Genesis 13
Complete Jewish Bible
13 Avram went up from Egypt — he, his wife and everything he had, and Lot with him — into the Negev. 2 Avram became wealthy, with much cattle, silver and gold. 3 As he went on his travels from the Negev, he came to Beit-El, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beit-El and ‘Ai, 4 where he had first built the altar; and there Avram called on the name of Adonai.
(iii) 5 Lot, who was traveling with Avram, also had flocks, herds and tents. 6 But the land could not support their living together, because their possessions were too great for them to remain together. 7 Moreover, quarreling arose between Avram’s and Lot’s herdsmen. The Kena‘ani and the P’rizi were then living in the land. 8 Avram said to Lot, “Please, let’s not have quarreling between me and you, or between my herdsmen and yours, since we’re kinsmen. 9 Isn’t the whole land there in front of you? Please separate yourself from me — if you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left.” 10 Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Yarden was well watered everywhere, before Adonai destroyed S’dom and ‘Amora, like the garden of Adonai, like the land of Egypt in the direction of Tzo‘ar. 11 So Lot chose all the plain of the Yarden for himself, and Lot traveled eastward; thus they separated themselves from each other. 12 Avram lived in the land of Kena‘an; and Lot lived in the cities of the plain, setting up his tent near S’dom. 13 Now the men of S’dom were evil, committing great sins against Adonai.
14 Adonai said to Avram, after Lot had moved away from him, “Look all around you from where you are, to the north, the south, the east and the west. 15 All the land you see I will give to you and your descendants forever, 16 and I will make your descendants as numerous as the specks of dust on the earth — so that if a person can count the specks of dust on the earth, then your descendants can be counted. 17 Get up and walk through the length and breadth of the land, because I will give it to you.” 18 Avram moved his tent and came to live by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hevron. There he built an altar to Adonai.
Genesis 13
Easy-to-Read Version
Abram Returns to Canaan
13 So Abram left Egypt. He traveled through the Negev with his wife and everything he owned. Lot was also with them. 2 At this time Abram was very rich. He had many animals and much silver and gold.
3 Abram continued traveling around. He left the Negev and went back to Bethel. He went to the place between the city of Bethel and Ai,[a] where he and his family had camped before. 4 This was where Abram had built an altar earlier. So he worshiped the Lord there.
Abram and Lot Separate
5 During this time Lot was also traveling with Abram. Lot had many animals and tents. 6 Abram and Lot had so many animals that the land could not support both of them together. 7 (The Canaanites and the Perizzites were also living in this land at the same time.) The shepherds of Abram and Lot began to argue.
8 So Abram said to Lot, “There should be no arguing between you and me or between your people and my people. We are all brothers. 9 We should separate. You can choose any place you want. If you go to the left, I will go to the right. If you go to the right, I will go to the left.”
10 Lot looked and saw the whole Jordan Valley. He saw that there was much water there. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. At that time the Jordan Valley all the way to Zoar was like the Lord’s Garden. This was good land, like the land of Egypt.) 11 So Lot chose to live in the Jordan Valley. The two men separated, and Lot began traveling east. 12 Abram stayed in the land of Canaan, and Lot lived among the cities in the valley. Lot moved as far as Sodom and made his camp there. 13 The Lord knew that the people of Sodom were very evil sinners.
14 After Lot left, the Lord said to Abram, “Look around you. Look north, south, east, west. 15 All this land that you see I will give to you and your people who live after you. This will be your land forever. 16 I will make your people so many that they will be like the dust of the earth. If people could count all the particles of dust on earth, they could count your people. 17 So go. Walk through your land. I now give it to you.”
18 So Abram moved his tents. He went to live near the big trees of Mamre. This was near the city of Hebron. There he built an altar to honor the Lord.
Footnotes
- Genesis 13:3 Ai The name of this town means “the ruins.”
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International