The Call of Abram

12 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household(A) to the land(B) I will show you.(C)

“I will make you into a great nation,(D)
    and I will bless you;(E)
I will make your name great,
    and you will be a blessing.[a](F)
I will bless those who bless you,
    and whoever curses you I will curse;(G)
and all peoples on earth
    will be blessed through you.(H)[b]

So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot(I) went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old(J) when he set out from Harran.(K) He took his wife Sarai,(L) his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated(M) and the people(N) they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan,(O) and they arrived there.

Abram traveled through the land(P) as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh(Q) at Shechem.(R) At that time the Canaanites(S) were in the land. The Lord appeared to Abram(T) and said, “To your offspring[c] I will give this land.(U)(V) So he built an altar there to the Lord,(W) who had appeared to him.

From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel(X) and pitched his tent,(Y) with Bethel on the west and Ai(Z) on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.(AA)

Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.(AB)

Abram in Egypt(AC)

10 Now there was a famine in the land,(AD) and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.(AE) 11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai,(AF) “I know what a beautiful woman(AG) you are. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister,(AH) so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”

14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman.(AI) 15 And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. 16 He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.(AJ)

17 But the Lord inflicted(AK) serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household(AL) because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?”(AM) he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?(AN) 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’(AO) so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” 20 Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.

Abram and Lot Separate

13 So Abram went up from Egypt(AP) to the Negev,(AQ) with his wife and everything he had, and Lot(AR) went with him. Abram had become very wealthy(AS) in livestock(AT) and in silver and gold.

From the Negev(AU) he went from place to place until he came to Bethel,(AV) to the place between Bethel and Ai(AW) where his tent had been earlier and where he had first built an altar.(AX) There Abram called on the name of the Lord.(AY)

Now Lot,(AZ) who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together.(BA) And quarreling(BB) arose between Abram’s herders and Lot’s. The Canaanites(BC) and Perizzites(BD) were also living in the land(BE) at that time.

So Abram said to Lot,(BF) “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me,(BG) or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives.(BH) Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”(BI)

10 Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain(BJ) of the Jordan toward Zoar(BK) was well watered, like the garden of the Lord,(BL) like the land of Egypt.(BM) (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom(BN) and Gomorrah.)(BO) 11 So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: 12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan,(BP) while Lot(BQ) lived among the cities of the plain(BR) and pitched his tents near Sodom.(BS) 13 Now the people of Sodom(BT) were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.(BU)

14 The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west.(BV) 15 All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring[d] forever.(BW) 16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted.(BX) 17 Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land,(BY) for I am giving it to you.”(BZ)

18 So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre(CA) at Hebron,(CB) where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the Lord.(CC)

Abram Rescues Lot

14 At the time when Amraphel was king of Shinar,[e](CD) Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer(CE) king of Elam(CF) and Tidal king of Goyim, these kings went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboyim,(CG) and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).(CH) All these latter kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim(CI) (that is, the Dead Sea Valley(CJ)). For twelve years they had been subject to Kedorlaomer,(CK) but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer(CL) and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites(CM) in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites(CN) in Shaveh Kiriathaim and the Horites(CO) in the hill country of Seir,(CP) as far as El Paran(CQ) near the desert. Then they turned back and went to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh),(CR) and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites,(CS) as well as the Amorites(CT) who were living in Hazezon Tamar.(CU)

Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah,(CV) the king of Admah, the king of Zeboyim(CW) and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar)(CX) marched out and drew up their battle lines in the Valley of Siddim(CY) against Kedorlaomer(CZ) king of Elam,(DA) Tidal king of Goyim, Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim(DB) was full of tar(DC) pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah(DD) fled, some of the men fell into them and the rest fled to the hills.(DE) 11 The four kings seized all the goods(DF) of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. 12 They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot(DG) and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.

13 A man who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew.(DH) Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre(DI) the Amorite, a brother[f] of Eshkol(DJ) and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. 14 When Abram heard that his relative(DK) had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained(DL) men born in his household(DM) and went in pursuit as far as Dan.(DN) 15 During the night Abram divided his men(DO) to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.(DP) 16 He recovered(DQ) all the goods(DR) and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.

