Genesis 14-15

New American Standard Bible 1995

War of the Kings

14 And it came about in the days of Amraphel king of ^(A)Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of ^(B)Elam, and Tidal king of ^[a]Goiim, ² that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of ^(C)Admah, and Shemeber king of ^(D)Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, ^(E)Zoar). ³ All these ^[b]came as allies to ^(F)the valley of Siddim (that is, ^(G)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 ^[c]defeated the ^(H)Rephaim in ^(I)Ashteroth-karnaim and the Zuzim in Ham and the Emim in ^[d](J)Shaveh-kiriathaim, ⁶ and the ^(K)Horites in their Mount Seir, as far as ^(L)El-paran, which is by the wilderness. ⁷ Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, ^(M)Kadesh), and ^[e]conquered all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, who lived in ^(N)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 ^(O)the valley of Siddim, ⁹ against Chedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of ^[f]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 ^(P)the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell ^[g]into them. But those who survived fled to the ^(Q)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, ^(R)Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed, ^(S)for he was living in Sodom.

¹³ Then ^[h]a fugitive came and told Abram the ^(T)Hebrew. Now he was ^[i]living by the ^[j](U)oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and these were ^[k](V)allies with Abram. ¹⁴ When Abram heard that ^(W)his ^[l]relative had been taken captive, he ^[m]led out his trained men, ^(X)born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far as ^(Y)Dan. ^15 (Z)He divided ^[n]his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and ^[o]defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is ^[p]north of ^(AA)Damascus. ¹⁶ He ^(AB)brought back all the goods, and also brought back ^(AC)his ^[q]relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women, and the people.

God’s Promise to Abram

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

^(AJ)He gave him a tenth of all. ²¹ The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give the ^[w]people to me and take the goods for yourself.” ²² Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have ^[x]sworn to the Lord ^[y](AK)God Most High, ^[z](AL)possessor of heaven and earth, ²³ that ^(AM)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 [aa]I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me, ^(AN)Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their share.”

Abram Promised a Son

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

² Abram said, “O Lord ^[ac]God, what will You give me, since I ^[ad]am childless, and the ^[ae]heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ And Abram said, “^[af]Since You have given no ^[ag]offspring to me, ^[ah]one ^(AS)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; ^(AT)but one who will come forth from your own ^[ai]body, he shall be your heir.” ⁵ And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and ^(AU)count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “^(AV)So shall your ^[aj]descendants be.” ^6 (AW)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 ^(AX)Ur of the Chaldeans, to ^(AY)give you this land to ^[ak]possess it.” ⁸ He said, “O Lord ^[al]God, ^(AZ)how may I know that I will ^[am]possess it?” ⁹ So He said to him, “^[an]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 ^[ao]brought all these to Him and ^(BA)cut them ^[ap]in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he ^(BB)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, ^(BC)a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, ^[aq]terror and great darkness fell upon him. ¹³ God said to Abram, “Know for certain that ^(BD)your ^[ar]descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, ^[as]where ^(BE)they will be enslaved and oppressed ^(BF)four hundred years. ¹⁴ But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out ^(BG)with ^[at]many possessions. ¹⁵ As for you, ^(BH)you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶ Then in ^(BI)the fourth generation they will return here, for ^(BJ)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 ^(BK)passed between these pieces. ¹⁸ On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying,

^19 (BN)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.”