Cain Murders Abel

4 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore 1Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.” 2 Then she bore again, this time his brother 2Abel. Now aAbel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And 3in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit bof the ground to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought of cthe firstborn of his flock and of dtheir fat. And the Lord erespected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.

6 So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is 4for you, but you should rule over it.”

8 Now Cain 5talked with Abel his 6brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and fkilled him.

9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?”

He said, g“I do not know. Am I hmy brother’s keeper?”

10 And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood icries out to Me from the ground. 11 So now jyou are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.”

13 And Cain said to the Lord, “My 7punishment is greater than I can bear! 14 Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; kI shall be lhidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen that manyone who finds me will kill me.”

15 And the Lord said to him, 8“Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him nsevenfold.” And the Lord set a omark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.

The Family of Cain

16 Then Cain pwent out from the qpresence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of 9Nod on the east of Eden. 17 And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, rand called the name of the city after the name of his son—Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad; and Irad begot Mehujael, and Mehujael begot Methushael, and Methushael begot Lamech.

19 Then Lamech took for himself stwo wives: the name of one was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah. 20 And Adah bore Jabal. He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal. He was the father of all those who play the harp and 1flute. 22 And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.

23 Then Lamech said to his wives:

“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;

Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech!

For I have 2killed a man for wounding me,

Even a young man 3for hurting me.

24 tIf Cain shall be avenged sevenfold,

Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”

A New Son

25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and unamed him 4Seth, “For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.” 26 And as for Seth, vto him also a son was born; and he named him 5Enosh. Then men began wto call on the name of the Lord.

The Son of Promise

18 Then the Lord appeared to him by 1the aterebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 bSo he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; cand when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, 3 and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. 4 Please let da little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 And eI will bring a morsel of bread, that fyou may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, ginasmuch as you have come to your servant.”

They said, “Do as you have said.”

6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes.” 7 And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it. 8 So hhe took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.

9 Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?”

So he said, “Here, iin the tent.”

10 And He said, “I will certainly return to you jaccording to the time of life, and behold, kSarah your wife shall have a son.”

(Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) 11 Now lAbraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and 2Sarah mhad passed the age of childbearing. 12 Therefore Sarah nlaughed within herself, saying, o“After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my plord being old also?”

13 And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ 14 qIs anything too hard for the Lord? rAt the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”

15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid.

And He said, “No, but you did laugh!”

Abraham Intercedes for Sodom

16 Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them sto send them on the way. 17 And the Lord said, t“Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, 18 since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be ublessed in him? 19 For I have known him, in order vthat he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” 20 And the Lord said, “Because wthe outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their xsin is very grave, 21 yI will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, zI will know.”

22 Then the men turned away from there aand went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. 23 And Abraham bcame near and said, c“Would You also ddestroy the erighteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? 25 Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so fthat the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! gShall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

26 So the Lord said,

Lot’s Captivity and Rescue

14 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king aof Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of bElam, and Tidal king of 1nations, 2 that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of cAdmah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, dZoar). 3 All these joined together in the Valley of Siddim e(that is, the Salt Sea). 4 Twelve years fthey served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

5 In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him came and attacked gthe Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, hthe Zuzim in Ham, ithe Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 6 jand the Horites in their mountain of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is by the wilderness. 7 Then they turned back and came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and attacked all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who dwelt kin Hazezon Tamar.

8 And 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 joined together in battle in the Valley of Siddim 9 against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of 2nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of lasphalt pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled; some fell there, and the remainder fled mto the mountains. 11 Then they took nall the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. 12 They also took Lot, Abram’s obrother’s son pwho dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the qHebrew, for rhe dwelt by 3the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; sand they were allies with Abram. 14 Now twhen Abram heard that uhis brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were vborn in his own house, and went in pursuit was far as Dan. 15 He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants xattacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is 4north of Damascus. 16 So he ybrought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.

17 And the king of Sodom zwent out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the aKing’s Valley), bafter his return from 5the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him.

Abram and Melchizedek

18 Then cMelchizedek king of Salem brought out dbread and wine; he was ethe priest of fGod Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said:

g“Blessed be Abram of God Most High,

hPossessor of heaven and earth;

20 And iblessed be God Most High,

Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”

And he jgave him 6a tithe of all.

21 Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the 7persons, and take the goods for yourself.”

22 But Abram ksaid to the king of Sodom, “I lhave raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, mthe Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that nI will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’—24 except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.”