17 After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer(DS) and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom(DT) came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).(DU)

18 Then Melchizedek(DV) king of Salem(DW) brought out bread(DX) and wine.(DY) He was priest of God Most High,(DZ) 19 and he blessed Abram,(EA) saying,

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,(EB)
    Creator of heaven and earth.(EC)
20 And praise be to God Most High,(ED)
    who delivered your enemies into your hand.”

Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.(EE)

21 The king of Sodom(EF) said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods(EG) for yourself.”

22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom,(EH) “With raised hand(EI) I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High,(EJ) Creator of heaven and earth,(EK) 23 that I will accept nothing belonging to you,(EL) not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ 24 I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshkol and Mamre.(EM) Let them have their share.”

The Lord’s Covenant With Abram

15 After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram(EN) in a vision:(EO)

“Do not be afraid,(EP) Abram.
    I am your shield,[g](EQ)
    your very great reward.[h](ER)

But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord,(ES) what can you give me since I remain childless(ET) and the one who will inherit[i] my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?(EU) And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant(EV) in my household(EW) will be my heir.”

Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.(EX) He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars(EY)—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring[j] be.”(EZ)

Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.(FA)

He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out(FB) of Ur of the Chaldeans(FC) to give you this land to take possession of it.”(FD)

But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord,(FE) how can I know(FF) that I will gain possession of it?”(FG)

So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer,(FH) a goat and a ram, each three years old,(FI) along with a dove and a young pigeon.(FJ)

10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other;(FK) the birds, however, he did not cut in half.(FL) 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses,(FM) but Abram drove them away.

12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep,(FN) and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years(FO) your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved(FP) and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out(FQ) with great possessions.(FR) 15 You, however, will go to your ancestors(FS) in peace and be buried at a good old age.(FT) 16 In the fourth generation(FU) your descendants will come back here,(FV) for the sin of the Amorites(FW) has not yet reached its full measure.”

17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch(FX) appeared and passed between the pieces.(FY) 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram(FZ) and said, “To your descendants I give this land,(GA) from the Wadi[k] of Egypt(GB) to the great river, the Euphrates(GC) 19 the land of the Kenites,(GD) Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites,(GE) Perizzites,(GF) Rephaites,(GG) 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”(GH)

Hagar and Ishmael

16 Now Sarai,(GI) Abram’s wife, had borne him no children.(GJ) But she had an Egyptian slave(GK) named Hagar;(GL) so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children.(GM) Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”(GN)

Abram agreed to what Sarai said. So after Abram had been living in Canaan(GO) ten years,(GP) Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. He slept with Hagar,(GQ) and she conceived.

When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.(GR) Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.”(GS)

“Your slave is in your hands,(GT)” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated(GU) Hagar; so she fled from her.

The angel of the Lord(GV) found Hagar near a spring(GW) in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur.(GX) And he said, “Hagar,(GY) slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”(GZ)

“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.

Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”(HA)

11 The angel of the Lord(HB) also said to her:

“You are now pregnant
    and you will give birth to a son.(HC)
You shall name him(HD) Ishmael,[l](HE)
    for the Lord has heard of your misery.(HF)
12 He will be a wild donkey(HG) of a man;
    his hand will be against everyone
    and everyone’s hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
    toward[m] all his brothers.(HH)

13 She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,(HI)” for she said, “I have now seen[n] the One who sees me.”(HJ) 14 That is why the well(HK) was called Beer Lahai Roi[o];(HL) it is still there, between Kadesh(HM) and Bered.

