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.”

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 ^ucontinue⁴ 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 son⁵ 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 give⁶ 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.”

God Is King over All the Earth

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

1 The ^abook of the genealogy of Jesus ^bChrist, the ^cson of David, the ^dson of Abraham.

2 ^eAbraham was the father of Isaac, and ^fIsaac the father of Jacob, and ^gJacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and ^hJudah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram,¹ 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by ⁱRahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and ^jJesse the father of David the king.

And ^kDavid was the father of Solomon by the ^lwife of Uriah, 7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph,² 8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos,³ and Amos the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the ^mdeportation to Babylon.

12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel,⁴ and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of ⁿJoseph the husband of Mary, ^oof whom Jesus was born, who is ^pcalled Christ.

17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

The Birth of Jesus Christ

18 ^qNow the birth of Jesus Christ⁵ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been ^rbetrothed⁶ to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child ^sfrom the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to ^tdivorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an ^uangel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall ^vcall his name Jesus, for he will ^wsave his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place ^xto fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

(which means, ^cGod ^dwith us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but ^eknew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.