Bible in 90 Days
The Story of Creation
1 In the beginning God
created the heavens
and the earth.[a]
2 The earth was barren,
with no form of life;[b]
it was under a roaring ocean
covered with darkness.
But the Spirit of God[c]
was moving over the water.
The First Day
3 (A) God said, “I command light to shine!” And light started shining. 4 God looked at the light and saw that it was good. He separated light from darkness 5 and named the light “Day” and the darkness “Night.” Evening came, then morning—that was the first day.[d]
The Second Day
6 (B) God said, “I command a dome to separate the water above it from the water below it.” 7 And that's what happened. God made the dome 8 and named it “Sky.” Evening came, then morning—that was the second day.
The Third Day
9 God said, “I command the water under the sky to come together in one place, so there will be dry ground.” And that's what happened. 10 God named the dry ground “Land,” and he named the water “Ocean.” God looked at what he had done and saw that it was good.
11 God said, “I command the earth to produce all kinds of plants, including fruit trees and grain.” And that's what happened. 12 The earth produced all kinds of vegetation. God looked at what he had done, and it was good. 13 Evening came, then morning—that was the third day.
The Fourth Day
14 God said, “I command lights to appear in the sky and to separate day from night and to show the time for seasons, special days, and years. 15 I command them to shine on the earth.” And that's what happened. 16 God made two powerful lights, the brighter one to rule the day and the other[e] to rule the night. He also made the stars. 17 Then God put these lights in the sky to shine on the earth, 18 to rule day and night, and to separate light from darkness. God looked at what he had done, and it was good. 19 Evening came, then morning—that was the fourth day.
The Fifth Day
20 God said, “I command the ocean to be full of living creatures, and I command birds to fly above the earth.” 21 So God made the giant sea monsters and all the living creatures that swim in the ocean. He also made every kind of bird. God looked at what he had done, and it was good. 22 Then he gave the living creatures his blessing—he told the ocean creatures to increase and live everywhere in the ocean and the birds to increase everywhere on earth. 23 Evening came, then morning—that was the fifth day.
The Sixth Day
24 God said, “I command the earth to give life to all kinds of tame animals, wild animals, and reptiles.” And that's what happened. 25 God made every one of them. Then he looked at what he had done, and it was good.
26 (C) God said, “Now we will make humans, and they will be like us. We will let them rule the fish, the birds, and all other living creatures.”
27 (D)(E) So God created humans to be like himself; he made men and women. 28 God gave them his blessing and said:
Have a lot of children! Fill the earth with people and bring it under your control. Rule over the fish in the ocean, the birds in the sky, and every animal on the earth.
29 I have provided all kinds of fruit and grain for you to eat. 30 And I have given the green plants as food for everything else that breathes, including animals, both wild and tame, and birds. And so it was.
31 God looked at what he had done. All of it was very good! Evening came, then morning—that was the sixth day.
2 So the heavens and the earth and everything else were created.
The Seventh Day
2 (F)(G) By the seventh day God had finished his work, and so he rested. 3 God blessed the seventh day and made it special, because on that day he rested from his work.
4 That's how God created the heavens and the earth.
The Garden of Eden
When the Lord God made the heavens and the earth, 5 no grass or plants were growing anywhere. God had not yet sent any rain, and there was no one to work the land. 6 But streams[f] came up from the ground and watered the earth.
7 (H) The Lord God took some soil from the ground and made a man.[g] God breathed life into the man, and the man started breathing. 8 The Lord made a garden in a place called Eden, which was in the east, and he put the man there.
9 (I) The Lord God filled the garden with all kinds of beautiful trees and fruit trees. Two other trees were in the middle of the garden. One of these gave life—the other gave the wisdom to know the difference between right and wrong.
10 From Eden a river flowed out to water the garden, then it divided into four rivers. 11 The first one is the Pishon River that flows through the land of Havilah, 12 where pure gold, rare perfumes, and precious stones are found. 13 The second is the Gihon River that winds through Ethiopia.[h] 14 The Tigris River that flows east of Assyria is the third, and the fourth is the Euphrates River.
15 The Lord God put the man in the Garden of Eden to take care of it and to look after it. 16 But the Lord told him, “You may eat fruit from any tree in the garden, 17 except the one that has the power to let you know the difference between right and wrong. If you eat any fruit from that tree, you will die before the day is over!”