15 So Hagar(HN) bore Abram a son,(HO) and Abram gave the name Ishmael(HP) to the son she had borne. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old(HQ) when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

The Covenant of Circumcision

17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old,(HR) the Lord appeared to him(HS) and said, “I am God Almighty[p];(HT) walk before me faithfully and be blameless.(HU) Then I will make my covenant between me and you(HV) and will greatly increase your numbers.”(HW)

Abram fell facedown,(HX) and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you:(HY) You will be the father of many nations.(HZ) No longer will you be called Abram[q]; your name will be Abraham,[r](IA) for I have made you a father of many nations.(IB) I will make you very fruitful;(IC) I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.(ID) I will establish my covenant(IE) as an everlasting covenant(IF) between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God(IG) and the God of your descendants after you.(IH) The whole land of Canaan,(II) where you now reside as a foreigner,(IJ) I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you;(IK) and I will be their God.(IL)

Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant,(IM) you and your descendants after you for the generations to come.(IN) 10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.(IO) 11 You are to undergo circumcision,(IP) and it will be the sign of the covenant(IQ) between me and you. 12 For the generations to come(IR) every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised,(IS) including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised.(IT) My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant.(IU) 14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised(IV) in the flesh, will be cut off from his people;(IW) he has broken my covenant.(IX)

15 God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai(IY) your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah.(IZ) 16 I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her.(JA) I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations;(JB) kings of peoples will come from her.”

17 Abraham fell facedown;(JC) he laughed(JD) and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old?(JE) Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?”(JF) 18 And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael(JG) might live under your blessing!”(JH)

19 Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son,(JI) and you will call him Isaac.[s](JJ) I will establish my covenant with him(JK) as an everlasting covenant(JL) for his descendants after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers.(JM) He will be the father of twelve rulers,(JN) and I will make him into a great nation.(JO) 21 But my covenant(JP) I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you(JQ) by this time next year.”(JR) 22 When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.(JS)

23 On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household(JT) or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him.(JU) 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old(JV) when he was circumcised,(JW) 25 and his son Ishmael(JX) was thirteen; 26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that very day. 27 And every male in Abraham’s household(JY), including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.

The Three Visitors

18 The Lord appeared to Abraham(JZ) near the great trees of Mamre(KA) while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent(KB) in the heat of the day. Abraham looked up(KC) and saw three men(KD) standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.(KE)

He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes,(KF) my lord,[t] do not pass your servant(KG) by. Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet(KH) and rest under this tree. Let me get you something to eat,(KI) so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.”

“Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.”

So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three seahs[u] of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread.”(KJ)

Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf(KK) and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. He then brought some curds(KL) and milk(KM) and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them.(KN) While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.

“Where is your wife Sarah?”(KO) they asked him.

“There, in the tent,(KP)” he said.

10 Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year,(KQ) and Sarah your wife will have a son.”(KR)

Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already very old,(KS) and Sarah was past the age of childbearing.(KT) 12 So Sarah laughed(KU) to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord(KV) is old, will I now have this pleasure?”

13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’(KW) 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord?(KX) I will return to you at the appointed time next year,(KY) and Sarah will have a son.”(KZ)

15 Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.”

But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.”

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

16 When the men(LA) got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. 17 Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham(LB) what I am about to do?(LC) 18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation,(LD) and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.[v] 19 For I have chosen him(LE), so that he will direct his children(LF) and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord(LG) by doing what is right and just,(LH) so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”(LI)

20 Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom(LJ) and Gomorrah is so great(LK) and their sin so grievous(LL) 21 that I will go down(LM) and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”

22 The men(LN) turned away and went toward Sodom,(LO) but Abraham remained standing before the Lord.[w](LP) 23 Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?(LQ) 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare[x] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?(LR) 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing(LS)—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous(LT) and the wicked alike.(LU) Far be it from you! Will not the Judge(LV) of all the earth do right?”(LW)

26 The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.(LX)

27 Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes,(LY) 28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?”

“If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”

29 Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?”

He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.”

30 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry,(LZ) but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?”

He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

31 Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?”

He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”

32 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more.(MA) What if only ten can be found there?”

He answered, “For the sake of ten,(MB) I will not destroy it.”

33 When the Lord had finished speaking(MC) with Abraham, he left,(MD) and Abraham returned home.(ME)

Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed

19 The two angels(MF) arrived at Sodom(MG) in the evening, and Lot(MH) was sitting in the gateway of the city.(MI) When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.(MJ) “My lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet(MK) and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.”

