Genesis 13:1–13

Abram and Lot Separate

13Abram went north out of Egypt to the southern part of Canaan with his wife and everything he owned, and Lot went with him. ²Abram was a very rich man, with sheep, goats, and cattle, as well as silver and gold. ³Then he left there and moved from place to place, going towards Bethel. He reached the place between Bethel and Ai where he had camped before ⁴and had built an altar. There he worshipped the Lord.

⁵Lot also had sheep, goats, and cattle, as well as his own family and servants. ⁶And so there was not enough pasture land for the two of them to stay together, because they had too many animals. ⁷So quarrels broke out between the men who took care of Abram’s animals and those who took care of Lot’s animals. (At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were still living in the land.)

⁸Then Abram said to Lot, “We are relatives, and your men and my men shouldn’t be quarrelling. ⁹So let’s separate. Choose any part of the land you want. You go one way, and I’ll go the other.”

^10*Lot looked round and saw that the whole Jordan Valley, all the way to Zoar, had plenty of water, like the Garden of the Lordⁱ or like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord had destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.) ¹¹So Lot chose the whole Jordan Valley for himself and moved away towards the east. That is how the two men parted. ¹²Abram stayed in the land of Canaan, and Lot settled among the cities in the valley and camped near Sodom, ¹³whose people were wicked and sinned against the Lord.