ He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her sight. ⁵ And Sarai said to Abram, “^(DV)May the wrong done me be upon you. I gave my maid into your ^[cc]arms, but when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her ^[cd]sight. ^(DW)May the Lord judge between ^[ce]you and me.” ⁶ But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your maid is in your ^[cf]power; do to her what is good in your ^[cg]sight.” So Sarai treated her harshly, and ^(DX)she fled from her presence.

⁷ Now ^(DY)the angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to ^(DZ)Shur. ⁸ He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, ^(EA)where have you come from and where are you going?” And she said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.” ⁹ Then the angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself ^[ch]to her authority.” ¹⁰ Moreover, the ^(EB)angel of the Lord said to her, “^(EC)I will greatly multiply your ^[ci]descendants so that ^[cj]they will be too many to count.” ¹¹ The angel of the Lord said to her further,

¹³ Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “^[co]You are ^[cp]a God who sees”; for she said, “^(EG)Have I even ^[cq]remained alive here after seeing Him?” ¹⁴ Therefore the well was called ^[cr]Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between ^(EH)Kadesh and Bered.

¹⁵ So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. ¹⁶ Abram was ^(EI)eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to ^[cs]him.

Abraham and the Covenant of Circumcision

17 Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, ^(EJ)the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him,

³ Abram ^(EO)fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying,

⁶ I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and ^(ES)kings will come forth from you. ⁷ I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your ^[cy]descendants after you throughout their generations for an ^(ET)everlasting covenant, ^(EU)to be God to you and ^(EV)to your ^[cz]descendants after you. ^8 (EW)I will give to you and to your ^[da]descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and ^(EX)I will be their God.”

⁹ God said further to Abraham, “Now as for you, ^(EY)you shall keep My covenant, you and your ^[db]descendants after you throughout their generations. ^10 (EZ)This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your ^[dc]descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. ¹¹ And ^(FA)you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. ¹² And every male among you who is ^(FB)eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, a servant who is born in the house or who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your ^[dd]descendants. ¹³ A servant who is born in your house or ^(FC)who is bought with your money shall surely be circumcised; thus shall My covenant be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. ¹⁴ But an uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be ^(FD)cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”

¹⁵ Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but ^[de]Sarah shall be her name. ¹⁶ I will bless her, and indeed I will give you ^(FE)a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; ^(FF)kings of peoples will ^[df]come from her.” ¹⁷ Then Abraham ^(FG)fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And ^(FH)will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” ¹⁸ And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before You!” ¹⁹ But God said, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you ^(FI)a son, and you shall call his name ^[dg]Isaac; and ^(FJ)I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his ^[dh]descendants after him. ²⁰ As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him, and ^(FK)will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly. ^(FL)He shall ^[di]become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a ^(FM)great nation. ²¹ But My covenant I will establish with ^(FN)Isaac, whom ^(FO)Sarah will bear to you at this season next year.” ²² When He finished talking with him, ^(FP)God went up from Abraham.

²³ Then Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all the servants who were ^(FQ)born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s household, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the very same day, ^(FR)as God had said to him. ²⁴ Now Abraham was ninety-nine years old when ^(FS)he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. ²⁵ And ^(FT)Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. ²⁶ In the very same day Abraham was circumcised, and Ishmael his son. ²⁷ All the men of his household, who were ^(FU)born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.