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5 Now (A)Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks, herds, and tents. 6 And (B)the land could not [a]support both of them [b]while living together, (C)for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together. 7 (D)And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now (E)the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at that time.
8 (F)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 relatives! 9 Is the entire land not before you? Please separate from me; if you choose the left, then I will go to the right; or if you choose the right, then I will go to the left.” 10 Lot raised his eyes and saw all the [c]vicinity of the (G)Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere—this was before the Lord (H)destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like (I)the garden of the Lord, (J)like the land of Egypt [d]going toward (K)Zoar. 11 So Lot chose for himself all the [e]vicinity of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. So they separated from each other. 12 Abram [f]settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot [g]settled in (L)the cities of the [h]vicinity of the Jordan, and moved his tents as far as Sodom. 13 Now (M)the men of Sodom were [i]exceedingly wicked (N)sinners against the Lord.
14 The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “(O)Now raise your eyes and look from the place where you are, (P)northward and southward, and eastward and westward; 15 (Q)for all the land which you see (R)I will give to you and to your [j]descendants forever. 16 I will make your [k]descendants (S)as plentiful as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can count the dust of the earth, then your [l]descendants could also be counted. 17 Arise, (T)walk about in the land through its length and width; for (U)I will give it to you.” 18 Then Abram moved his tent and came and lived by the [m](V)oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron; and there he built (W)an altar to the Lord.
War of the Kings
14 And it came about in the days of Amraphel king of (X)Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of (Y)Elam, and Tidal king of [n]Goiim, 2 that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of (Z)Admah, and Shemeber king of (AA)Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, (AB)Zoar). 3 All these kings [o]came as allies to (AC)the Valley of Siddim (that is, (AD)the Salt Sea). 4 For twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5 And in the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and [p]defeated the (AE)Rephaim in (AF)Ashteroth-karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in [q](AG)Shaveh-kiriathaim, 6 and the (AH)Horites on their Mount Seir, as far as (AI)El-paran, which is by the wilderness. 7 Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, (AJ)Kadesh), and [r]conquered all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, who lived in (AK)Hazazon-tamar. 8 And the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) came out; and they lined up for battle against them in (AL)the Valley of Siddim, 9 against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of [s]Goiim, 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 (AM)the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell [t]into them. But those who survived fled to the (AN)hill country. 11 Then they took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food supply, and departed. 12 They also took Lot, (AO)Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed, (AP)for he was living in Sodom.
13 Then [u]a survivor came and told Abram the (AQ)Hebrew. Now he was residing by the [v](AR)oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and they were [w](AS)allies with Abram. 14 When Abram heard that (AT)his relative had been taken captive, he [x]led out his trained men, (AU)born in his house, numbering 318, and went in pursuit as far as (AV)Dan. 15 Then (AW)he divided [y]his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and [z]defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is [aa]north of (AX)Damascus. 16 He (AY)brought back all the possessions, and also brought back (AZ)his relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women, and the other people.
God’s Promise to Abram
17 Then after his return from the [ab]defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, (BA)the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, (BB)the King’s Valley). 18 And (BC)Melchizedek the king of Salem brought out (BD)bread and wine; now he was a (BE)priest of [ac]God Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said,
“Blessed be Abram of [ad]God Most High,
[ae](BF)Possessor of heaven and earth;
20 And blessed be [af]God Most High,
Who has handed over your enemies to you.”
And (BG)he gave him a tenth of everything. 21 Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give the [ag]people to me and take the possessions for yourself.” 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have [ah]sworn to the Lord [ai](BH)God Most High, [aj](BI)Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that (BJ)I will not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, so that you do not say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ 24 [ak]I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me, (BK)Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their share.”
