Holman Christian Standard Bible (6 page)

10
 Lot looked out and saw that the entire Jordan Valley as far as Zoar was well watered everywhere like the
Lord
's garden and the land of Egypt. This was before the
Lord
destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. 
11
 So Lot chose the entire Jordan Valley for himself. Then Lot journeyed eastward, and they separated from each other.
12
 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, but Lot lived in the cities of the valley and set up his tent near Sodom.
13
 Now the men of Sodom were evil, sinning greatly against the
Lord
. 

14
 After Lot had separated from him, the
Lord
said to Abram, “Look from the place where you are. Look north and south, east and west, 
15
 for I will give you and your
•offspring
forever all the land that you see. 
16
 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust of the earth, then your offspring could be counted.
17
 Get up and walk around the land, through its length and width, for I will give it to you.”

18
 So Abram moved his tent and went to live near the oaks of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the
Lord
.

Genesis

Abram Rescues Lot

14
In those days Amraphel king of
•Shinar
, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim 
2
 waged war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, as well as the king of Bela (that is, Zoar ).
3
 All of these came as allies to the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Dead Sea ).
4
 They were subject to Chedorlaomer for 12 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 Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim,
6
 and the Horites in the mountains of Seir, as far as El-paran by the wilderness.
7
 Then they came back to invade En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh ), and they defeated all the territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who lived 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 lined up for battle in the Valley of Siddim
9
 against 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 contained many asphalt pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, but the rest fled to the mountains. 
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, and they went on.

13
 One of the survivors came and told Abram the Hebrew, 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 assembled his 318 trained men, born in his household, and they went in pursuit as far as Dan. 
15
 And he and his servants deployed against them by night, attacked 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 Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley ).
18
 Then Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine; he was a priest to God
•Most
High. 
19
 He blessed him and said:

And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. 

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
•Yahweh
, 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.”

Genesis

The Abrahamic Covenant

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

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? ” 
3
 Abram continued, “Look, You have given me no
•offspring
, so a slave born in 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 body 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.” 

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

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

8
 But he said, “Lord
God
, how can I know 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, split them down the middle, and laid the pieces opposite each other, but he did not cut up the birds. 
11
 Birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
12
 As the sun was setting, a deep sleep fell on Abram, and suddenly great terror and darkness descended on him.

13
 Then the
Lord
said to Abram, “Know this for certain: Your offspring will be foreigners in a land that does not belong to them; they will be enslaved and oppressed 400 years. 
14
 However, I will judge the nation they serve, and afterward they will go out with many possessions. 
15
 But you will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age. 
16
 In the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”

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, from the brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River: 
19
 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,
20
 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaim,
21
 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”

Genesis

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. 
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 10 years.
4
 He slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she realized that she was pregnant, she treated her mistress with contempt.
5
 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for my suffering! I put my slave in your arms, and ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has treated me with contempt. May the
Lord
judge between me and you.” 

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

7
 The Angel of the
Lord
 found her by a spring of water 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
 Then the Angel of the
Lord
said to her, “You must go back to your mistress and submit to her mistreatment.” 
10
 The Angel of the
Lord
also said to her, “I will greatly multiply your
•offspring
, and they will be too many to count.”

11
 Then the Angel of the
Lord
said to her:

13
 So she called the
Lord
who spoke to her: The God Who Sees, for she said, “In this place, have I actually seen the One who sees me? ” 
14
 That is why she named the spring, “A Well of the Living One Who Sees Me.” It is located between Kadesh and Bered.

15
 So Hagar gave birth to Abram's son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son Hagar had.
16
 Abram was 86 years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him.

Genesis

Covenant Circumcision

17
When Abram was 99 years old, the
Lord
appeared to him, saying, “I am
•God
Almighty. Live in My presence and be blameless. 
2
 I will establish 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, My covenant is with you: you will become the father of many nations. 
5
 Your name will no longer be Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I will make you the father of many nations. 
6
 I will make you extremely fruitful and will make nations and kings come from you.
7
 I will keep My covenant between Me and you, and your future
•offspring
throughout their generations, as an everlasting covenant to be your God and the God of your offspring after you. 
8
 And to you and your future offspring I will give the land where you are residing — all the land of Canaan — as an eternal possession, 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, which you are to keep, between Me and you and your offspring after you: 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.
12
 Throughout your generations, every male among you at eight days old is to be circumcised. This includes a slave born in your house and one purchased with money from any foreigner. The one who is not your offspring,
13
 a slave born in your house, as well as one purchased with money, must be circumcised. My covenant will be marked in your flesh as an everlasting 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 Sarah will be her name.
16
 I will bless her; indeed, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will produce nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”

17
 Abraham fell facedown. Then he laughed 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 acceptable to You! ”

19
 But God said, “No. Your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. I will confirm My covenant with him as an everlasting 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 12 tribal leaders, 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.” 
22
 When He finished talking with him, God withdrew from Abraham.