Jan 5 - Genesis 13-16
Genesis
1Therefore, Abram ascended from Egypt, he and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, toward the southern region2But he was very wealthy by the possession of gold and silver3And he returned by the way that he came, from the meridian into Bethel, all the way to the place where before he had pitched his tent, between Bethel and Hai4There, at the place of the altar he had made before, he again called upon the name of the Lord5But Lot also, who was with Abram, had flocks of sheep, and cattle, and tents6Neither was the land able to contain them, so that they might dwell together. Indeed, their substance was so great that they could not live in common7And then there also arose a conflict between the shepherds of Abram and of Lot. Now at that time the Canaanite and the Perizzite lived in that land8Therefore, Abram said to Lot: "I ask you, let there be no quarrel between me and you, and between my shepherds and your shepherds. For we are brothers9Behold, the entire land is before your eyes. Withdraw from me, I beg you. If you will go to the left, I will take the right. If you choose the right, I will pass to the left.10And so Lot, lifting up his eyes, saw all the region around the Jordan, which was thoroughly irrigated, before the Lord overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It was like the Paradise of the Lord, and it was like Egypt, approaching toward Zoar11And Lot chose for himself the region around the Jordan, and he withdrew by way of the east. And they were divided, one brother from the other12Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan. In truth, Lot stayed in the towns that were around the Jordan, and he lived in Sodom13But the men of Sodom were very wicked, and they were sinners before the Lord beyond measure14And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot was divided from him: "Lift up your eyes, and gaze out from the place where you are now, to the north and to the meridian, to the east and to the west15All the land that you see, I will give to you, and to your offspring even forever16And I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth. If any man is able to number the dust of the earth, he will be able to number your offspring as well17Arise and walk through the land in its length, and breadth. For I will give it to you.18Therefore, moving his tent, Abram went and dwelt by the steep valley of Mamre, which is in Hebron. And he built an altar there to the Lord
1Now it happened in that time that Amraphel, king of Shinar, and Arioch, king of Pontus, and Chedorlaomer, king of the Elamites, and Tidal, king of the Nations2went to war against Bera, king of Sodom, and against Birsha, king of Gomorrah, and against Shinab, king of Admah, and against Shemeber, king of Zeboiim, and against the king of Bela, that is Zoar3All these came together in the wooded valley, which is now the Sea of Salt4For they had served Chedorlaomer for twelve years, and in the thirteenth year they withdrew from him5Therefore, in the fourteenth year, Chedorlaomer arrived, and the kings who were with him. And they struck the Rephaim at Ashteroth of the two horns, and the Zuzim with them, and the Emim at Shaveh-Kiriathaim6and the Chorreans in the mountains of Seir, even to the plains of Paran, which is in wilderness7And they returned and arrived at the fountain of Mishpat, which is Kadesh. And they struck the entire region of the Amalekites, and the Amorites who dwelt in Hazazontamar8And the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and indeed the king of Bela, which is Zoar, went forth. And they directed their point against them in the wooded valley9namely, against Chedorlaomer, king of the Elamites, and Tidal, king of the Nations, and Amraphel, king of Shinar, and Arioch, king of Pontus: four kings against five10Now the wooded valley had many pits of bitumen. And so the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah turned back and they fell there. And those who remained, fled to the mountain11Then they took all the substance of the Sodomites and the Gomorrahites, and all that pertained to food, and they went away12along with both Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, who lived in Sodom, and his substance13And behold, one who had escaped reported it to Abram the Hebrew, who lived in the steep valley of Mamre the Amorite, who was the brother of Eshcol, and the brother of Aner. For these had formed an agreement with Abram14When Abram had heard this, namely, that his brother Lot had been taken captive, he numbered three hundred and eighteen of his own armed men and he went in pursuit all the way to Dan15And dividing his company, he rushed upon them in the night. And he struck them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus16And he brought back all the substance, and Lot his brother, with his substance, likewise the women and the people17Then the king of Sodom went out to meet him, after he returned from the slaughter at Chedorlaomer, and the kings who were with him at the valley of Shaveh, which is the valley of the king18Then in truth, Melchizedek, the king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine, for he was a priest of the Most High God19he blessed him, and he said: "Blessed be Abram by the Most High God, who created heaven and earth20And blessed be the Most High God, through whose protection the enemies are in your hands." And he gave him tithes from everything21Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me these souls, and take the rest for yourself.22And he responded to him: "I lift up my hand to the Lord God, the Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth23that from one thread within a blanket, even to a single shoelace, I will not take anything from that which is yours, lest you say, ‘I have enriched Abram,24except that which the young men have eaten, and the shares for the men who came with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. These will take their shares.
