Amplified Bible (AMP)

Abram Journeys to Egypt

1 Now [in Haran] the Lordhad said to Abram,

“Go away from your country,

And from your relatives

And from your father’s house,

To the land which I will show you;

2 AndI will make you a great nation,

And I will bless you [abundantly],

And make your name great (exalted, distinguished);

And you shall be a blessing [a source of great good to others];

3 And I will bless (do good for, benefit) those who bless you,

And I will curse [that is, subject to My wrath and judgment] the one who curses (despises, dishonors, has contempt for) you.

And in you all the families (nations) of the earth will be blessed.”

4 So Abram departed [in faithful obedience] as the Lordhad directed him; and Lot [his nephew] left with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.

5 Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had acquired, and the people (servants) which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,

6 Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the [great] terebinth (oak) tree of Moreh. Now theCanaanites were in the land at that time.

7 Then the Lordappeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” So Abram built an altar there to [honor] the Lordwho had appeared to him.

8 Then he moved on from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lordand called on the name of the Lord[in worship through prayer, praise, and thanksgiving].

9 Then Abram journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev (the South country of Judah).

10 Now there was a famine in the land; and Abram went down into Egypt to live temporarily, for the famine in the land was oppressiveandsevere.

11 And when he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “Listen: I know that you area beautiful woman;

12 so when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me [to acquire you], but they will let you live.

13 Please tell them that you aremy sister so that things will go well for me for your sake, and my life will be spared because of you.”

14 And when Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was very beautiful.

15 Pharaoh’s princes (officials) also saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken [for the purpose of marriage] into Pharaoh’s house (harem).

16 Therefore Pharaoh treated Abram well for her sake; he acquired sheep, oxen, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.

17 But the Lordpunished Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.

18 Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this that you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?

19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her as my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her and go!”

20 So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they escorted him on his way, with his wife and all that he had.

Abram and Lot

1 So Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot [his nephew] with him, into the Negev (the South country of Judah).

2 Now Abram was extremely rich in livestock and in silver and in gold.

3 He journeyed on from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,

4 where he had first built an altar; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord[in prayer].

5 But Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents.

6 Now the land was not able to support them [that is, sustain all their grazing and water needs] while they lived near one another, for their possessions were too great for them to stay together.

7 And there was strifeandquarreling between the herdsmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdsmen of Lot’s cattle. Now the Canaanite and the Perizzite were living in the land at that same time [making grazing of the livestock difficult].

8 So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strifeanddisagreement between you and me, nor between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, because we are relatives.

9 Is not the entire land before you? Please separate [yourself] from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or if you choose the right, then I will go to the left.”

10 So Lot looked and saw that the valley of the Jordan was well watered everywhere–this was before the Lorddestroyed Sodom and Gomorrah; [it was all] like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as you go to Zoar [at the south end of the Dead Sea].

11 Then Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and he traveled east. So they separated from each other.

12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, and Lot settled in the cities of the valley and camped as far as Sodomandlived there.

13 But the men of Sodom were extremely wicked and sinful against the Lord[unashamed in their open sin before Him].

14 The Lordsaid to Abram, after Lot had left him, “Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you arestanding, northward and southward and eastward and westward;

15 for all the land which you see I will give to you and to your descendants forever.

16 I will make your descendants [as numerous] as the dust of the earth, so that if a man could count the [grains of] dust of the earth, then your descendants could also be counted.

17 Arise, walk (make a thorough reconnaissance) around in the land, through its length and its width, for I will give it to you.”

18 Then Abram broke campandmoved his tent, and came and settled by the [grove of the great] terebinths (oak trees) of Mamre [the Amorite], which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to [honor] the Lord.

War of the Kings

1 In the days of the [Eastern] kings Amraphel of Shinar, Arioch of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer of Elam, and Tidal of Goiim,

2 they [invaded the Jordan Valley near the Dead Sea, and] made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela(that is, Zoar).

3 All of these [kings] joined together [as allies] in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Sea of Salt).

4 Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer [the most powerful king in the invading confederacy], but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

5 In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the [three] kings who were with him attacked and subdued the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim,

6 and the Horites in their mountainous country of Seir, as far as El-paran, which is on the border of the wilderness.

