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 oaks¹ 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 hand³ 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.”

Jesus Heals a Man with a Demon

1 ^mThey came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes.¹ 2 And when Jesus² had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. 3 He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, 4 for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. 6 And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. 7 And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, ⁿJesus, ^oSon of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” 8 For he was saying to him, ^p“Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” 10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now a great herd of ^qpigs was feeding there on the hillside, 12 and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” 13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.

14 The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed³ man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 16 And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. 17 And they began ^rto beg Jesus⁴ to depart from their region. 18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. 19 And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the ^sLord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.