Old/New Testament

The Parting of Abram and Lot

13 Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that was with him. And Lot went with him to the Negev. ² Now Abram was very wealthy in livestock, in silver, and in gold. ³ And he went according to his journey from the Negev, then to Bethel, to the place where his tent was at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, ⁴ to the place where he had made an altar at the beginning. And Abram called on the name of Yahweh there. ⁵ And Lot, who went with Abram, also had herds and tents. ⁶ And the land could not support them^[a] so as to live together, because their possessions were so many that^[b] they were not able to live together. ⁷ And there was a quarrel between the herdsmen of the livestock of Abram and the herdsmen of the livestock of Lot. Now at that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land. ⁸ Then Abram said to Lot, “Please, let there not be quarreling between me and you, and between my shepherds and your shepherds, for we men are brothers. ⁹ Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you want what is on the left, then I will go right; if you want what is on the right, I will go left.” ¹⁰ And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw the whole plain of the Jordan, that all of it was well-watered land—this was before Yahweh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like the garden of Yahweh, like the land of Egypt in the direction of^[c] Zoar. ¹¹ So^[d] Lot chose for himself all the plain of the Jordan. And Lot journeyed from the east, and so they separated from each other.^{[e] 12} Abram settled in the land of Canaan, and Lot settled in the cities of the plain. And he pitched his tent toward Sodom. ¹³ Now the men of Sodom were extremely wicked sinners against Yahweh.^{[f] 14} And Yahweh said to Abram after Lot had separated from him, “Now, lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are to the north, and to the south, and to the east and to the west, ¹⁵ for all the land which you see I will give to you, and to your descendants, forever. ¹⁶ I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth which, if anyone were able to count the dust of the earth, your descendants would be so counted. ¹⁷ Arise, go through the length of the land and through its breadth, for I will give it to you.” ¹⁸ So^[g] Abram pitched his tent, and he came and settled at the oaks of Mamre, which were at Hebron. And there he built an altar to Yahweh.

Abram Rescues Lot

14 And it happened that in the days of Amraphel, the king of Shinar, Arioch, the king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer, the king of Elam, and Tidal, the king of Goiim, ² made war with Bera, the king of Sodom, and Birsha, the king of Gomorrah, Shinab, the king of Admah, and Shemeber, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). ³ All these joined forces at the valley of Siddim (that is, the sea of the salt). ⁴ Twelve years they had served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. ⁵ In the fourteenth year Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-Karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh-Kiriathaim, ⁶ And the Horites in their hill country of Seir, as far as El-Paran, which is at the wilderness. ⁷ Then^[h] they turned back and came to En-Mishpat (that is, Kadesh). And they defeated the whole territory of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who were living in Hazazon-Tamar. ⁸ Then^[i] the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out, and they took up battle position^[j] in the Valley of Siddim ⁹ with Kedorlaomer, king of Elam, and Tidal, king of Goiim, and Amraphel, king of Shinar, and Arioch, king of Ellasar, four kings against five. ¹⁰ Now^[k] the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits.^[l] And the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled and fell into them,^[m] but the rest fled to the mountains. ¹¹ So^[n] they^[o] took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their provisions, and they left. ¹² And they^[p] took Lot, the son of the brother of Abram, and his possessions, and left. (Now he had been living in Sodom.) ¹³ Then^[q] one who escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew. And he was living at the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner. They were allies with Abram.^{[r] 14} When^[s] Abram heard that his relative^[t] was taken captive, he summoned his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen of them, and he went in pursuit up to Dan. ¹⁵ And he divided his trained men against them at night, he and his servants. And he defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, which is north of Damascus. ¹⁶ And he brought back all the possessions. And he also brought back Lot, his relative,^[u] and his possessions, and the women and the people as well.