18 The Lord God said, “It isn't good for the man to live alone. I will make a suitable partner for him.” 19-20 So the Lord took some soil and made animals and birds. He brought them to the man to see what names he would give each of them. Then the man named the tame animals and the birds and the wild animals. That's how they got their names.
None of these was the right kind of partner for the man. 21 So the Lord God made him fall into a deep sleep, and he took out one of the man's ribs. Then after closing the man's side, 22 the Lord made a woman out of the rib.
The Lord God brought her to the man, 23 and the man exclaimed,
“Here is someone like me!
She is part of my body,
my own flesh and bones.
She came from me, a man.
So I will name her Woman!”[i]
24 (J) That's why a man will leave his own father and mother. He marries a woman, and the two of them become like one person.
25 Although the man and his wife were both naked, they were not ashamed.
The First Sin
3 (K) The snake was sneakier than any of the other wild animals that the Lord God had made. One day it came to the woman and asked, “Did God tell you not to eat fruit from any tree in the garden?”
2 The woman answered, “God said we could eat fruit from any tree in the garden, 3 except the one in the middle. He told us not to eat fruit from that tree or even to touch it. If we do, we will die.”
4 “No, you won't!” the snake replied. 5 “God understands what will happen on the day you eat fruit from that tree. You will see what you have done, and you will know the difference between right and wrong, just as God does.”
6 The woman stared at the fruit. It looked beautiful and tasty. She wanted the wisdom that it would give her, and she ate some of the fruit. Her husband was there with her, so she gave some to him, and he ate it too. 7 At once they saw what they had done, and they realized they were naked. Then they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.
8 Late in the afternoon, when the breeze began to blow, the man and woman heard the Lord God walking in the garden. So they hid behind some trees.
Sin Brings a Curse
9 The Lord God called out to the man and asked, “Where are you?”
10 The man answered, “I was naked, and when I heard you walking through the garden, I was frightened and hid!”
11 “How did you know you were naked?” God asked. “Did you eat any fruit from that tree in the middle of the garden?”
12 “It was the woman you put here with me,” the man said. “She gave me some of the fruit, and I ate it.”
13 (L) The Lord God then asked the woman, “What have you done?”
“The snake tricked me,” she answered, “and I ate some of that fruit.”
14 So the Lord God said to the snake:
“Because of what you have done,
you will be the only animal
to suffer this curse—
For as long as you live,
you will crawl on your stomach
and eat dirt.
15 (M) You and this woman
will hate each other;
your descendants and hers
will always be enemies.
One of hers will strike you
on the head,
and you will strike him
on the heel.”
16 Then the Lord God said to the woman,
“You will suffer terribly
when you give birth.
But you will still desire
your husband,
and he will rule over you.”
17 (N) The Lord said to the man,
“You listened to your wife
and ate the fruit
I told you not to eat.
And so, the ground
will be under a curse
because of what you did.
As long as you live,
you will have to struggle
to grow enough food.
18 Your food will be plants,
but the ground will produce
thorns and thistles.
19 You will sweat all your life
to earn a living;
you were made out of soil,
and you will once again
turn into soil.”
20 The man Adam[j] named his wife Eve[k] because she would become the mother of all who live.
21 Then the Lord God made clothes out of animal skins for the man and his wife.
22 (O) The Lord said, “They now know the difference between right and wrong, just as we do. But they must not be allowed to eat fruit from the tree that lets them live forever.” 23 So the Lord God sent them out of the Garden of Eden, where they would have to work the ground from which the man had been made. 24 Then God put winged creatures at the entrance to the garden and a flaming, flashing sword to guard the way to the life-giving tree.
Cain Murders Abel
4 Adam[l] and Eve had a son. Then Eve said, “I'll name him Cain because I got[m] him with the help of the Lord.” 2 Later she had another son and named him Abel.
Abel became a sheep farmer, but Cain farmed the land. 3 One day, Cain gave part of his harvest to the Lord, 4 (P) and Abel also gave an offering to the Lord. He killed the first-born lamb from one of his sheep and gave the Lord the best parts of it. The Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering, 5 but not with Cain and his offering. This made Cain so angry that he could not hide his feelings.
