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¹So Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot [his nephew] with him, into the Negev (the South country of Judah).

²Now Abram was extremely rich in livestock and in silver and in gold.

³He journeyed on from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,

⁴where he had first built an altar; and there Abram called on the name of the LORD [in prayer].

⁵But Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents.

⁶Now the land was not able to support them [that is, sustain all their grazing and water needs] while they lived near one another, for their possessions were too great for them to stay together.

⁷And there was strife and quarreling between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle and the herdsmen of Lot's cattle. Now the Canaanite and the Perizzite were living in the land at that same time [making grazing of the livestock difficult].

⁸So Abram said to Lot, "Please let there be no strife and disagreement between you and me, nor between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, because we are relatives.

⁹Is not the entire land before you? Please separate [yourself] from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or if you choose the right, then I will go to the left."

¹⁰So Lot looked and saw that the valley of the Jordan was well watered everywhere—this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah; [it was all] like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as you go to Zoar [at the south end of the Dead Sea].

¹¹Then Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and he traveled east. So they separated from each other.

¹²Abram settled in the land of Canaan, and Lot settled in the cities of the valley and camped as far as Sodom and lived there.

¹³But the men of Sodom were extremely wicked and sinful against the LORD [unashamed in their open sin before Him].

¹⁴The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had left him, "Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are standing, northward and southward and eastward and westward;

¹⁵for all the land which you see I will give to you and to your descendants forever.

¹⁶I will make your descendants [as numerous] as the dust of the earth, so that if a man could count the [grains of] dust of the earth, then your descendants could also be counted.

¹⁷Arise, walk (make a thorough reconnaissance) around in the land, through its length and its width, for I will give it to you."

¹⁸Then Abram broke camp and moved his tent, and came and settled by the [grove of the great] terebinths (oak trees) of Mamre [the Amorite], which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to [honor] the LORD.

¹In the days of the [Eastern] kings Amraphel of Shinar, Arioch of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer of Elam, and Tidal of Goiim,

²they [invaded the Jordan Valley near the Dead Sea, and] made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela(that is, Zoar).

³All of these [kings] joined together [as allies] in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Sea of Salt).

⁴Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer [the most powerful king in the invading confederacy], but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

⁵In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the [three] kings who were with him attacked and subdued the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim,

⁶and the Horites in their mountainous country of Seir, as far as El-paran, which is on the border of the wilderness.

⁷Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and subdued all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-tamar.

⁸Then the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (that is, Zoar) came out; and they joined together for battle with the invading kings in the Valley of Siddim,

⁹against Chedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goiim and Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five.

¹⁰Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar (bitumen) pits; and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into them. But the remainder [of the kings] who survived fled to the hill country.

¹¹Then the victors took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food supply and provisions and left.

¹²And they also took [captive] Lot, Abram's nephew, and his possessions and left, for he was living in Sodom.

¹³Then a survivor who had escaped [from the invading forces on the other side of the Jordan] came and told Abram the Hebrew. Now he was living by the terebinths (oaks) of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner—they were allies of Abram.

¹⁴When Abram heard that his nephew [Lot] had been captured, he armed and led out his trained men, born in his own house, [numbering] three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far [north] as Dan.

¹⁵He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and attacked and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus.

¹⁶And he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, and also the women, and the people.

¹⁷Then after Abram's return from the defeat (slaughter) 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 King's Valley).

¹⁸Melchizedek king of Salem (ancient Jerusalem) brought out bread and wine [for them]; he was the priest of God Most High.

¹⁹And Melchizedek blessed Abram and said, "Blessed (joyful, favored) be Abram by God Most High, Creator and Possessor of heaven and earth;

²⁰And blessed, praised, and glorified be God Most High, Who has given your enemies into your hand." And Abram gave him a tenth of all [the treasure he had taken in battle].

²¹The king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people and keep the goods (spoils of battle) for yourself."

²²But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand and sworn an oath to the LORD God Most High, the Creator and Possessor of heaven and earth,

²³that I would not take anything that is yours, from a thread to a sandal strap, so you could not say, 'I [the King of Sodom] have made Abram rich.'

²⁴I will take nothing except what my young men have eaten, and the share of the spoils belonging to the men [my allies] who went with me—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their share of the spoils."

¹After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; Your reward [for obedience] shall be very great."

²Abram said, "Lord GOD, what reward will You give me, since I am [leaving this world] childless, and he who will be the owner and heir of my house is this [servant] Eliezer from Damascus?"

³And Abram continued, "Since You have given no child to me, one (a servant) born in my house is my heir."

⁴Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This man [Eliezer] will not be your heir but he who shall come from your own body shall be your heir."

⁵And the LORD brought Abram outside [his tent into the night] and said, "Look now toward the heavens and count the stars—if you are able to count them." Then He said to him, "So [numerous] shall your descendants be."

⁶Then Abram believed in (affirmed, trusted in, relied on, remained steadfast to) the LORD; and He counted (credited) it to him as righteousness (doing right in regard to God and man).

⁷And He said to him, "I am the [same] LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land as an inheritance."

⁸But Abram said, "Lord GOD, by what [proof] will I know that I will inherit it?"

⁹So God 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."

¹⁰So Abram brought all these to Him and cut them down the middle, and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds.

