Genesis 14–15

Chapter 14

¹And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel the king of Shinar, Arioch the king of El-lasar, Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and Tidal the king of nations, ²that they made war with Bera the king of Sodom, and with Birsha the king of Gomorrah, Shinab the king of Admah, and Shemeber the king of Zeboim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar. ³All these were joined in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea. ⁴Twelve years had they served Chedorlaomer; and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. ⁵And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh-Kirjathaim, ⁶and the Horites on their mount Seir, to El-Paran, which is by the wilderness. ⁷And they returned, and came to En-mishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites that dwelt at Hazazon-Tamar. ⁸And the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar, went out, and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim, ⁹with Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and Tidal the king of nations, and Amraphel the king of Shinar, and Arioch the king of Ellasar—four kings with the five. ¹⁰And the vale of Siddim was full of pits of asphalt. And the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there: and they that remained fled to the mountain. ¹¹And they took all the property of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and departed. ¹²And they took Lot and his property, Abram’s brother’s son, and departed. For he dwelt in Sodom.

¹³And one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew. And he dwelt by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, the brother of Eshcol, and the brother of Aner. And these were Abram’s allies. ¹⁴And Abram heard that his brother was taken captive; and he led out his trained servants, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them as far as Dan. ¹⁵And he divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and smote them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is to the left of Damascus. ¹⁶And he brought back all the property, and brought again his brother Lot and his property, and the women also, and the people.

¹⁷And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after he had returned from smiting Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, into the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s valley. ¹⁸And Melchisedec king of Salem brought out bread and wine. And he was priest of the Most High •God. ¹⁹And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the Most High •God, possessor of heavens and earth. ²⁰And blessed be the Most High •God, who has delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him the tenth of all.

²¹And the king of Sodom said to Abram, Give me the souls, and take the property for thyself. ²²And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted up my hand to Jehovah, the Most High •God, possessor of heavens and earth, ²³if from a thread even to a sandal-thong, yes, if of all that is thine, I take anything …;that thou mayest not say, I have made Abram rich; ²⁴save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men that went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, let them take their portion.

Chapter 15

¹After these things the word of Jehovah came to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram; I am thy shield, thy exceeding great reward.

²And Abram said, Lord Jehovah, what wilt thou give me? seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus. ³And Abram said, Lo, to me thou hast given no seed, and behold, a son of my house will be mine heir. ⁴And behold, the word of Jehovah came to him, saying, This shall not be thine heir, but he that will come forth out of thy body shall be thine heir. ⁵And he led him out, and said, Look now toward the heavens, and number the stars, if thou be able to number them. And he said to him, So shall thy seed be! ⁶And he believed Jehovah; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness.

⁷And he said to him, I am Jehovah who brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give thee this land to possess it. ⁸And he said, Lord Jehovah, how shall I know that I shall possess it? ⁹And he said to him, Take me a heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon. ¹⁰And he took all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid the half of each opposite its fellow; but the birds he did not divide. ¹¹And the birds of prey came down on the carcases; and Abram scared them away.

¹²And as the sun was just going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, a horror, a great darkness, fell upon him. ¹³And he said to Abram, Know assuredly that thy seed will be a sojourner in a land that is not theirs, and they shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years. ¹⁴But also that nation which they shall serve I will judge; and afterwards they shall come out with great property. ¹⁵And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. ¹⁶And in the fourth generation they shall come hither again; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

¹⁷And it came to pass when the sun had gone down, and it was dark, that behold, there was a smoking furnace, and a flame of fire which passed between those pieces. ¹⁸On the same day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates; ¹⁹the Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, ²⁰and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaim, ²¹and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.