6 The Lord said to Cain:
What's wrong with you? Why do you look so angry? 7 If you had done the right thing, you would be smiling.[n] But you did the wrong thing, and now sin is waiting to attack you like a lion. Sin wants to destroy you, but don't let it!
8 (Q) Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let's go for a walk.”[o] And when they were out in a field, Cain attacked and killed him.
9 Afterwards the Lord asked Cain, “Where is Abel?”
“How should I know?” he answered. “Am I supposed to look after my brother?”
10 (R) Then the Lord said:
Why have you done this terrible thing? You killed your own brother, and his blood flowed onto the ground. Now his blood is calling out for me to punish you. 11 And so, I'll put you under a curse. Because you killed Abel and made his blood run out on the ground, you will never be able to farm it again. 12 When you try to farm the land, it won't produce anything for you. From now on, you'll be without a home, and you'll spend the rest of your life wandering from place to place.
13 “This punishment is too hard!” Cain said. 14 “You're making me leave my home and live far from you.[p] I will have to wander about without a home, and just anyone could kill me.”
15 “No!”[q] the Lord answered. “Anyone who kills you will be punished seven times worse than I am punishing you.” So the Lord put a mark on Cain to warn everyone not to kill him. 16 But Cain had to go far from the Lord and live in the Land of Wandering,[r] which is east of Eden.
More and More People
17 Later, Cain and his wife had a son named Enoch. At the time Cain was building a town, and so he named it Enoch after his son. 18 Then Enoch had a son named Irad, who had a son named Mehujael, who had a son named Methushael, who had a son named Lamech.
19 Lamech married Adah, then Zillah. 20-21 Lamech and Adah had two sons, Jabal and Jubal. Their son Jabal was the first to live in tents and raise sheep and goats. Jubal was the first to play harps and flutes.
22 Lamech and Zillah had a son named Tubal Cain who made tools out of bronze and iron. They also had a daughter, whose name was Naamah.
23 One day, Lamech said to his two wives, “A young man wounded me, and I killed him. 24 Anyone who tries to get even with me will be punished ten times more than anyone who tries to get even with Cain.”
25 Adam and his wife had another son. They named him Seth, because they said, “God has given[s] us a son to take the place of Abel, who was killed by his brother Cain.” 26 Later, Seth had a son and named him Enosh.
About this time people started worshiping the Lord.[t]
Descendants of Adam
5 1-2 (S) God created men and women to be like himself. He gave them his blessing and called them human beings. The following is a list of the descendants of Adam, the first man:
3-4 When Adam was 130, he had a son who was just like him, and he named him Seth. Adam had more children 5 and died at the age of 930.
6 When Seth was 105, he had a son named Enosh. 7 Seth had more children 8 and died at the age of 912.
9 When Enosh was 90, he had a son named Kenan. 10 Enosh had more children 11 and died at the age of 905.
12 When Kenan was 70, he had a son named Mahalalel. 13 Kenan had more children 14 and died at the age of 910.
15 When Mahalalel was 65, he had a son named Jared. 16 Mahalalel had more children 17 and died at the age of 895.
18 When Jared was 162, he had a son named Enoch. 19 Jared had more children 20 and died at the age of 962.
21 When Enoch was 65, he had a son named Methuselah, 22 and during the next 300 years he had more children. Enoch truly loved God, 23-24 (T) and God took him away at the age of 365.
25 When Methuselah was 187, he had a son named Lamech. 26 Methuselah had more children 27 and died at the age of 969.
28 When Lamech was one 182, he had a son. 29 Lamech said, “I'll name him Noah because he will give us comfort,[u] as we struggle hard to make a living on this land that the Lord has put under a curse.” 30 Lamech had more children 31 and died at the age of 777.
32 After Noah was 500 years old, he had three sons and named them Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
The Lord Will Send a Flood
6 1-2 (U) More and more people were born, until finally they spread all over the earth. Some of their daughters were so beautiful that supernatural beings[v] came down and married the ones they wanted. 3 Then the Lord said, “I won't let my life-giving breath remain in anyone forever.[w] No one will live for more than 120 years.”[x]
4 (V)(W) The children of the supernatural beings who had married these women became famous heroes and warriors. They were called Nephilim and lived on the earth at that time and even later.
