Lot’s Captivity and Rescue

14 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king aof Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of bElam, and Tidal king of 1nations, 2 that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of cAdmah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, dZoar). 3 All these joined together in the Valley of Siddim e(that is, the Salt Sea). 4 Twelve years fthey served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

5 In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him came and attacked gthe Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, hthe Zuzim in Ham, ithe Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 6 jand the Horites in their mountain of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is by the wilderness. 7 Then they turned back and came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and attacked all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who dwelt kin Hazezon Tamar.

8 And 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 joined together in battle in the Valley of Siddim 9 against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of 2nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of lasphalt pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled; some fell there, and the remainder fled mto the mountains. 11 Then they took nall the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. 12 They also took Lot, Abram’s obrother’s son pwho dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the qHebrew, for rhe dwelt by 3the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; sand they were allies with Abram. 14 Now twhen Abram heard that uhis brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were vborn in his own house, and went in pursuit was far as Dan. 15 He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants xattacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is 4north of Damascus. 16 So he ybrought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.

17 And the king of Sodom zwent out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the aKing’s Valley), bafter his return from 5the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him.

Abram and Melchizedek

18 Then cMelchizedek king of Salem brought out dbread and wine; he was ethe priest of fGod Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said:

g“Blessed be Abram of God Most High,

hPossessor of heaven and earth;

20 And iblessed be God Most High,

Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”

And he jgave him 6a tithe of all.

21 Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the 7persons, and take the goods for yourself.”

22 But Abram ksaid to the king of Sodom, “I lhave raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, mthe Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that nI will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’—24 except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.”

God’s Covenant with Abram

15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram ain a vision, saying, b“Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your cshield, 1your exceedingly dgreat reward.”

2 eBut Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, fseeing I 2go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed gone 3born in my house is my heir!”

4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who hwill come from your own body shall be your heir.” 5 Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and icount the jstars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, k“So shall your ldescendants be.”

6 And he mbelieved in the Lord, and He naccounted it to him for righteousness.

7 Then He said to him, “I am the Lord, who obrought you out of pUr of the Chaldeans, qto give you this land to inherit it.”

8 And he said, “Lord God, rhow shall I know that I will inherit it?”

9 So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 Then he brought all these to Him and scut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut tthe birds in two. 11 And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

12 Now when the sun was going down, ua deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly vthat your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and wthey will afflict them four hundred years. 14 And also the nation whom they serve xI will judge; afterward ythey shall come out with great possessions. 15 Now as for you, zyou shall 4go ato your fathers in peace; byou shall be buried at a good old age. 16 But cin the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity dof the Amorites eis not yet complete.”

17 And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that fpassed between those pieces. 18 On the same day the Lord gmade a covenant with Abram, saying:

h“To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates—19 the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

Hagar and Ishmael

16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, ahad borne him no children. And she had ban Egyptian maidservant whose name was cHagar. 2 dSo Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord ehas restrained me from bearing children. Please, fgo in to my maid; perhaps I shall 1obtain children by her.” And Abram gheeded the voice of Sarai. 3 Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram hhad dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. 4 So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became idespised in her 2eyes.

5 Then Sarai said to Abram, 3“My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. jThe Lord judge between you and me.”

6 kSo Abram said to Sarai, “Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please.” And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, lshe fled from her presence.

7 Now the mAngel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, nby the spring on the way to oShur. 8 And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?”

She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.”

9 The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and psubmit yourself under her hand.” 10 Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, q“I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.” 11 And the Angel of the Lord said to her:

“Behold, you are with child,

rAnd you shall bear a son.

You shall call his name 4Ishmael,

Because the Lord has heard your affliction.

12 sHe shall be a wild man;

His hand shall be against every man,

And every man’s hand against him.

tAnd he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”

13 Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-5the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here 6seen Him uwho sees me?” 14 Therefore the well was called vBeer Lahai Roi; 7observe, it is wbetween Kadesh and Bered.

15 So xHagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

The Sign of the Covenant

17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord aappeared to Abram and said to him, b“I am 1Almighty God; cwalk before Me and be dblameless. 2 And I will make My ecovenant between Me and you, and fwill multiply you exceedingly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: 4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be ga father of 2many nations. 5 No longer shall hyour name be called 3Abram, but your name shall be 4Abraham; ifor I have made you a father of 5many nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make jnations of you, and kkings shall come from you. 7 And I will lestablish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, mto be God to you and nyour descendants after you. 8 Also oI give to you and your descendants after you the land pin 6which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and qI will be their God.”

9 And God said to Abraham: “As for you, ryou shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 10 This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: sEvery male child among you shall be circumcised; 11 and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be ta sign of the covenant between Me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you ushall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant. 13 He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14 And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person vshall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”

15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but 7Sarah shall be her name. 16 And I will bless her wand also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother xof nations; ykings of peoples shall be from her.”

17 Then Abraham fell on his face zand laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham asaid to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”

19 Then God said: “No, bSarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My ccovenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and dwill multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget etwelve princes, fand I will make him a great nation. 21 But My gcovenant I will establish with Isaac, hwhom Sarah shall bear to you at this iset time next year.” 22 Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.

23 So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had said to him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 That very same day Abraham was circumcised, and his son Ishmael; 27 and jall the men of his house, born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.