ABRAM RESCUES LOT

14 In those days King Amraphel of Shinar,j King Arioch of Ellasar, King Chedorlaomer of Elam,k and King Tidal of GoiimA 2 waged war against King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, and King Shemeber of Zeboiim,l as well as the king of Bela (that is, Zoarm). 3 All of these came as allies to the Siddim Valley (that is, the Dead Sean). 4 They were subject to Chedorlaomer for twelve years, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5 In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and defeated the Rephaimo in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham,p the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, 6 and the Horitesq in the mountains of Seir, as far as El-paranr by the wilderness. 7 Then they came back to invade En-mishpat (that is, Kadeshs), and they defeated the whole territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-tamar.t

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 lined up for battle in the Siddim Valley 9 against King Chedorlaomer of Elam, King Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel of Shinar, and King Arioch of Ellasar—four kings against five. 10 Now the Siddim Valley contained many asphalt pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them,B but the rest fled to the mountains.u 11 The four kings took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food and went on. 12 They also took Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, for he was living in Sodom,v and they went on.

13 One of the survivors came and told Abram the Hebrew,w who lived near the oaks belonging to Mamre the Amorite, the brother of Eshcol and the brother of Aner. They were bound by a treaty with Abram. 14 When Abram heard that his relative had been taken prisoner, he assembledC his 318 trained men, born in his household,x and they went in pursuit as far as Dan.y 15 And he and his servants deployed against them by night, defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah to the north of Damascus. 16 He brought back all the goods and also his relative Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the other people.

MELCHIZEDEK’S BLESSING

17 After Abram returned from defeating Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the Shaveh Valley (that is, the King’s Valleyz). 18 Melchizedek, king of Salem,D,aa brought out bread and wine; he was a priest to God Most High.ab 19 He blessed him and said:

Abram is blessed by God Most High,

CreatorE of heaven and earth,

20 and blessed be God Most High

who has handed over your enemies to you.

And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.ac

21 Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people, but take the possessions for yourself.”

22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand in an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, 23 that I will not take a thread or sandal strap or anything that belongs to you, so you can never say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ 24 I will take nothing except what the servants have eaten. But as for the share of the men who came with me—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre—they can take their share.”

THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT

15 After these events, the word of the Lord camea to Abram in a vision:

Do not be afraid,b Abram.

I am your shield;c

your reward will be very great.

2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what can you give me, since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”A 3 Abram continued, “Look, you have given me no offspring, so a slave born inB my house will be my heir.”

4 Now the word of the Lord came to him: “This one will not be your heir; instead, one who comes from your own bodyC will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “Your offspring will be that numerous.”d

6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.e

7 He also said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”f

8 But he said, “Lord God, how can I knowg that I will possess it?”

9 He said to him, “Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”

10 So he brought all these to him, cut them in half, and laid the pieces opposite each other, but he did not cut the birdsh in half. 11 Birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. 12 As the sun was setting, a deep sleepi came over Abram, and suddenly great terror and darkness descended on him.

13 Then the Lord said to Abram,j “Know this for certain: Your offspring will be resident aliensk for four hundred yearsl in a land that does not belong to them and will be enslaved and oppressed.D 14 However, I will judge the nation they serve,m and afterward they will go out with many possessions.n 15 But you will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age.o 16 In the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”E,p

17 When the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the divided animals. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I give this land to your offspring,q from the Brook of Egyptr to the great river, the Euphrates River: 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hethites, Perizzites, Rephaim, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”

HAGAR AND ISHMAEL

16 Abram’s wife, Sarai, had not borne any children for him, but she owned an Egyptian slave named Hagar. 2 Sarai said to Abram, “Since the Lord has prevented me from bearing children, go to my slave; perhaps through her I can build a family.” And Abram agreed to what Sarai said.G 3 So Abram’s wife, Sarai, took Hagar, her Egyptian slave, and gave her to her husband, Abram, as a wife for him. This happened after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan ten years. 4 He slept withA Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she saw that she was pregnant, her mistress became contemptible to her. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for my suffering!B I put my slave in your arms,C and when she saw that she was pregnant, I became contemptible to her. May the Lord judge between me and you.”s

6 Abram replied to Sarai, “Here, your slave is in your power; do whatever you want with her.” Then Sarai mistreated her so much that she ran away from her.

7 The angel of the Lordt found her by a spring in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8 He said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?”

She replied, “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai.”

9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her authority.” 10 The angel of the Lord said to her, “I will greatly multiply your offspring,u and they will be too many to count.”

11 The angel of the Lord said to her, “You have conceived and will have a son. You will name him Ishmael,D for the Lord has heard your cry of affliction. 12 This man will be like a wild donkey. His hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand will be against him; he will settle near all his relatives.”a

13 So she named the Lord who spoke to her: “You are El-roi,”E for she said, “In this place, have I actually seenb the one who sees me?”F 14 That is why the well is called Beer-lahai-roi.G It is between Kadesh and Bered.

15 So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, and Abram named his son (whom Hagar bore) Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him.