5 (X) The Lord saw how bad the people on earth were and that everything they thought and planned was evil. 6 He was sorry that he had made them, 7 and he said, “I'm going to destroy every person on earth! I'll even wipe out animals, birds, and reptiles. I'm sorry I ever made them.”
8 But the Lord was pleased with Noah, 9 (Y) and this is the story about him. Noah was the only person who lived right and obeyed God. 10 He had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11-12 God knew that everyone was terribly cruel and violent. 13 So he told Noah:
Cruelty and violence have spread everywhere. Now I'm going to destroy the whole earth and all its people. 14 Get some good lumber and build a boat. Put rooms in it and cover it with tar inside and out. 15 Make it 133 meters long, 22 meters wide, and 13 meters high. 16 Build a roof[y] on the boat and leave a space of about 44 centimeters between the roof and the sides.[z] Make the boat three stories high and put a door on one side.
17 I'm going to send a flood that will destroy everything that breathes! Nothing will be left alive. 18 But I solemnly promise that you, your wife, your sons, and your daughters-in-law will be kept safe in the boat.[aa]
19-20 Take into the boat with you a male and a female of every kind of animal and bird, as well as a male and a female of every reptile. I don't want them to be destroyed. 21 Store up enough food both for yourself and for them.
22 (Z) Noah did everything God told him to do.
The Flood
7 The Lord told Noah:
Take your whole family with you into the boat, because you are the only one on this earth who pleases me. 2 Take seven pairs of every kind of animal that can be used for sacrifice[ab] and one pair of all others. 3 Also take seven pairs of every kind of bird with you. Do this so there will always be animals and birds on the earth. 4 Seven days from now I will send rain that will last for 40 days and nights, and I will destroy all other living creatures I have made.
5-7 (AA) Noah was 600 years old when he went into the boat to escape the flood, and he did everything the Lord had told him to do. His wife, his sons, and his daughters-in-law all went inside with him. 8-9 He obeyed God and took a male and a female of each kind of animal and bird into the boat with him. 10 Seven days later a flood began to cover the earth.
11-12 (AB) The water under the earth started gushing out everywhere, the sky opened like windows, and rain poured down for 40 days and nights. All this began on the seventeenth day of the second month of the year. 13 On that day Noah and his wife went into the boat with their three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their wives. 14 They took along every kind of animal, tame and wild, including the birds. 15 Noah took a male and a female of every living creature with him, 16 just as God had told him to do. And when they were all in the boat, the Lord closed the door.
17-18 For 40 days the rain poured down without stopping. And the water became deeper and deeper, until the boat started floating high above the ground. 19-20 Finally, the mighty flood was so deep that even the highest mountain peaks were about seven meters below the surface of the water. 21 Not a bird, animal, reptile, or human was left alive anywhere on earth. 22-23 (AC) The Lord destroyed everything that breathed. Nothing was left alive except Noah and the others in the boat. 24 A hundred fifty days later, the water started going down.
The Water Goes Down
8 God did not forget about Noah and the animals with him in the boat. So God made a wind blow, and the water started going down. 2 God stopped up the places where the water had been gushing out from under the earth. He also closed up the sky, and the rain stopped. 3 For 150 days the water slowly went down. 4 Then on the seventeenth day of the seventh month of the year, the boat came to rest somewhere in the Ararat mountains. 5 The water kept going down, and the mountain tops could be seen on the first day of the tenth month.
6-7 Forty days later Noah opened a window to send out a raven, but it kept flying around until the water had dried up. 8 Noah wanted to find out if the water had gone down, so he sent out a dove. 9 Deep water was still everywhere, and when the dove could not find a place to land, it flew back to the boat. Then Noah held out his hand and helped it back in.
10 Seven days later Noah sent the dove out again. 11 It returned in the evening, holding in its beak a green leaf from an olive tree. Noah knew the water was finally going down. 12 He waited seven more days before sending the dove out again, and this time it did not return.
13 Noah was now 601 years old. And by the first day of that year, almost all the water had gone away. Noah made an opening in the roof of the boat[ac] and saw that the ground was getting dry. 14 By the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the earth was completely dry.
