Abram and Lot Separate

1 So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, ^ointo the Negeb.

2 ^pNow Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel to ^qthe place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place where he had ^rmade an altar at the first. And there Abram ^scalled upon the name of the Lord. 5 And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, 6 so that ^tthe land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together, 7 and there was ^ustrife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. ^vAt that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land.

8 Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen.¹ 9 ^wIs not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.” 10 And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was ^xwell watered everywhere ^ylike the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the Lord ^zdestroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. 12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, ^awhile Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom were ^bwicked, great sinners against the Lord.

14 The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, ^cnorthward and southward and eastward and westward, 15 ^dfor ^eall the land that you see I will give to you ^fand to your offspring forever. 16 I will make your offspring as the ^gdust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. 17 Arise, ^hwalk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” 18 So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks² of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.

Abram Rescues Lot

1 In the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, 2 these kings made war with 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 And all these joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). 4 Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5 In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, 6 and the Horites in their hill country of Seir as far as El-paran on the border of the wilderness. 7 Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh) and defeated all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who were dwelling in Hazazon-tamar.

8 Then 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 joined battle in the Valley of Siddim 9 with Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar, four kings against five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of ⁱbitumen pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled ^jto the hill country. 11 So the enemy took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. 12 They also took Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, ^kwho was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way.

13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, ^lwho was living by the oaks³ of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner. These were allies of Abram. 14 When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people.

Abram Blessed by Melchizedek

17 ^mAfter his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer 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 And ⁿMelchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) 19 And he blessed him and said,

And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. 21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, ^p“Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have ^qlifted my hand⁵ to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ^r‘I have made Abram rich.’ 24 I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.”

God’s Covenant with Abram

1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a ^svision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your ^tshield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I ^ucontinue⁶ childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” 4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; ^vyour very own son⁷ shall be your heir.” 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the ^wstars, ^xif you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, ^y“So shall your offspring be.” 6 ^zAnd he believed the Lord, and he ^acounted it to him as righteousness.

7 And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out ^bfrom Ur of the Chaldeans ^cto give you this land to possess.” 8 But he said, “O Lord God, ^dhow am I to know that I shall possess it?” 9 He 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 And he brought him all these, ^ecut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. ^fBut he did not cut the birds in half. 11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

12 ^gAs the sun was going down, a ^hdeep sleep fell on Abram. ⁱAnd behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that ^jyour offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be ^kafflicted for ^lfour hundred years. 14 But ^mI will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward ⁿthey shall come out with great possessions. 15 As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; ^oyou shall be buried in a good old age. 16 And ^pthey shall come back here in the fourth generation, for ^qthe iniquity of the Amorites is ^rnot yet complete.”

17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18 ^sOn that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give⁸ this land, ^tfrom the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, 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.”

Lead Me in Your Righteousness

To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.