COVENANT CIRCUMCISION

17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him, saying, “I am God Almighty.c LiveH in my presence and be blameless.d 2 I will set up my covenant between me and you, and I will multiply you greatly.”

3 Then Abram fell facedown and God spoke with him: 4 “As for me, here is my covenant with you: You will become the father of many nations. 5 Your name will no longer be Abram;I your name will be Abraham,J for I will make you the father of many nations.e 6 I will make you extremely fruitful and will make nations and kings come from you. 7 I will confirm my covenant that is between me and you and your future offspring throughout their generations. It is a permanent covenantf to be your God and the God of your offspring after you.g 8 And to you and your future offspringA h I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as a permanent possession,i and I will be their God.”

9 God also said to Abraham, “As for you, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations are to keep my covenant. 10 This is my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you, which you are to keep: Every one of your males must be circumcised. 11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskin to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and you.* j 12 Throughout your generations, every male among you is to be circumcisedk at eight days old—every male born in your household or purchased from any foreigner and not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or purchased, he must be circumcised. My covenant will be marked in your flesh as a permanent covenant. 14 If any male is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that man will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

15 God said to Abraham, “As for your wife Sarai, do not call her Sarai, for SarahC will be her name. 16 I will bless her; indeed, I will give you a son by her.l I will bless her, and she will produce nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”

17 Abraham fell facedown. Then he laughedm and said to himself, “Can a child be born to a hundred-year-old man? Can Sarah, a ninety-year-old woman, give birth?” 18 So Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael were acceptableD to you!”

19 But God said, “No. Your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac.E I will confirm my covenant with him as a permanent covenant for his future offspring. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. I will certainly bless him; I will make him fruitful and will multiply him greatly. He will father twelve tribal leaders,n and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But I will confirm my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.”o 22 When he finished talking with him, God withdrewF from Abraham.p

23 So Abraham took his son Ishmael and those born in his household or purchased—every male among the members of Abraham’s household—and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin on that very day, just as God had said to him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised, 25 and his son Ishmael was thirteen years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised. 26 On that very day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. 27 And all the men of his household—whether born in his household or purchased from a foreigner—were circumcised with him.

ABRAHAM’S THREE VISITORS

18 The Lord appeared to Abraham at the oaks of Mamreq while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the heat of the day. 2 He looked up, and he saw three men standing near him.r When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them, bowed to the ground, 3 and said, “My lord, if I have found favor with you, please do not go on past your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought, that you may wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 I will bring a bit of bread so that you may strengthen yourselves. This is why you have passed your servant’s way. Later, you can continue on.”

“Yes,” they replied, “do as you have said.”

6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Knead three measuresA of fine flour and make bread.”B 7 Abraham ran to the herd and got a tender, choice calf. He gave it to a young man, who hurried to prepare it. 8 Then Abraham took curdsC and milk, as well as the calf that he had prepared, and set them before the men. He servedD them as they ate under the tree.

SARAH LAUGHS

9 “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him.

“There, in the tent,” he answered.

10 The Lord said, “I will certainly come back to you in about a year’s time, and your wife Sarah will have a son!”a Now Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent behind him.

11 Abraham and Sarah were old and getting on in years.E Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.b 12 So she laughed to herself: “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I have delight?”c

13 But the Lord asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Can I really have a baby when I’m old?’ 14 Is anything impossible for the Lord?d At the appointed time I will come back to you, and in about a year she will have a son.”

15 Sarah denied it. “I did not laugh,” she said, because she was afraid.

But he replied, “No, you did laugh.”

ABRAHAM’S PLEA FOR SODOM

16 The men got up from there and looked out over Sodom, and Abraham was walking with them to see them off. 17 Then the Lord said, “Should I hide what I am about to do from Abraham?e 18 Abraham is to become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him.f 19 For I have chosenF him so that he will command his children and his house after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. This is how the Lord will fulfill to Abraham what he promised him.” 20 Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is immense, and their sin is extremely serious. 21 I will go downg to see if what they have done justifies the cry that has come up to me. If not, I will find out.”

22 The men turned from there and went toward Sodomh while Abraham remained standing before the Lord.G 23 Abraham stepped forward and said, “Will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked?i 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away instead of sparing the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people who are in it? 25 You could not possibly do such a thing: to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. You could not possibly do that! Won’t the Judge of the whole earth do what is just?”j

26 The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”k

27 Then Abraham answered, “Since I have ventured to speak to my lord—even though I am dust and ashes—28 suppose the fifty righteous lack five. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?”

He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”

29 Then he spoke to him again, “Suppose forty are found there?”

He answered, “I will not do it on account of forty.”

30 Then he said, “Let my lord not be angry, and I will speak further. Suppose thirty are found there?”

He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

31 Then he said, “Since I have ventured to speak to my lord, suppose twenty are found there?”

He replied, “I will not destroy it on account of twenty.”

32 Then he said, “Let my lord not be angry, and I will speak one more time.l Suppose ten are found there?”

He answered, “I will not destroy it on account of ten.” 33 When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he departed, and Abraham returned to his place.