Abram Promised a Son
15 After these things (BL)the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying,
2 But Abram said, “Lord [am]God, what will You give me, since I [an]am childless, and the [ao]heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 Abram also said, “[ap]Since You have given me no [aq]son, [ar]one who has been (BP)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; (BQ)but one who will come from your own [as]body shall be your heir.” 5 And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens and (BR)count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “(BS)So shall your [at]descendants be.” 6 (BT)Then he believed in the Lord; and He [au]credited it to him as righteousness. 7 And He said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of (BU)Ur of the Chaldeans, to (BV)give you this land to [av]possess it.” 8 But he said, “Lord [aw]God, (BW)how may I know that I will [ax]possess it?” 9 So He said to him, “[ay]Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 Then he [az]brought all these to Him and (BX)cut them [ba]in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he (BY)did not cut the birds. 11 And birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.
12 Now when the sun was going down, (BZ)a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, [bb]terror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then God said to Abram, “Know for certain that (CA)your [bc]descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, [bd]where (CB)they will be enslaved and oppressed for (CC)four hundred years. 14 But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out (CD)with [be]many possessions. 15 As for you, (CE)you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. 16 Then in (CF)the fourth generation they will return here, for (CG)the wrongdoing of the Amorite is not yet complete.”
17 Now it came about, when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, a smoking oven and a flaming torch appeared which (CH)passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying,
“(CI)To your [bf]descendants I have given this land,
From (CJ)the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:
19 (CK)the land of the Kenite, the Kenizzite, the Kadmonite, 20 the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.”
27 “(A)You have heard that it was said, ‘(B)You shall not commit adultery’; 28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman (C)with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 Now (D)if your right eye is causing you to sin, tear it out and throw it away from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, [a]than for your whole body to be thrown into [b](E)hell. 30 And (F)if your right hand is causing you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you; for it is better for you [c]to lose one of the parts of your body, [d]than for your whole body to go into [e](G)hell.
31 “Now it was said, ‘(H)Whoever sends his wife away is to give her a certificate of divorce’; 32 (I)but I say to you that everyone who [f]divorces his wife, except for the reason of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a [g]divorced woman commits adultery.
33 “Again, (J)you have heard that [h]the ancients were told, ‘[i](K)You shall not [j]make false vows, but shall fulfill your [k]vows to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, (L)take no oath at all, neither by heaven, for it is (M)the throne of God, 35 nor by the earth, for it is the (N)footstool of His feet, nor [l]by Jerusalem, for it is (O)the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you take an oath by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. 37 But make sure your statement is, ‘[m]Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is [n]of (P)evil origin.
38 “(Q)You have heard that it was said, ‘(R)Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, do not show opposition against an evil person; but (S)whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other toward him also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your [o]tunic, let him have your [p]cloak also. 41 Whoever [q]forces you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 (T)Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.
43 “(U)You have heard that it was said, ‘(V)You shall love your neighbor (W)and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, (X)love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may prove yourselves to be (Y)sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For (Z)if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors, do they not do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Even the Gentiles, do they not do the same? 48 Therefore (AA)you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Prayer for Mercy in Time of Trouble.
For the music director; with stringed instruments, [a]upon an eight-string lyre. A Psalm of David.
6 Lord, (A)do not rebuke me in Your anger,
Nor discipline me in Your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am (B)frail;
(C)Heal me, Lord, for (D)my bones are horrified.
3 And my (E)soul is greatly horrified;
But You, Lord—(F)how long?
4 Return, Lord, (G)rescue my [b]soul;
Save me because of Your mercy.
5 For (H)there is no [c]mention of You in death;
In [d]Sheol, who will praise You?
29 Because they (A)hated knowledge
And did not choose the fear of the Lord.
30 They (B)did not accept my advice,
They disdainfully rejected every rebuke from me.
31 So they shall (C)eat of the fruit of their own way,
And be (D)filled with their own schemes.
32 For the (E)faithlessness of the naive will kill them,
And the complacency of fools will destroy them.
33 But (F)whoever listens to me will live securely
And will be at ease from the dread of evil.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.