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5 Now (A)Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. 6 And (B)the land could not [a]sustain them [b]while dwelling together, (C)for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together. 7 (D)And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now (E)the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land.
8 (F)So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left.” 10 Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the [c](G)valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere—this was before the Lord (H)destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like (I)the garden of the Lord, (J)like the land of Egypt as you go to (K)Zoar. 11 So Lot chose for himself all the [d]valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other. 12 Abram [e]settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot [f]settled in (L)the cities of the [g]valley, and moved his tents as far as Sodom. 13 Now (M)the men of Sodom were wicked [h]exceedingly and (N)sinners against the Lord.
14 The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “(O)Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, (P)northward and southward and eastward and westward; 15 (Q)for all the land which you see, (R)I will give it to you and to your [i]descendants forever. 16 I will make your [j]descendants (S)as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your [k]descendants can also be numbered. 17 Arise, (T)walk about the land through its length and breadth; for (U)I will give it to you.” 18 Then Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt by the [l](V)oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built (W)an altar to the Lord.
War of the Kings
14 And it came about in the days of Amraphel king of (X)Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of (Y)Elam, and Tidal king of [m]Goiim, 2 that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of (Z)Admah, and Shemeber king of (AA)Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, (AB)Zoar). 3 All these [n]came as allies to (AC)the valley of Siddim (that is, (AD)the Salt Sea). 4 Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5 In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, came and [o]defeated the (AE)Rephaim in (AF)Ashteroth-karnaim and the Zuzim in Ham and the Emim in [p](AG)Shaveh-kiriathaim, 6 and the (AH)Horites in their Mount Seir, as far as (AI)El-paran, which is by the wilderness. 7 Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, (AJ)Kadesh), and [q]conquered all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, who lived in (AK)Hazazon-tamar. 8 And the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah and the king of Admah and the king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) came out; and they arrayed for battle against them in (AL)the valley of Siddim, 9 against Chedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of [r]Goiim and Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. 10 Now the valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and (AM)the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell [s]into them. But those who survived fled to the (AN)hill country. 11 Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food supply, and departed. 12 They also took Lot, (AO)Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed, (AP)for he was living in Sodom.
13 Then [t]a fugitive came and told Abram the (AQ)Hebrew. Now he was [u]living by the [v](AR)oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and these were [w](AS)allies with Abram. 14 When Abram heard that (AT)his [x]relative had been taken captive, he [y]led out his trained men, (AU)born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far as (AV)Dan. 15 (AW)He divided [z]his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and [aa]defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is [ab]north of (AX)Damascus. 16 He (AY)brought back all the goods, and also brought back (AZ)his [ac]relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women, and the people.
God’s Promise to Abram
17 Then after his return from the [ad]defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, (BA)the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the valley of Shaveh (that is, (BB)the King’s Valley). 18 And (BC)Melchizedek king of Salem brought out (BD)bread and wine; now he was a (BE)priest of [ae]God Most High. 19 He blessed him and said,
“Blessed be Abram of [af]God Most High,
[ag](BF)Possessor of heaven and earth;
20 And blessed be [ah]God Most High,
Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”
(BG)He gave him a tenth of all. 21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give the [ai]people to me and take the goods for yourself.” 22 Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have [aj]sworn to the Lord [ak](BH)God Most High, [al](BI)possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that (BJ)I will not take a thread or a sandal thong or anything that is yours, for fear you would say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ 24 [am]I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me, (BK)Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their share.”
Abram Promised a Son
15 After these things (BL)the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying,
2 Abram said, “O Lord [ao]God, what will You give me, since I [ap]am childless, and the [aq]heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “[ar]Since You have given no [as]offspring to me, [at]one (BP)born in my house is my heir.” 4 Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; (BQ)but one who will come forth from your own [au]body, he shall be your heir.” 5 And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and (BR)count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “(BS)So shall your [av]descendants be.” 6 (BT)Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. 7 And He said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of (BU)Ur of the Chaldeans, to (BV)give you this land to [aw]possess it.” 8 He said, “O Lord [ax]God, (BW)how may I know that I will [ay]possess it?” 9 So He said to him, “[az]Bring 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 Then he [ba]brought all these to Him and (BX)cut them [bb]in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he (BY)did not cut the birds. 11 The birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.
12 Now when the sun was going down, (BZ)a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, [bc]terror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 God said to Abram, “Know for certain that (CA)your [bd]descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, [be]where (CB)they will be enslaved and oppressed (CC)four hundred years. 14 But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out (CD)with [bf]many possessions. 15 As for you, (CE)you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. 16 Then in (CF)the fourth generation they will return here, for (CG)the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.”
17 It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which (CH)passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying,
“(CI)To your [bg]descendants I have given this land,
From (CJ)the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:
19 (CK)the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite 20 and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim 21 and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite.”
27 “(A)You have heard that it was said, ‘(B)You shall not commit adultery’; 28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman (C)with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 (D)If your right eye makes you [a]stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you [b]to lose one of the parts of your body, [c]than for your whole body to be thrown into [d](E)hell. 30 (F)If your right hand makes you [e]stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you [f]to lose one of the parts of your body, [g]than for your whole body to go into [h](G)hell.
31 “It was said, ‘(H)Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’; 32 (I)but I say to you that everyone who [i]divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a [j]divorced woman commits adultery.
33 “Again, (J)you have heard that [k]the ancients were told, ‘[l](K)You shall not [m]make false vows, but shall fulfill your [n]vows to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, (L)make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is (M)the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is the (N)footstool of His feet, or [o]by Jerusalem, for it is (O)the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is [p]of (P)evil.
38 “(Q)You have heard that it was said, ‘(R)An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but (S)whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 If anyone wants to sue you and take your [q]shirt, let him have your [r]coat also. 41 Whoever [s]forces you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 (T)Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.
43 “(U)You have heard that it was said, ‘(V)You shall love your neighbor (W)and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, (X)love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may [t]be (Y)sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For (Z)if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Therefore [u](AA)you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Prayer for Mercy in Time of Trouble.
For the choir director; with stringed instruments, [a]upon an eight-string lyre. A Psalm of David.
6 O Lord, (A)do not rebuke me in Your anger,
Nor chasten me in Your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am (B)pining away;
(C)Heal me, O Lord, for (D)my bones are dismayed.
3 And my (E)soul is greatly dismayed;
But You, O Lord—(F)how long?
4 Return, O Lord, (G)rescue my [b]soul;
Save me because of Your lovingkindness.
5 For (H)there is no [c]mention of You in death;
In [d]Sheol who will give You thanks?
29 Because they (A)hated knowledge
And did not choose the fear of the Lord.
30 “They (B)would not accept my counsel,
They spurned all my reproof.
31 “So they shall (C)eat of the fruit of their own way
And be (D)satiated with their own devices.
32 “For the (E)waywardness of the [a]naive will kill them,
And the complacency of fools will destroy them.
33 “But (F)he who listens to me shall [b]live securely
And will be at ease from the dread of evil.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.