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5 And Lot, who went with Abram, also had herds and tents. 6 And the land could not support them[a] so as to live together, because their possessions were so many that[b] they were not able to live together. 7 And there was a quarrel between the herdsmen of the livestock of Abram and the herdsmen of the livestock of Lot. Now at that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land. 8 Then Abram said to Lot, “Please, let there not be quarreling between me and you, and between my shepherds and your shepherds, for we men are brothers. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you want what is on the left, then I will go right; if you want what is on the right, I will go left.” 10 And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw the whole plain of the Jordan, that all of it was well-watered land—this was before Yahweh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like the garden of Yahweh, like the land of Egypt in the direction of[c] Zoar. 11 So[d] Lot chose for himself all the plain of the Jordan. And Lot journeyed from the east, and so they separated from each other.[e] 12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, and Lot settled in the cities of the plain. And he pitched his tent toward Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom were extremely wicked sinners against Yahweh.[f] 14 And Yahweh said to Abram after Lot had separated from him, “Now, lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are to the north, and to the south, and to the east and to the west, 15 for all the land which you see I will give to you, and to your descendants, forever. 16 I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth which, if anyone were able to count the dust of the earth, your descendants would be so counted. 17 Arise, go through the length of the land and through its breadth, for I will give it to you.” 18 So[g] Abram pitched his tent, and he came and settled at the oaks of Mamre, which were at Hebron. And there he built an altar to Yahweh.
Abram Rescues Lot
14 And it happened that in the days of Amraphel, the king of Shinar, Arioch, the king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer, the king of Elam, and Tidal, the king of Goiim, 2 made war with Bera, the king of Sodom, and Birsha, the king of Gomorrah, Shinab, the king of Admah, and Shemeber, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 3 All these joined forces at the valley of Siddim (that is, the sea of the salt). 4 Twelve years they had served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5 In the fourteenth year Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-Karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh-Kiriathaim, 6 And the Horites in their hill country of Seir, as far as El-Paran, which is at the wilderness. 7 Then[h] they turned back and came to En-Mishpat (that is, Kadesh). And they defeated the whole territory of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who were living in Hazazon-Tamar. 8 Then[i] 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 they took up battle position[j] in the Valley of Siddim 9 with Kedorlaomer, king of Elam, and Tidal, king of Goiim, and Amraphel, king of Shinar, and Arioch, king of Ellasar, four kings against five. 10 Now[k] the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits.[l] And the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled and fell into them,[m] but the rest fled to the mountains. 11 So[n] they[o] took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their provisions, and they left. 12 And they[p] took Lot, the son of the brother of Abram, and his possessions, and left. (Now he had been living in Sodom.) 13 Then[q] one who escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew. And he was living at the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner. They were allies with Abram.[r] 14 When[s] Abram heard that his relative[t] was taken captive, he summoned his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen of them, and he went in pursuit up to Dan. 15 And he divided his trained men against them at night, he and his servants. And he defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, which is north of Damascus. 16 And he brought back all the possessions. And he also brought back Lot, his relative,[u] and his possessions, and the women and the people as well.
Abram Meets Melchizedek
17 After his return from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the Valley of the King). 18 And Melchizedek, the king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. (He was the priest of God Most High). 19 And he blessed him and said,
“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Maker of heaven and earth.
20 And blessed be God Most High
who delivered your enemies into your hand.”
And he[v] gave to him a tenth of everything. 21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people, but the possessions take for yourself.” 22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to Yahweh, God Most High, Maker of heaven and earth, 23 that neither a thread nor[w] a thong of a sandal would I take from all that belongs to you, that you might not say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ 24 Nothing besides what[x] the servants have eaten and the share of the men who went out with me will I take. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.”
