Old/New Testament

Abram and Lot Separate

13 Abram went up out of Egypt into the Negev. He went with his wife and with all that he had, and with Lot too. ² Abram was very wealthy in livestock, in silver, and in gold. ³ He went on his journeys from the Negev to Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai. ⁴ He went to the site of the altar that he had made there earlier. There Abram proclaimed^[a] the name of the Lord. ⁵ Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks, herds, and tents. ⁶ The land was not able to support them if they lived close together, because their possessions were so great that they could not live together. ⁷ There was conflict between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. (The Canaanites and the Perizzites lived in the land at that time.) ⁸ Abram said to Lot, “Please, because we are close relatives, let there be no conflict between me and you and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen. ⁹ Doesn’t the whole land lie before you? Please separate yourself from me. If you go to the left, then I will go to the right. Or if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.”

¹⁰ Lot looked up and saw the whole region around the Jordan River as you come to Zoar.^[b] (Before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, it was well watered everywhere, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt.) ¹¹ So Lot chose the region around the Jordan for himself. Lot headed out toward the east, and they separated from each other. ¹² Abram lived in the land of Canaan, and Lot lived among the cities of the region around the Jordan and moved his tent close to Sodom. ¹³ Now the men of Sodom were extremely wicked sinners against the Lord.

¹⁴ After Lot was separated from him, the Lord said to Abram, “Now, lift up your eyes, and look around from the place where you are. Look north and south, east and west, ¹⁵ because all the land that you see, I will give to you and to your descendants permanently. ¹⁶ I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth, so that if a man could count the dust of the earth, then your descendants could also be counted. ¹⁷ Get up, walk through the length and breadth of the land, because I will give it to you.”

¹⁸ Abram moved his tent and went to live by the oaks at Mamre, which are at Hebron, and built an altar there to the Lord.

The Attack on Sodom

14 In those days Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goyim^{[c] 2} made war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). ³ All these joined together in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea^[d]). ⁴ For twelve years they served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. ⁵ In the fourteenth year Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and struck the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim, ⁶ and the Horites in their Mount Seir, all the way to El Paran, which is by the wilderness. ⁷ They returned and came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh) and struck all the territory of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who lived in Hazazon Tamar. ⁸ 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 lined up for battle in the Valley of Siddim ⁹ against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goyim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. ¹⁰ Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell there. ^[e]Those who survived fled to the hills. ¹¹ The raiders took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food, and then they went on their way. ¹² Because he had been living in Sodom, they took also Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, and his possessions and went on their way.

¹³ One person escaped and came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks that belonged to Mamre the Amorite, the brother of Eshcol and Aner. They were allies of Abram. ¹⁴ When Abram heard that his relative was taken captive, he led out all his trained men who were born in his house, three hundred eighteen of them, and pursued them as far as Dan. ¹⁵ During the night he divided his servants into groups to attack them. He struck them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. ¹⁶ He brought back all the possessions. He also brought back his relative Lot, and his possessions, and the women also, and the rest of the people.

¹⁷ After Abram’s return from the defeat of 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 King’s Valley). ¹⁸ Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was a priest of God Most High. ¹⁹ He blessed Abram and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, ²⁰ and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”

Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

²¹ The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and take the goods for yourself.”

²² Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted up my hand to swear to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, ²³ that I will not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, so that you cannot say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ ²⁴ I will take nothing except that which the young men have eaten and the share belonging to the men who went with me, namely, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. Let them take their share.”

The Promise of an Heir

15 After these events the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision. He said, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”

² Abram said, “Lord God^[f] what can you give me, since I remain childless, and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ Abram also said, “Look, you have given me no offspring, so a servant born in my house will be my heir.”

⁴ Just then, the word of the Lord came to him. God said, “This man will not be your heir, but instead one who will come out of your own body will be your heir.” ⁵ The Lord then brought him outside and said, “Now look toward the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” He said to Abram, “This is what your descendants will be like.” ⁶ Abram believed in^[g] the Lord, and the Lord credited it to him as righteousness. ⁷ He said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as a possession.”

⁸ He said, “Lord God, how will I know that I will possess it?”

⁹ The Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” ¹⁰ Abram gathered all of these, divided them in half, and laid the two halves across from each other, but he did not divide the birds in two. ¹¹ Birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

¹² When the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. Then terrifying, deep darkness fell on him. ¹³ The Lord said to Abram, “Know this! Your descendants will live as aliens in a land that is not theirs, and they will serve its people, who will afflict them for four hundred years. ¹⁴ But I will surely judge the nation that they will serve. Afterward your descendants will come out with great wealth, ¹⁵ but you will go to your fathers in peace. You will be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶ In the fourth generation your descendants will come here again, because the guilt of the Amorites is not yet full.” ¹⁷ Then when the sun had gone down and it was dark, suddenly a smoking oven and a flaming torch passed between the pieces. ¹⁸ On that day the Lord made^[h] a covenant with Abram. He said, “To your descendants I have given this land from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates. ¹⁹ I will give you the territory of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, ²⁰ the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaites, ²¹ the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

The Sermon on the Mount

5 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up onto a mountain. When he sat down, his disciples came to him. ² He opened his mouth and began to teach them. He said these things:

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven. In fact, that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Salt and Light

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its flavor, how will it become salty again? Then it is no good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled on by people. ¹⁴ You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket. No, they put it on a stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way let your light shine in people’s presence, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Jesus Fulfills the Old Testament

¹⁷ “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ Amen^[a] I tell you: Until heaven and earth pass away, not even the smallest letter, or even part of a letter, will in any way pass away from the Law until everything is fulfilled. ¹⁹ So whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ Indeed I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and experts in the law, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Sinful Anger

²¹ “You have heard that it was said to people long ago, ‘You shall not murder,^[b] and whoever murders will be subject to judgment.’ ²² But I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause^[c] will be subject to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca,’^[d] will have to answer to the Sanhedrin. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of hell^[e] fire.

²³ “So if you are about to offer your gift at the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there in front of the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother. Then come and offer your gift.

²⁵ “If someone accuses you, reach an agreement with him quickly, while you are with him on the way. Otherwise your accuser may bring you to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. ²⁶ Amen I tell you: You will never get out until you have paid the last penny.