15 God said to Noah, 16 “You, your wife, your sons, and your daughters-in-law may now leave the boat. 17 Let out the birds, animals, and reptiles, so they can mate and live all over the earth.” 18 After Noah and his family had left the boat, 19 the living creatures left in groups of their own kind.
The Lord's Promise for the Earth
20 Noah built an altar where he could offer sacrifices to the Lord. Then he offered on the altar one of each kind of animal and bird that could be used for a sacrifice.[ad] 21 The smell of the burning offering pleased the Lord, and he said:
Never again will I punish the earth for the sinful things its people do. All of them have evil thoughts from the time they are young, but I will never destroy everything that breathes, as I did this time.
22 As long as the earth remains,
there will be planting
and harvest,
cold and heat;
winter and summer,
day and night.
God's Promise to Noah
9 (AD) God said to Noah and his sons:
I am giving you my blessing. Have a lot of children and grandchildren, so people will live everywhere on this earth. 2 All animals, birds, reptiles, and fish will be afraid of you. I have placed them under your control, 3 and I have given them to you for food. From now on, you may eat them, as well as the green plants that you have always eaten. 4 (AE) But life is in the blood, and you must not eat any meat that still has blood in it. 5-6 (AF) I created humans to be like me, and I will punish any animal or person that takes a human life. If an animal kills someone, that animal must die. And if a person takes the life of another, that person must be put to death.
7 (AG) I want you and your descendants to have many children, so people will live everywhere on earth.
8 Again, God said to Noah and his sons:
9 I am going to make a solemn promise to you and to everyone who will live after you. 10 This includes the birds and the animals that came out of the boat. 11 I promise every living creature that the earth and those living on it will never again be destroyed by a flood.
12-13 The rainbow that I have put in the sky will be my sign to you and to every living creature on earth. It will remind you that I will keep this promise forever. 14 When I send clouds over the earth, and a rainbow appears in the sky, 15 I will remember my promise to you and to all other living creatures. Never again will I let floodwaters destroy all life. 16 When I see the rainbow in the sky, I will always remember the promise that I have made to every living creature. 17 The rainbow will be the sign of that solemn promise.
Noah and His Family
18 Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, left the boat. Ham later had a son named Canaan. 19 All people on earth are descendants of Noah's three sons.
20 Noah farmed the land and was the first to plant a vineyard. 21 One day he got drunk and was lying naked in his tent. 22 Ham entered the tent and saw him naked, then went back outside and told his brothers. 23 Shem and Japheth put a robe over their shoulders and walked backwards into the tent. Without looking at their father, they placed it over his body.
24 When Noah sobered up and learned what his youngest son had done, 25 he said,
“I now put a curse on Canaan!
He will be the lowest slave
of his brothers.
26 I ask the Lord my God
to bless Shem
and make Canaan his slave.
27 I pray God will give Japheth
more and more[ae] land
and let him take over
the territory of Shem.
May Canaan be his slave.”
28 Noah lived 350 years after the flood 29 and died at the age of 950.
The Descendants of Noah
10 After the flood Shem, Ham, and Japheth had many descendants.
The Descendants of Japheth
2-5 Japheth's descendants had their own languages, tribes, and land. They were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.
Gomer was the ancestor of Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.
Javan was the ancestor of Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim,[af] who settled along the coast.
The Descendants of Ham
6-20 Ham's descendants had their own languages, tribes, and land. They were Ethiopia,[ag] Egypt, Put, and Canaan.
Cush[ah] was the ancestor of Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca.
Raamah was the ancestor of Sheba and Dedan.
Cush was also the ancestor of Nimrod, a mighty warrior whose strength came from the Lord. This is why people say: “You hunt like Nimrod with the strength of the Lord!” Nimrod first ruled in Babylon, Erech, and Accad, all of[ai] which were in Babylonia.[aj] From there Nimrod went to Assyria and built the great city of Nineveh. He also built Rehoboth-Ir and Calah, as well as Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah.
Egypt was the ancestor of Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, Pathrusim, Casluhim, and Caphtorim, the ancestor of the Philistines.[ak]
Canaan's sons were Sidon and Heth. Canaan was also the ancestor of the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites.
Later the Canaanites spread from the territory of Sidon and settled as far away as Gaza in the direction of Gerar. They also went as far as Lasha in the direction of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim.
