Genesis 13-16

New American Standard Bible 1995

Abram and Lot

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

² Now Abram was ^(B)very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold. ³ He went ^[b]on his journeys from the ^[c]Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, ^(C)between Bethel and Ai, ⁴ to the place of the ^(D)altar which he had made there formerly; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord. ⁵ Now ^(E)Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. ⁶ And ^(F)the land could not ^[d]sustain them ^[e]while dwelling together, ^(G)for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together. ^7 (H)And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now ^(I)the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land.

^8 (J)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 ^[f](K)valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere—this was before the Lord ^(L)destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like ^(M)the garden of the Lord, ^(N)like the land of Egypt as you go to ^(O)Zoar. ¹¹ So Lot chose for himself all the ^[g]valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other. ¹² Abram ^[h]settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot ^[i]settled in ^(P)the cities of the ^[j]valley, and moved his tents as far as Sodom. ¹³ Now ^(Q)the men of Sodom were wicked ^[k]exceedingly and ^(R)sinners against the Lord.

¹⁴ The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “^(S)Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, ^(T)northward and southward and eastward and westward; ^15 (U)for all the land which you see, ^(V)I will give it to you and to your ^[l]descendants forever. ¹⁶ I will make your ^[m]descendants ^(W)as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your ^[n]descendants can also be numbered. ¹⁷ Arise, ^(X)walk about the land through its length and breadth; for ^(Y)I will give it to you.” ¹⁸ Then Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt by the ^[o](Z)oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built ^(AA)an altar to the Lord.

War of the Kings

14 And it came about in the days of Amraphel king of ^(AB)Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of ^(AC)Elam, and Tidal king of ^[p]Goiim, ² that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of ^(AD)Admah, and Shemeber king of ^(AE)Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, ^(AF)Zoar). ³ All these ^[q]came as allies to ^(AG)the valley of Siddim (that is, ^(AH)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 ^[r]defeated the ^(AI)Rephaim in ^(AJ)Ashteroth-karnaim and the Zuzim in Ham and the Emim in ^[s](AK)Shaveh-kiriathaim, ⁶ and the ^(AL)Horites in their Mount Seir, as far as ^(AM)El-paran, which is by the wilderness. ⁷ Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, ^(AN)Kadesh), and ^[t]conquered all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, who lived in ^(AO)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 ^(AP)the valley of Siddim, ⁹ against Chedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of ^[u]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 ^(AQ)the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell ^[v]into them. But those who survived fled to the ^(AR)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, ^(AS)Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed, ^(AT)for he was living in Sodom.

¹³ Then ^[w]a fugitive came and told Abram the ^(AU)Hebrew. Now he was ^[x]living by the ^[y](AV)oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and these were ^[z](AW)allies with Abram. ¹⁴ When Abram heard that ^(AX)his ^[aa]relative had been taken captive, he ^[ab]led out his trained men, ^(AY)born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far as ^(AZ)Dan. ^15 (BA)He divided ^[ac]his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and ^[ad]defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is ^[ae]north of ^(BB)Damascus. ¹⁶ He ^(BC)brought back all the goods, and also brought back ^(BD)his ^[af]relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women, and the people.

God’s Promise to Abram

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

^(BK)He gave him a tenth of all. ²¹ The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give the ^[al]people to me and take the goods for yourself.” ²² Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have ^[am]sworn to the Lord ^[an](BL)God Most High, ^[ao](BM)possessor of heaven and earth, ²³ that ^(BN)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 [ap]I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me, ^(BO)Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their share.”

Abram Promised a Son

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

² Abram said, “O Lord ^[ar]God, what will You give me, since I ^[as]am childless, and the ^[at]heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ And Abram said, “^[au]Since You have given no ^[av]offspring to me, ^[aw]one ^(BT)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; ^(BU)but one who will come forth from your own ^[ax]body, he shall be your heir.” ⁵ And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and ^(BV)count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “^(BW)So shall your ^[ay]descendants be.” ^6 (BX)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 ^(BY)Ur of the Chaldeans, to ^(BZ)give you this land to ^[az]possess it.” ⁸ He said, “O Lord ^[ba]God, ^(CA)how may I know that I will ^[bb]possess it?” ⁹ So He said to him, “^[bc]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 ^[bd]brought all these to Him and ^(CB)cut them ^[be]in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he ^(CC)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, ^(CD)a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, ^[bf]terror and great darkness fell upon him. ¹³ God said to Abram, “Know for certain that ^(CE)your ^[bg]descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, ^[bh]where ^(CF)they will be enslaved and oppressed ^(CG)four hundred years. ¹⁴ But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out ^(CH)with ^[bi]many possessions. ¹⁵ As for you, ^(CI)you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶ Then in ^(CJ)the fourth generation they will return here, for ^(CK)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 ^(CL)passed between these pieces. ¹⁸ On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying,

^19 (CO)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 ^(CP)Sarai, Abram’s wife had borne him no children, and she had ^(CQ)an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar. ² So Sarai said to Abram, “Now behold, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. ^(CR)Please go in to my maid; perhaps I will ^[bk]obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. ³ After Abram had ^[bl]lived ^(CS)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, “^(CT)May the wrong done me be upon you. I gave my maid into your ^[bm]arms, but when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her ^[bn]sight. ^(CU)May the Lord judge between ^[bo]you and me.” ⁶ But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your maid is in your ^[bp]power; do to her what is good in your ^[bq]sight.” So Sarai treated her harshly, and ^(CV)she fled from her presence.

⁷ Now ^(CW)the angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to ^(CX)Shur. ⁸ He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, ^(CY)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 ^[br]to her authority.” ¹⁰ Moreover, the ^(CZ)angel of the Lord said to her, “^(DA)I will greatly multiply your ^[bs]descendants so that ^[bt]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, “^[by]You are ^[bz]a God who sees”; for she said, “^(DE)Have I even ^[ca]remained alive here after seeing Him?” ¹⁴ Therefore the well was called ^[cb]Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between ^(DF)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 ^(DG)eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to ^[cc]him.