“No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.”(ML)

But he insisted(MM) so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house.(MN) He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast,(MO) and they ate.(MP) Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom(MQ)—both young and old—surrounded the house. They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”(MR)

Lot went outside to meet them(MS) and shut the door behind him and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”(MT)

“Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner,(MU) and now he wants to play the judge!(MV) We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.

10 But the men(MW) inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. 11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness(MX) so that they could not find the door.

12 The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you?(MY) Get them out of here, 13 because we(MZ) are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great(NA) that he has sent us to destroy it.”(NB)

14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry[y] his daughters. He said, “Hurry and get out of this place, because the Lord is about to destroy the city!(NC)” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.(ND)

15 With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away(NE) when the city is punished.(NF)

16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters(NG) and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them.(NH) 17 As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives!(NI) Don’t look back,(NJ) and don’t stop anywhere in the plain!(NK) Flee to the mountains(NL) or you will be swept away!”

18 But Lot said to them, “No, my lords,[z] please! 19 Your[aa] servant has found favor in your[ab] eyes,(NM) and you[ac] have shown great kindness(NN) to me in sparing my life. But I can’t flee to the mountains;(NO) this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. 20 Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.”

21 He said to him, “Very well, I will grant this request(NP) too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. 22 But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it.” (That is why the town was called Zoar.[ad](NQ))

23 By the time Lot reached Zoar,(NR) the sun had risen over the land. 24 Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur(NS) on Sodom and Gomorrah(NT)—from the Lord out of the heavens.(NU) 25 Thus he overthrew those cities(NV) and the entire plain,(NW) destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land.(NX) 26 But Lot’s wife looked back,(NY) and she became a pillar of salt.(NZ)

27 Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord.(OA) 28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.(OB)

29 So when God destroyed the cities of the plain,(OC) he remembered(OD) Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe(OE) that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.(OF)

Lot and His Daughters

30 Lot and his two daughters left Zoar(OG) and settled in the mountains,(OH) for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. 31 One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth. 32 Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line(OI) through our father.”(OJ)

33 That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.(OK)

34 The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.”(OL) 35 So they got their father to drink wine(OM) that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.(ON)

36 So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father.(OO) 37 The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab[ae];(OP) he is the father of the Moabites(OQ) of today. 38 The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi[af]; he is the father of the Ammonites[ag](OR) of today.

Abraham and Abimelek(OS)

20 Now Abraham moved on from there(OT) into the region of the Negev(OU) and lived between Kadesh(OV) and Shur.(OW) For a while(OX) he stayed in Gerar,(OY) and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.(OZ)” Then Abimelek(PA) king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.(PB)

But God came to Abimelek(PC) in a dream(PD) one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead(PE) because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”(PF)

Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation?(PG) Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,(PH)’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience(PI) and clean hands.(PJ)

Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept(PK) you from sinning against me.(PL) That is why I did not let you touch her. Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet,(PM) and he will pray for you(PN) and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die.”(PO)

Early the next morning Abimelek summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. Then Abimelek called Abraham in and said, “What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.(PP) 10 And Abimelek asked Abraham, “What was your reason for doing this?”

11 Abraham replied, “I said to myself, ‘There is surely no fear of God(PQ) in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’(PR) 12 Besides, she really is my sister,(PS) the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. 13 And when God had me wander(PT) from my father’s household,(PU) I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”

14 Then Abimelek(PV) brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham,(PW) and he returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelek said, “My land is before you; live wherever you like.”(PX)

16 To Sarah he said, “I am giving your brother a thousand shekels[ah] of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated.”

17 Then Abraham prayed to God,(PY) and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again, 18 for the Lord had kept all the women in Abimelek’s household from conceiving because of Abraham’s wife Sarah.(PZ)

The Birth of Isaac

21 Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah(QA) as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised.(QB) Sarah became pregnant and bore a son(QC) to Abraham in his old age,(QD) at the very time God had promised him.(QE) Abraham gave the name Isaac[ai](QF) to the son Sarah bore him. When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him,(QG) as God commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old(QH) when his son Isaac was born to him.

Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter,(QI) and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”(QJ)

Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away

The child grew and was weaned,(QK) and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham(QL) was mocking,(QM) 10 and she said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman(QN) and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.”(QO)

11 The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son.(QP) 12 But God said to him, “Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring[aj] will be reckoned.(QQ) 13 I will make the son of the slave into a nation(QR) also, because he is your offspring.”

14 Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar.(QS) He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba.(QT)

15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there, she[ak] began to sob.(QU)

17 God heard the boy crying,(QV) and the angel of God(QW) called to Hagar from heaven(QX) and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid;(QY) God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.(QZ)

19 Then God opened her eyes(RA) and she saw a well of water.(RB) So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

20 God was with the boy(RC) as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. 21 While he was living in the Desert of Paran,(RD) his mother got a wife for him(RE) from Egypt.

The Treaty at Beersheba

22 At that time Abimelek(RF) and Phicol the commander of his forces(RG) said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do.(RH) 23 Now swear(RI) to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or my descendants.(RJ) Show to me and the country where you now reside as a foreigner the same kindness I have shown to you.”(RK)

24 Abraham said, “I swear it.”

25 Then Abraham complained to Abimelek about a well of water that Abimelek’s servants had seized.(RL) 26 But Abimelek said, “I don’t know who has done this. You did not tell me, and I heard about it only today.”

27 So Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelek, and the two men made a treaty.(RM) 28 Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock, 29 and Abimelek asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs you have set apart by themselves?”

30 He replied, “Accept these seven lambs from my hand as a witness(RN) that I dug this well.(RO)

31 So that place was called Beersheba,[al](RP) because the two men swore an oath(RQ) there.

32 After the treaty(RR) had been made at Beersheba,(RS) Abimelek and Phicol the commander of his forces(RT) returned to the land of the Philistines.(RU) 33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree(RV) in Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the Lord,(RW) the Eternal God.(RX) 34 And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines(RY) for a long time.

Abraham Tested

22 Some time later God tested(RZ) Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”

“Here I am,”(SA) he replied.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 12:2 Or be seen as blessed
  2. Genesis 12:3 Or earth / will use your name in blessings (see 48:20)
  3. Genesis 12:7 Or seed
  4. Genesis 13:15 Or seed; also in verse 16
  5. Genesis 14:1 That is, Babylonia; also in verse 9
  6. Genesis 14:13 Or a relative; or an ally
  7. Genesis 15:1 Or sovereign
  8. Genesis 15:1 Or shield; / your reward will be very great
  9. Genesis 15:2 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  10. Genesis 15:5 Or seed
  11. Genesis 15:18 Or river
  12. Genesis 16:11 Ishmael means God hears.
  13. Genesis 16:12 Or live to the east / of
  14. Genesis 16:13 Or seen the back of
  15. Genesis 16:14 Beer Lahai Roi means well of the Living One who sees me.
  16. Genesis 17:1 Hebrew El-Shaddai
  17. Genesis 17:5 Abram means exalted father.
  18. Genesis 17:5 Abraham probably means father of many.
  19. Genesis 17:19 Isaac means he laughs.
  20. Genesis 18:3 Or eyes, Lord
  21. Genesis 18:6 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
  22. Genesis 18:18 Or will use his name in blessings (see 48:20)
  23. Genesis 18:22 Masoretic Text; an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition but the Lord remained standing before Abraham
  24. Genesis 18:24 Or forgive; also in verse 26
  25. Genesis 19:14 Or were married to
  26. Genesis 19:18 Or No, Lord; or No, my lord
  27. Genesis 19:19 The Hebrew is singular.
  28. Genesis 19:19 The Hebrew is singular.
  29. Genesis 19:19 The Hebrew is singular.
  30. Genesis 19:22 Zoar means small.
  31. Genesis 19:37 Moab sounds like the Hebrew for from father.
  32. Genesis 19:38 Ben-Ammi means son of my father’s people.
  33. Genesis 19:38 Hebrew Bene-Ammon
  34. Genesis 20:16 That is, about 25 pounds or about 12 kilograms
  35. Genesis 21:3 Isaac means he laughs.
  36. Genesis 21:12 Or seed
  37. Genesis 21:16 Hebrew; Septuagint the child
  38. Genesis 21:31 Beersheba can mean well of seven and well of the oath.