Abram Meets Melchizedek

¹⁷ After his return from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the Valley of the King). ¹⁸ And Melchizedek, the king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. (He was the priest of God Most High). ¹⁹ And he blessed him and said,

And he^[v] gave to him a tenth of everything. ²¹ And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people, but the possessions take for yourself.” ²² And Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to Yahweh, God Most High, Maker of heaven and earth, ²³ that neither a thread nor^[w] a thong of a sandal would I take from all that belongs to you, that you might not say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ ²⁴ Nothing besides what^[x] the servants have eaten and the share of the men who went out with me will I take. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.”

Yahweh’s Covenant with Abram

15 After these things the word of Yahweh came^[y] to Abram in a vision, saying: “Do not be afraid, Abram; I am your shield, and your reward shall be very great.” ² Then^[z] Abram said, “O Yahweh, my Lord, what will you give me? I continue to be^[aa] childless, and my heir^[ab] is Eliezer of Damascus.” ³ And Abram said, “Look, you have not given me a descendant, and here, a member of my household^[ac] is my heir.”^{[ad] 4} And behold, the word of Yahweh came to him saying, “This person will not be your heir,^[ae] but your own son will be your heir.”^{[af] 5} And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward the heavens and count the stars if you are able to count them.” And he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” ⁶ And he believed in Yahweh, and he reckoned it to him as righteousness. ⁷ And he said to him, “I am Yahweh, who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give this land to you, to possess it.” ⁸ And he said, “O Yahweh God, how shall I know that I will possess it?” ⁹ And he said to him, “Take for 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 And he took for him all these and cut them in pieces down the middle. And he put each piece opposite the other,^[ag] but the birds he did not cut. ¹¹ And the birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. ¹² And it happened, as the sun went down,^[ah] then a deep sleep fell upon Abram and, behold, a great terrifying darkness fell upon him. ¹³ And he said to Abram, “You must surely know^[ai] that your descendants shall be as aliens in a land not their own.^[aj] And they shall serve them^[ak] and they^[al] shall oppress them four hundred years. ¹⁴ And also the nation that they^[am] serve I will judge. Then^[an] afterward they shall go out with great possessions. ¹⁵ And as for you, you shall go to your ancestors^[ao] in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. ¹⁶ And the fourth generation shall return here, for the guilt of the Amorites is not yet complete.”^{[ap] 17} And after the sun had gone down and it was dusk, behold, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch passed between those half pieces. ¹⁸ On that day Yahweh made^[aq] a covenant with Abram saying, “To your offspring I will give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates river, ¹⁹ the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, ²⁰ the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, ²¹ the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

The Sermon on the Mount: The Beatitudes

5 Now when he^[a] saw the crowds, he went up the mountain and after he^[b] sat down, his disciples approached him. ² And opening his mouth he began to teach them, saying,

The Sermon on the Mount: Salt and Light

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt becomes tasteless, by what will it be made salty? It is good for nothing any longer except to be thrown outside and^[c] trampled under foot by people. ¹⁴ You are the light of the world. A city located on top of a hill cannot be hidden, ¹⁵ nor do they light a lamp and place it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it shines on all those in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

The Sermon on the Mount: The Law and the Prophets Fulfilled

¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to destroy the law or the prophets. I have not come to destroy them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one tiny letter or one stroke of a letter will pass away from the law until all takes place. ¹⁹ Therefore whoever abolishes one of the least of these commandments and teaches people to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever keeps them and teaches them, this person will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I say to you that unless your righteousness greatly surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter into the kingdom of heaven.

The Sermon on the Mount: Anger Toward Others

²¹ “You have heard that it was said to the people of old,^[d] ‘Do not commit murder,’^[e] and ‘whoever commits murder will be subject to judgment.’ ²² But I say to you that everyone who is angry at his brother will be subject to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, ‘Stupid fool!’^[f] will be subject to the council, and whoever says, ‘Obstinate fool!’^[g] will be subject to fiery hell. ²³ Therefore if you present your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar and first go be reconciled to your brother, and then come and^[h] present your gift. ²⁵ Settle the case quickly with your accuser^[i] while you are with him on the way, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. ²⁶ Truly I say to you, you will never come out of there until you have paid back the last penny!