Yahweh’s Covenant with Abram
15 After these things the word of Yahweh came[y] to Abram in a vision, saying: “Do not be afraid, Abram; I am your shield, and your reward shall be very great.” 2 Then[z] Abram said, “O Yahweh, my Lord, what will you give me? I continue to be[aa] childless, and my heir[ab] is Eliezer of Damascus.” 3 And Abram said, “Look, you have not given me a descendant, and here, a member of my household[ac] is my heir.”[ad] 4 And behold, the word of Yahweh came to him saying, “This person will not be your heir,[ae] but your own son will be your heir.”[af] 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward the heavens and count the stars if you are able to count them.” And he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed in Yahweh, and he reckoned it to him as righteousness. 7 And he said to him, “I am Yahweh, who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give this land to you, to possess it.” 8 And he said, “O Yahweh God, how shall I know that I will possess it?” 9 And he said to him, “Take for me a three-year-old heifer, and a three-year-old female goat, and a three-year-old ram, and a turtledove and a young pigeon.” 10 And he took for him all these and cut them in pieces down the middle. And he put each piece opposite the other,[ag] but the birds he did not cut. 11 And the birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. 12 And it happened, as the sun went down,[ah] then a deep sleep fell upon Abram and, behold, a great terrifying darkness fell upon him. 13 And he said to Abram, “You must surely know[ai] that your descendants shall be as aliens in a land not their own.[aj] And they shall serve them[ak] and they[al] shall oppress them four hundred years. 14 And also the nation that they[am] serve I will judge. Then[an] afterward they shall go out with great possessions. 15 And as for you, you shall go to your ancestors[ao] in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16 And the fourth generation shall return here, for the guilt of the Amorites is not yet complete.”[ap] 17 And after the sun had gone down and it was dusk, behold, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch passed between those half pieces. 18 On that day Yahweh made[aq] a covenant with Abram saying, “To your offspring I will give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates river, 19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”
The Sermon on the Mount: Adultery and Lust
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’[a] 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 And if your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it from you! For it is better for you that one of your members be destroyed than your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it from you! For it is better for you that one of your limbs be destroyed than your whole body go into hell.
The Sermon on the Mount: Divorce
31 “And it was said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’[b] 32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for a matter of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
The Sermon on the Mount: Taking Oaths
33 “Again you have heard that it was said to the people of old,[c] ‘Do not swear falsely,[d] but fulfill your oaths to the Lord.’[e] 34 But I say to you, do not swear at all, either by heaven, because it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, because it is the footstool of his feet, or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great king. 36 And do not swear by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black. 37 But let your statement be ‘Yes, yes; no, no,’ and anything beyond these is from the evil one.[f]
The Sermon on the Mount: Retaliation
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’[g] 39 But I say to you, do not resist the evildoer, but whoever strikes you on the right cheek,[h] turn the other to him also. 40 And the one who wants to go to court with you and take your tunic, let him have[i] your outer garment also. 41 And whoever forces you to go one mile,[j] go with him two. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
The Sermon on the Mount: Love for Enemies
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’[k] and ‘Hate your enemy.’[l] 44 But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven, because he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not the tax collectors also do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing that is remarkable? Do not the Gentiles also do the same? 48 Therefore you be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.
An Appeal for Forgiveness and Deliverance
For the music director; with stringed instruments, on the Sheminith.[a]
A psalm of David.[b]
6 O Yahweh, do not rebuke me in your anger,
and do not discipline me in your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, O Yahweh, because I am feeble.
Heal me, O Yahweh, for my bones are terrified.
3 My soul is also very terrified.
But you, O Yahweh, how long?
4 Turn, O Yahweh; deliver my life.[c]
Save me for the sake of your steadfast love.[d]
5 For there is no remembrance of you in death.
In Sheol, who will give thanks to you?
6 I am weary with my groaning;
I flood[e] my bed every night.
With my tears I drench[f] my couch.
7 My eye wastes away because of vexation;
it grows old because of all my oppressors.
8 Depart from me, all workers of evil,
for Yahweh has heard the sound of my weeping.
9 Yahweh has heard my plea;
Yahweh has accepted my prayer.
10 All my enemies shall be ashamed and shall be very terrified.
They shall turn back; they shall suddenly be ashamed.
29 Since they hated knowledge,
and did not choose the fear of Yahweh,
30 they were not willing to accept my counsel,
they despised all my reproof.
31 They shall eat from the fruit of their way,
and they shall be sated from their own schemes,
32 for the waywardness of the simple ones will kill them,
and the complacency of fools will destroy them.
33 Whoever listens to me will dwell in security
and rest securely[a] from dread and disaster.”
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