12 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.

And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.

And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.

And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord.

And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.

10 And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.

11 And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:

12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.

13 Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.

14 And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair.

15 The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.

16 And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels.

17 And the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife.

18 And Pharaoh called Abram and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?

19 Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.

20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

13 And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.

And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai;

Unto the place of the altar, which he had make there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the Lord.

And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.

And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.

And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.

And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.

Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.

10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.

11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.

12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

13 But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.

14 And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:

15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.

16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.

17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.

18 Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord.

14 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations;

That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.

All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea.

Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emins in Shaveh Kiriathaim,

And the Horites in their mount Seir, unto Elparan, which is by the wilderness.

And they returned, and came to Enmishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezontamar.

And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim;

With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five.

10 And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain.

11 And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way.

12 And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

13 And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.

14 And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.

15 And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.

16 And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.

17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale.

18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.

19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:

20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

21 And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.

22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,

23 That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:

24 Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.

15 After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?

And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.

And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.

And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

And he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.

And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?

And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.

10 And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.

11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.

12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.

13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.

16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.

18 In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,

20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,

21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

16 Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.

And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.

And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.

And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the Lord judge between me and thee.

But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thine hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.

And the angel of the Lord found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.

And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.

And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.

10 And the angel of the Lord said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.

11 And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Behold, thou art with child and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the Lord hath heard thy affliction.

12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

13 And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?

14 Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

15 And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.

16 And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.

17 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.

And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.

And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,

As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.

Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.

10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.

11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.

12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.

13 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.

16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.

17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?

18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!

19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.

22 And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.

23 And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.

24 And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

26 In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son.

27 And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.

18 And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;

And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,

And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:

Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:

And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.

And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.

And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.

And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.

And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.

10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.

11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.

12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?

13 And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?

14 Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.

16 And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.

17 And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;

18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?

19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.

20 And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;

21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.

22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord.

23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?

24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?

25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

26 And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.

27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:

28 Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.

29 And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake.

30 And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there.

31 And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake.

32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake.

33 And the Lord went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.

19 And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;

And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.

And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.

But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:

And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.

And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,

And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.

Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.

And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.

10 But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.

11 And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.

12 And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:

13 For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord; and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it.

14 And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.

15 And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.

16 And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the Lord being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.

17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.

18 And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord:

19 Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:

20 Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.

21 And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken.

22 Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do anything till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

23 The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.

24 Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven;

25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

27 And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord:

28 And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.

29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.

30 And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.

31 And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:

32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.

33 And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.

34 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.

35 And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.

36 Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.

37 And the first born bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.

38 And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.

20 And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.

And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.

But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife.

But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?

Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.

And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.

Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.

Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid.

Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.

10 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?

11 And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake.

12 And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.

13 And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.

14 And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.

15 And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee.

16 And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved.

17 So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.

18 For the Lord had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham's wife.

21 And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken.

For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.

And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.

And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him.

And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.

And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.

And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.

And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.

And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.

10 Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.

11 And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son.

12 And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

13 And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.

14 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.

15 And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.

16 And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bow shot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.

17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.

18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.

19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.

20 And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.

21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.

22 And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest:

23 Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned.

24 And Abraham said, I will swear.

25 And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away.

26 And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing; neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to day.

27 And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant.

28 And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.

29 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves?

30 And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.

31 Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them.

32 Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.

33 And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God.

34 And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines' land many days.

22 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.

And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.

And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.

And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.

And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?

And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

11 And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.

12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.

15 And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,

16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

19 So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.

20 And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor;

21 Huz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram,

22 And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel.

23 And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham's brother.

24 And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah.