Abram Rescues Lot

1 In the days of Amraphel king of ^vShinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of ^wElam, and Tidal king of Goiim, 2 these kings made war with ^xBera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of ^yAdmah, Shemeber king of ^yZeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 3 And all these joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (^zthat 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 ^aRephaim in ^bAshteroth-karnaim, the ^cZuzim in Ham, the ^dEmim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, 6 and the ^eHorites in their hill country of Seir as far as ^fEl-paran on the border of the wilderness. 7 Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, ^gKadesh) and defeated all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who were dwelling ^hin 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 ^kall the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. 12 They also took Lot, ^lthe son of Abram’s brother, ^mwho was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way.

13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, ⁿwho was living by the ^ooaks¹ 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, ^pborn in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as ^qDan. 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 ^rwith his possessions, and the women and the people.

Abram Blessed by Melchizedek

17 After 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 ^sKing’s Valley). 18 And ^tMelchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was ^upriest of ^vGod Most High.) 19 And he blessed him and said,

And Abram gave him ^ya tenth of everything. 21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, ^z“I have lifted my hand³ to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that ^aI would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘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 ^bAner, 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 vision: ^c“Fear not, Abram, I am ^dyour shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue⁴ childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and ^ea 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; ^fyour very own son⁵ shall be your heir.” 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and ^gnumber the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, ^h“So shall your offspring be.” 6 And ⁱhe believed the Lord, and ^jhe counted it to him as righteousness.

7 And he said to him, “I am the Lord who ^kbrought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans ^lto give you this land to possess.” 8 But he said, “O Lord God, ^mhow 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, ⁿcut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But ^ohe did not cut the birds in half. 11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

12 As the sun was going down, a ^pdeep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain ^qthat your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and ^rthey will be afflicted for ^sfour hundred years. 14 But ^tI will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward ^uthey shall come out with great possessions. 15 As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; ^vyou shall be buried in a good old age. 16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for ^wthe iniquity of the Amorites ^xis not 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 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, ^y“To your offspring I give⁶ this land, from ^zthe 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 ^wthe Sons of Korah.

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

1 ^aThe book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, ^bthe son of David, ^cthe son of Abraham.

2 ^dAbraham was the father of Isaac, and ^eIsaac the father of Jacob, and ^fJacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and ^gJudah 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 ^hRahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and ⁱJesse the father of David the king.

And ^jDavid was the father of Solomon by ^kthe wife of Uriah, 7 and ^lSolomon 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, ^mand 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 ⁿJosiah the father of ^oJechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

12 And after the deportation to Babylon: ^pJechoniah was the father of ^qShealtiel,⁴ and ^rShealtiel 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 ^sJoseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called 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 ^tthe Christ fourteen generations.

The Birth of Jesus Christ

18 Now the birth of ^uJesus Christ⁵ took place in this way. ^vWhen his mother Mary had been betrothed⁶ to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child ^wfrom the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling ^xto put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, ^yan angel 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 ^zyou shall call his name Jesus, ^afor he will save his people from their sins.” 22 ^bAll this took place ^cto fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

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