The Descendants of Shem
21-31 Shem's descendants had their own languages, tribes, and land. He was the older brother of Japheth and the ancestor of the tribes of Eber.
Shem was the ancestor of Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram.
Aram was the ancestor of Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.
Arpachshad was the father of Shelah and the grandfather of Eber, whose first son was named Peleg,[al] because it was during his time that tribes divided up the earth. Eber's second son was Joktan.
Joktan was the ancestor of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. Their land reached from Mesha in the direction of Sephar, the hill country in the east.
32 This completes the list of Noah's descendants. After the flood their descendants became nations and spread all over the world.
The Tower of Babel
11 At first everyone spoke the same language, 2 but after some of them moved from the east[am] and settled in Babylonia,[an] 3-4 they said:
Let's build a city with a tower that reaches to the sky! We'll use hard bricks and tar instead of stone and mortar. We'll become famous, and we won't be scattered all over the world.
5 But when the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower, 6 he said:
These people are working together because they all speak the same language. This is just the beginning. Soon they will be able to do anything they want. 7 Let's go down and confuse them! We'll make them speak different languages, and they won't be able to understand each other.
8-9 So the people had to stop building the city, because the Lord confused their language and scattered them all over the earth. That's how the city of Babel[ao] got its name.
The Descendants of Shem
10-11 Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100, he had a son named Arpachshad. He had more children and died at the age of 600. This is a list of his descendants:
12 When Arpachshad was 35, he had a son named Shelah. 13 Arpachshad had more children and died at the age of 438.
14 When Shelah was 30, he had a son named Eber. 15 Shelah had more children and died at the age of 433.
16 When Eber was 34, he had a son named Peleg. 17 Eber had more children and died at the age of 464.
18 When Peleg was 30, he had a son named Reu. 19 Peleg had more children and died at the age of 239.
20 When Reu was 32 he had a son named Serug. 21 Reu had more children and died at the age of 239.
22 When Serug was 30, he had a son named Nahor. 23 Serug had more children and died at the age of 230.
24 When Nahor was 29, he had a son named Terah. 25 Nahor had more children and died at the age of 148.
The Descendants of Terah
26-28 After Terah was 70 years old, he had three sons: Abram, Nahor, and Haran, who became the father of Lot. Terah's sons were born in the city of Ur in Chaldea,[ap] and Haran died there before the death of his father. The following is the story of Terah's descendants.
29-30 Abram married Sarai, but she was not able to have children. And Nahor married Milcah, who was the daughter of Haran and the sister of Iscah.
31 Terah decided to move from Ur to the land of Canaan. He took along Abram and Sarai and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran. But when they came to the city of Haran,[aq] they settled there instead. 32 Terah lived to be 205 years old and died in Haran.
The Lord Chooses Abram
12 (AH) The Lord said to Abram:
Leave your country, your family, and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will bless you and make your descendants into a great nation. You will become famous and be a blessing to others. 3 (AI) I will bless those who bless you, but I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you. Everyone on earth will be blessed because of you.[ar]
4-5 Abram was 75 years old when the Lord told him to leave the city of Haran. He obeyed and left with his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and slaves they had acquired while in Haran.
When they came to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram went as far as the sacred tree of Moreh in a place called Shechem. The Canaanites were still living in the land at that time, 7 (AJ) but the Lord appeared to Abram and promised, “I will give this land to your family forever.” Abram then built an altar there for the Lord.
8 Abram traveled to the hill country east of Bethel and camped between Bethel and Ai, where he built another altar and worshiped the Lord. 9 Later, Abram started out toward the Southern Desert.
Abram in Egypt
10-11 The crops failed, and there was no food anywhere in Canaan. So Abram and his wife Sarai went to live in Egypt for a while. But just before they got there, Abram said, “Sarai, you are really beautiful! 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will murder me because I am your husband. But they won't kill you. 13 (AK) Please save my life by saying you are my sister.”
14 As soon as Abram and Sarai arrived in Egypt, the Egyptians noticed how beautiful she was. 15 The king's[as] officials told him about her, and she was taken to his house. 16 The king was good to Abram because of Sarai, and Abram was given sheep, cattle, donkeys, slaves, and camels.