1And so, these things having been transacted, the word of the Lord came to Abram by a vision, saying: "Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your protector, and your reward is exceedingly great.2And Abram said: "Lord God, what will you give to me? I may go without children. And the son of the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus.3And Abram added: "Yet to me you have not given offspring. And behold, my servant born in my house will be my heir.4And immediately the word of the Lord came to him, saying: "This one will not be your heir. But he who will come from your loins, the same will you have for your heir.5And he brought him outside, and he said to him, "Take in the heavens, and number the stars, if you can." And he said to him, "So also will your offspring be.6Abram believed God, and it was reputed to him unto justice7And he said to him, "I am the Lord who led you away from Ur of the Chaldeans, so as to give you this land, and so that you would possess it.8But he said, "Lord God, in what way may I be able to know that I will possess it?9And the Lord responded by saying: "Take for me a cow of three years, and a she-goat of three years, and a ram of three years, also a turtle-dove and a pigeon.10Taking all these, he divided them through the middle, and placed both parts opposite one another. But the birds he did not divide11And birds descended upon the carcasses, but Abram drove them away12And when the sun was setting, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a dread, great and dark, invaded him13And it was said to him: "Know beforehand that your future offspring will be sojourners in a land not their own, and they will subjugate them in servitude and afflict them for four hundred years14Yet truly, I will judge the nation that they will serve, and after this they will depart with great substance15But you will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age16But in the fourth generation, they will return here. For the iniquities of the Amorites are not yet completed, even to this present time.17Then, when the sun had set, there came a dark mist, and there appeared a smoking furnace and a lamp of fire passing between those divisions18On that day, God formed a covenant with Abram, saying: "To your offspring I will give this land, from the river of Egypt, even to the great river Euphrates19the land of the Kenites and the Kenizzites, the Kadmonite20and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, likewise the Rephaim21and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
1Now Sarai, the wife of Abram, had not conceived children. But, having an Egyptian handmaid named Hagar2she said to her husband: "Behold, the Lord has closed me, lest I give birth. Enter to my handmaid, so that perhaps I may receive sons of her at least." And when he agreed to her supplication3she took Hagar the Egyptian, her handmaid, ten years after they began to live in the land of Canaan, and she gave her to her husband as a wife4And he entered to her. But when she saw that she had conceived, she despised her mistress5And Sarai said to Abram: "You have acted unfairly against me. I gave my handmaid into your bosom, who, when she saw that she had conceived, held me in contempt. May the Lord judge between me and you.6Abram responded to her by saying, "Behold, your handmaid is in your hand to treat as it pleases you." And so, when Sarai afflicted her, she took flight7And when the Angel of the Lord had found her, near the fountain of water in the wilderness, which is on the way to Shur in the desert8he said to her: "Hagar, handmaid of Sarai, where have you come from? And where will you go?" And she answered, "I flee from the face of Sarai, my mistress.9And the Angel of the Lord said to her, "Return to your mistress, and humble yourself under her hand.10And again he said, "I will multiply your offspring continuously, and they will not be numbered because of their multitude.11But thereafter he said: "Behold, you have conceived, and you will give birth to a son. And you shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has heard your affliction12He will be a wild man. His hand will be against all, and all hands will be against him. And he will pitch his tents away from the region of all his brothers.13Then she called upon the name of the Lord who had spoken to her: "You are the God who has seen me." For she said, "Certainly, here I have seen the back of the one who sees me.14Because of this, she called that well: ‘The well of the one who lives and who sees me.’ The same is between Kadesh and Bered15And Hagar gave birth to a son for Abram, who called his name Ishmael16Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael for him