Chapter 14

War of the Kings

1 And it came about in the days of Amraphel king of aShinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of bElam, and Tidal king of 1Goiim,

2 that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of aAdmah, and Shemeber king of bZeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, cZoar).

3 All these 1came as allies to athe valley of Siddim (that is, bthe 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 1defeated the aRephaim in bAshteroth-karnaim and the Zuzim in Ham and the Emim in 2cShaveh-kiriathaim,

6 and the aHorites in their Mount Seir, as far as bEl-paran, which is by the wilderness.

7 Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, aKadesh), and 1conquered all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, who lived in bHazazon-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 athe valley of Siddim,

9 against Chedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of 1Goiim 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 athe kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell 1into them. But those who survived fled to the bhill country.

11 Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food supply, and departed.

12 They also took Lot, aAbram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed, bfor he was living in Sodom.

13 Then 1a fugitive came and told Abram the aHebrew. Now he was 2living by the 3boaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and these were 4callies with Abram.

14 When Abram heard that ahis 1relative had been taken captive, he 2led out his trained men, bborn in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far as cDan.

15 aHe divided 1his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and 2defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is 3north of bDamascus.

16 He abrought back all the goods, and also brought back bhis 1relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women, and the people.

God’s Promise to Abram

17 Then after his return from the 1defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, athe king of Sodom went out to meet him at the valley of Shaveh (that is, bthe King’s Valley).

18 And aMelchizedek king of Salem brought out bbread and wine; now he was a cpriest of 1God Most High.

19 He blessed him and said,

“Blessed be Abram of 1God Most High,

2aPossessor of heaven and earth;

20 And blessed be 1God Most High,

Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”

aHe gave him a tenth of all.

21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give the 1people to me and take the goods for yourself.”

22 Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have 1sworn to the Lord 2aGod Most High, 3bpossessor of heaven and earth,

23 that aI 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 “1I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me, aAner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their share.”

Chapter 15

Abram Promised a Son

1 After these things athe word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying,

“bDo not fear, Abram,

I am ca shield to you;

1Your dreward shall be very great.”

2 Abram said, “O Lord 1God, what will You give me, since I 2am childless, and the 3heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”

3 And Abram said, “1Since You have given no 2offspring to me, 3one aborn 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; abut one who will come forth from your own 1body, he shall be your heir.”

5 And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and acount the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “bSo shall your 1descendants be.”

6 aThen 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 aUr of the Chaldeans, to bgive you this land to 1possess it.”

8 He said, “O Lord 1God, ahow may I know that I will 2possess it?”

9 So He said to him, “1Bring 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 1brought all these to Him and acut them 2in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he bdid 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, aa deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, 1terror and great darkness fell upon him.

13 God said to Abram, “Know for certain that ayour 1descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, 2where bthey will be enslaved and oppressed cfour hundred years.

14 “But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out awith 1many possessions.

15 “As for you, ayou shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age.

16 “Then in athe fourth generation they will return here, for bthe 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 apassed between these pieces.

18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying,

“aTo your 1descendants I have given this land,

From bthe river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:

19 athe 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.”

Chapter 16

Sarai and Hagar

1 Now aSarai, Abram’s wife had borne him no children, and she had ban Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar.

2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Now behold, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. aPlease go in to my maid; perhaps I will 1obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

3 After Abram had 1lived aten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife.

4 He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her sight.

5 And Sarai said to Abram, “aMay the wrong done me be upon you. I gave my maid into your 1arms, but when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her 2sight. bMay the Lord judge between 3you and me.”

6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your maid is in your 1power; do to her what is good in your 2sight.” So Sarai treated her harshly, and ashe fled from her presence.

7 Now athe angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to bShur.

8 He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, awhere have you come from and where are you going?” And she said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.”

9 Then the angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself 1to her authority.”

10 Moreover, the aangel of the Lord said to her, “bI will greatly multiply your 1descendants so that 2they will be too many to count.”

11 The angel of the Lord said to her further,

“Behold, you are with child,

And you will bear a son;

And you shall call his name 1Ishmael,

Because athe Lord 2has given heed to your affliction.

12 “He will be a awild donkey of a man,

His hand will be against everyone,

And everyone’s hand will be against him;

And he will 1live 2bto the east of all his brothers.”

13 Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “1You are 2a God who sees”; for she said, “aHave I even 3remained alive here after seeing Him?”

14 Therefore the well was called 1Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between aKadesh and Bered.

15 So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.

16 Abram was aeighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to 1him.