17 Because of Sarai, the Lord struck the king and everyone in his palace with terrible diseases. 18 Finally, the king sent for Abram and said to him, “What have you done to me? Why didn't you tell me Sarai was your wife? 19 Why did you make me believe she was your sister? Now I've married her. Take her and go! She's your wife.”
20 So the king told his men to let Abram and Sarai take their possessions and leave.
Abram and Lot Separate
13 Abram and Sarai took everything they owned and went to the Southern Desert. Lot went with them.
2 Abram was very rich. He owned many cattle, sheep, and goats, and had a lot of silver and gold. 3 Abram moved from place to place in the Southern Desert. And finally, he went north and set up his tents between Bethel and Ai, 4 where he had earlier camped and built an altar. There he worshiped the Lord.
5 Lot, who was traveling with him, also had sheep, goats, and cattle, as well as his own family and slaves. 6-7 At this time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were still living in the same area, and so there wasn't enough pastureland left for Abram and Lot with all of their animals. Besides this, the men who took care of Abram's animals and the ones who took care of Lot's animals started quarreling.
8 Abram said to Lot, “We are close relatives. We shouldn't argue, and our men shouldn't be fighting one another. 9 There is plenty of land for you to choose from. Let's separate. If you go north, I'll go south; if you go south, I'll go north.”
10 (AL) This happened before the Lord had destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. And when Lot looked around, he saw there was plenty of water in the Jordan Valley. All the way to Zoar the valley was as green as the garden of the Lord or the land of Egypt. 11 So Lot chose the whole Jordan Valley for himself, and as he started out toward the east, he and Abram separated. 12 Abram stayed in the land of Canaan. But Lot settled near the cities of the valley and put up his tents not far from Sodom, 13 where the people were evil and sinned terribly against the Lord.
Abram Moves to Hebron
14 After Abram and Lot had gone their separate ways, the Lord said to Abram:
Look around to the north, south, east, and west. 15 (AM) I will give you and your family all the land you can see. It will be theirs forever! 16 I will give you more descendants than there are specks of dust on the earth, and someday it will be easier to count those specks of dust than to count your descendants. 17 Now walk back and forth across the land, because I am going to give it to you.
18 Abram took down his tents and went to live near the sacred trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar in honor of the Lord.
Abram Rescues Lot
14 About this time, King Amraphel of Babylonia,[at] King Arioch of Ellasar, King Chedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim 2 attacked King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, a city also known as Zoar. 3-4 King Chedorlaomer and his allies had ruled these last five kings for twelve years, but in the thirteenth year the kings rebelled and joined forces in Siddim Valley, which is now covered by the southern part of the Dead Sea.
5 A year later King Chedorlaomer and his allies attacked and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth-Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, and the Emites in Shaveh-Kiriathaim. 6 They also defeated the Horites in the hill country of Edom,[au] as far as El-Paran, near the desert.
7 They went back to the city of Enmishpat, better known as Kadesh. Then they captured all the land that belonged to the Amalekites, and they defeated the Amorites who were living in Hazazon-Tamar.
8-9 At Siddim Valley, the armies of the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela fought the armies of King Chedorlaomer of Elam, King Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel of Babylonia, and King Arioch of Ellasar. The valley 10 was full of tar pits, and when the troops from Sodom and Gomorrah started running away, some of them fell into the pits. Others escaped to the hill country. 11 Their enemies took everything of value from Sodom and Gomorrah, including their food supplies. 12 They also captured Abram's nephew Lot, who lived in Sodom. They took him and his possessions and then left.
13 At this time Abram the Hebrew was living near the oaks that belonged to Mamre the Amorite. Mamre and his brothers Eshcol and Aner were Abram's friends. Someone who had escaped from the battle told Abram 14 that his nephew Lot had been taken away. Three hundred and eighteen of Abram's servants were fighting men, so he took them and followed the enemy as far north as the city of Dan.
15 That night, Abram divided up his troops, attacked from all sides, and won a great victory. But some of the enemy escaped to the town of Hobah north of Damascus, 16 and Abram went after them. He brought back his nephew Lot, together with Lot's possessions and the women and everyone else who had been captured.
Abram Is Blessed by Melchizedek
17 Abram returned after he had defeated King Chedorlaomer and the other kings. Then the king of Sodom went to meet Abram in Shaveh Valley, which is also known as King's Valley.