¹¹The birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

¹²When the sun was setting, a deep sleep overcame Abram; and a horror (terror, shuddering fear, nightmare) of great darkness overcame him.

¹³God said to Abram, "Know for sure that your descendants will be strangers [living temporarily] in a land (Egypt) that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.

¹⁴But on that nation whom your descendants will serve I will bring judgment, and afterward they will come out [of that land] with great possessions.

¹⁵As for you, you shall [die and] go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age.

¹⁶Then in the fourth generation your descendants shall return here [to Canaan, the land of promise], for the wickedness and guilt of the Amorites is not yet complete (finished)."

¹⁷When the sun had gone down and a [deep] darkness had come, there appeared a smoking brazier and a flaming torch which passed between the [divided] pieces [of the animals].

¹⁸On the same day the LORD made a covenant (promise, pledge) with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates—

¹⁹[the land of] the Kenites and the Kenizzites and the Kadmonites

²⁰and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Rephaim,

²¹the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Girgashites and the Jebusites."

¹Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had not borne him any children, and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar.

²So Sarai said to Abram, "See here, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. I am asking you to go in to [the bed of] my maid [so that she may bear you a child]; perhaps I will obtain children by her." And Abram listened to Sarai and did as she said.

³After Abram had lived in the land of Canaan ten years, Abram's wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian [maid], and gave her to her husband Abram to be his [secondary] wife.

⁴He went in to [the bed of] Hagar, and she conceived; and when she realized that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress [regarding Sarai as insignificant because of her infertility].

⁵Then Sarai said to Abram, "May [the responsibility for] the wrong done to me [by the arrogant behavior of Hagar] be upon you. I gave my maid into your arms, and when she realized that she had conceived, I was despised and looked on with disrespect. May the LORD judge [who has done right] between you and me."

⁶But Abram said to Sarai, "Look, your maid is entirely in your hands and subject to your authority; do as you please with her." So Sarai treated her harshly and humiliated her, and Hagar fled from her.

⁷But the Angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, on the road to [Egypt by way of] Shur.

⁸And He said, "Hagar, Sarai's maid, where did you come from and where are you going?" And she said, "I am running away from my mistress Sarai."

⁹The Angel of the LORD said to her, "Go back to your mistress, and submit humbly to her authority."

¹⁰Then the Angel of the LORD said to her, "I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be too many to count."

¹¹The Angel of the LORD continued, "Behold, you are with child, And you will bear a son; And you shall name him Ishmael (God hears), Because the LORD has heard and paid attention to your persecution (suffering).

¹²"He (Ishmael) will be a wild donkey of a man; His hand will be against every man [continually fighting] And every man's hand against him; And he will dwell in defiance of all his brothers."

¹³Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, "You are God Who Sees"; for she said, "Have I not even here [in the wilderness] remained alive after seeing Him [who sees me with understanding and compassion]?"

¹⁴Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi (Well of the Living One Who Sees Me); it is between Kadesh and Bered.

¹⁵So Hagar gave birth to Abram's son; and Abram named his son, to whom Hagar gave birth, Ishmael (God hears).

¹⁶Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.

¹When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; Walk [habitually] before Me [with integrity, knowing that you are always in My presence], and be blameless and complete [in obedience to Me].

²"I will establish My covenant (everlasting promise) between Me and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly [through your descendants]."

³Then Abram fell on his face [in worship], and God spoke with him, saying,

⁴"As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, And [as a result] you shall be the father of many nations.

⁵"No longer shall your name be Abram (exalted father), But your name shall be Abraham (father of a multitude); For I will make you the father of many nations.

⁶I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.

⁷I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you.

⁸I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger [moving from place to place], all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession [of property]; and I will be their God."

⁹Further, God said to Abraham, "As for you [your part of the agreement], you shall keep and faithfully obey [the terms of] My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.

¹⁰This is [the sign of] My covenant, which you shall keep and faithfully obey, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.

¹¹And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be the sign (symbol, memorial) of the covenant between Me and you.

¹²Every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, [including] a servant whether born in the house or one who is purchased with [your] money from any foreigner, who is not of your descendants.

¹³A servant who is born in your house or one who is purchased with your money must be circumcised; and [the sign of] My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

¹⁴And the male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant."

¹⁵Then God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai (my princess), but her name will be Sarah ( Princess).

¹⁶I will bless her, and indeed I will also give you a son by her. Yes, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her."

¹⁷Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?"

¹⁸And Abraham said to God, "Oh, that Ishmael [my firstborn] might live before You!"

¹⁹But God said, "No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son indeed, and you shall name him Isaac (laughter); and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant and with his descendants after him.

²⁰As for Ishmael, I have heard and listened to you; behold, I will bless him, and will make him fruitful and will greatly multiply him [through his descendants]. He will be the father of twelve princes (chieftains, sheiks), and I will make him a great nation.

²¹But My covenant [My promise, My solemn pledge], I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year."

²²And God finished speaking with him and went up from Abraham.

²³Then Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all the servants who were born in his house and all who were purchased with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's household, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin the very same day, as God had said to him.

²⁴So Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised.

²⁵And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised.

²⁶On the very same day Abraham was circumcised, as well as Ishmael his son.

²⁷All the men [servants] of his household, both those born in the house and those purchased with money from a foreigner, were circumcised along with him [as the sign of God's covenant with Abraham].