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.

The Son of Promise

18 Then the Lord appeared to him by 1the aterebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 bSo he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; cand when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, 3 and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. 4 Please let da little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 And eI will bring a morsel of bread, that fyou may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, ginasmuch as you have come to your servant.”

They said, “Do as you have said.”

6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes.” 7 And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it. 8 So hhe took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.

9 Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?”

So he said, “Here, iin the tent.”

10 And He said, “I will certainly return to you jaccording to the time of life, and behold, kSarah your wife shall have a son.”

(Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) 11 Now lAbraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and 2Sarah mhad passed the age of childbearing. 12 Therefore Sarah nlaughed within herself, saying, o“After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my plord being old also?”

13 And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ 14 qIs anything too hard for the Lord? rAt the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”

15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid.

And He said, “No, but you did laugh!”

Abraham Intercedes for Sodom

16 Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them sto send them on the way. 17 And the Lord said, t“Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, 18 since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be ublessed in him? 19 For I have known him, in order vthat he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” 20 And the Lord said, “Because wthe outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their xsin is very grave, 21 yI will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, zI will know.”

22 Then the men turned away from there aand went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. 23 And Abraham bcame near and said, c“Would You also ddestroy the erighteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? 25 Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so fthat the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! gShall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

26 So the Lord said, h“If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.”

27 Then Abraham answered and said, “Indeed now, I who am ibut dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: 28 Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?”

So He said, “If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.”

29 And he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose there should be forty found there?”

So He said, “I will not do it for the sake of forty.”

30 Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?”

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

31 And he said, “Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?”

So He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.”

32 Then he said, j“Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?”

kAnd He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.” 33 So the Lord went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.