18 (AN) King Melchizedek of Salem was a priest of God Most High. He brought out some bread and wine 19 and said to Abram:
“I bless you in the name
of God Most High,
Creator of heaven and earth.
20 All praise belongs
to God Most High
for helping you defeat
your enemies.”
Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything.
21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “All I want are my people. You can keep everything else.”
22 Abram answered:
The Lord God Most High made the heavens and the earth. And I have promised him 23 that I won't keep anything of yours, not even a sandal strap or a piece of thread. Then you can never say that you are the one who made me rich. 24 Let my share be the food that my men have eaten. But Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre went with me, so give them their share of what we brought back.
The Lord's Promise to Abram
15 Later the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision, “Abram, don't be afraid! I will protect you and reward you greatly.”
2 But Abram answered, “Lord All-Powerful, you have given me everything I could ask for, except children. And when I die, Eliezer of Damascus will get all I own.[av] 3 You have not given me any children, and this servant of mine will inherit everything.”
4 The Lord replied, “No, he won't! You will have a son of your own, and everything you have will be his.” 5 (AO) Then the Lord took Abram outside and said, “Look at the sky and see if you can count the stars. That's how many descendants you will have.” 6 (AP) Abram believed the Lord, so the Lord was pleased with him and accepted him.
The Lord Makes Another Promise to Abram
7 The Lord said to Abram, “I brought you here from Ur in Chaldea, and I gave you this land.”
8 Abram asked, “Lord God, how can I know the land will be mine?”
9 Then the Lord told him, “Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a dove, and a young pigeon.”
10 Abram obeyed the Lord. Then he cut[aw] the animals in half and laid the two halves of each animal opposite each other on the ground. But he did not cut the doves and pigeons in half. 11 And when birds came down to eat the animals, Abram chased them away.
12 (AQ) As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and everything became dark and frightening. 13-15 (AR) Then the Lord said:
Abram, you will live to an old age and die in peace.
But I solemnly promise that your descendants will live as foreigners in a land that doesn't belong to them. They will be forced into slavery and abused for 400 years. But I will terribly punish the nation that enslaves them, and they will leave with many possessions.
16 Four generations later,[ax] your descendants will return here and take this land, because only then will the people who live here[ay] be so sinful that they deserve to be punished.
17 Sometime after sunset, when it was very dark, a smoking cooking pot[az] and a flaming fire passed between the two halves of each animal. 18 (AS) At that time the Lord made an agreement with Abram and told him:
I will give your descendants the land east of the Shihor River[ba] on the border of Egypt as far as the Euphrates River. 19 They will possess the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaites, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
Hagar and Ishmael
16 Abram's wife Sarai had not been able to have any children. But she owned a young Egyptian slave woman named Hagar, 2 and Sarai said to Abram, “The Lord has not given me any children. Sleep with my slave, and if she has a child, it will be mine.”[bb] Abram agreed, 3 and Sarai gave him Hagar to be his wife. This happened after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan for ten years. 4 Later, when Hagar knew she was going to have a baby, she became proud and treated Sarai hatefully.
5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “It's all your fault![bc] I gave you my slave woman, but she has been hateful to me ever since she found out she was pregnant. You have done me wrong, and you will have to answer to the Lord for this.”
6 Abram said, “All right! She's your slave—do whatever you want with her.” Then Sarai began treating Hagar so harshly that she finally ran away.
7 Hagar stopped to rest at a spring in the desert on the road to Shur. While she was there, the angel of the Lord came to her 8 and asked, “Hagar, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
She answered, “I'm running away from Sarai, my owner.”
9 The angel said, “Go back to Sarai and be her slave. 10-11 I will give you a son, who will be called Ishmael,[bd] because I have heard your cry for help. And someday I will give you so many descendants that no one will be able to count them all. 12 But your son will live far from his relatives; he will be like a wild donkey, fighting everyone, and everyone fighting him.”
13 Hagar thought, “Have I really seen God and lived to tell about it?”[be] So from then on she called him, “The God Who Sees Me.”[bf] 14 That's why people call the well between Kadesh and Bered, “The Well of the Living One Who Sees Me.”[bg]
15-16 (AT) Abram was 86 years old when Hagar gave birth to their son, and he named him Ishmael.
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