7 Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and subdued all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-tamar.

8 Then the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (that is, Zoar) came out; and they joined together for battle with the invading kings in the Valley of Siddim,

9 against Chedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goiim and Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar–four kings against five.

10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar (bitumen) pits; and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into them. But the remainder [of the kings] who survived fled to the hill country.

11 Then the victors took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food supplyandprovisions and left.

12 And they also took [captive] Lot, Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and left, for he was living in Sodom.

13 Then a survivor who had escaped [from the invading forces on the other side of the Jordan] came and told Abram theHebrew. Now he was living by the terebinths (oaks) of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner–they were allies of Abram.

14 When Abram heard that his nephew [Lot] had been captured, he armedandled out his trained men, born in his own house, [numbering] three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far [north] as Dan.

15 He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and attackedanddefeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus.

16 And he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, and also the women, and the people.

Abram and Melchizedek

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

18 Melchizedek king of Salem (ancient Jerusalem) brought out bread and wine [for them]; he was the priest ofGod Most High.

19 And Melchizedek blessed Abram and said,

“Blessed (joyful, favored) be Abram by God Most High,

CreatorandPossessor of heaven and earth;

20 And blessed, praised,andglorified be God Most High,

Who has given your enemies into your hand.”

And Abram gave him a tenth of all [the treasure he had taken in battle].

21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods (spoils of battle) for yourself.”

22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my handandsworn an oath to the LordGod Most High, the CreatorandPossessor of heaven and earth,

23 that I would not take anything that is yours, from a thread to a sandal strap, so you could not say, ‘I [the King of Sodom] have made Abram rich.’

24 I will take nothing except what my young men have eaten, and the share of the spoils belonging to the men [my allies] who went with me–Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their share of the spoils.”

Abram Promised a Son

1 After these things the word of the Lordcame to Abram in a vision, saying,

“Do not be afraid, Abram,

I am your shield;

Your reward [for obedience] shall be very great.”

2 Abram said, “LordGod, whatrewardwill You give me, since I am [leaving this world] childless, and he who will be the ownerandheir of my house is this [servant] Eliezer from Damascus?”

3 And Abram continued, “Since You have given no child to me, one (a servant) born in my house is my heir.”

4 Then behold, the word of the Lordcame to him, saying, “This man [Eliezer] will not be your heir but he who shall come from your own body shall be your heir.”

5 And the Lordbrought Abram outside [his tent into the night] and said, “Look now toward the heavens and count the stars–if you are able to count them.” Then He said to him, “So [numerous] shall your descendants be.”

6 Then Abram believed in (affirmed, trusted in, relied on, remained steadfast to) the Lord; and He counted (credited) it to himas righteousness (doing right in regard to God and man).

7 And He said to him, “I am the [same] Lordwho brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land as an inheritance.”

8 But Abram said, “LordGod, by what [proof] will I know that I will inherit it?”

9 So God said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”

10 So Abram brought all these to Him andcut them down the middle, and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds.

11 The birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

12 When the sun was setting, a deep sleep overcame Abram; and a horror (terror, shuddering fear, nightmare) of great darkness overcame him.

13 Godsaid to Abram, “Know for sure that your descendants will be strangers [living temporarily] in a land (Egypt) that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.

14 But on that nation whom your descendants will serve I will bring judgment, and afterward they will come out [of that land] with great possessions.

15 As for you, you shall [die and] go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age.

16 Then in thefourth generation your descendants shall return here [to Canaan, the land of promise], for the wickednessandguilt of theAmorites is not yet complete (finished).”

17 When the sun had gone down and a [deep] darkness had come,there appeareda smokingbrazier and a flaming torch which passed between the [divided] pieces [of the animals].

18 On the same day the Lordmade a covenant (promise, pledge) with Abram, saying,

“To your descendants I have given this land,

From the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates–

19 [the land of] the Kenites and the Kenizzites and the Kadmonites

20 and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Rephaim,

21 the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”

Sarai and Hagar

1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not borne him anychildren,and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar.

2 So Sarai said to Abram, “See here, the Lordhas prevented me from bearingchildren. I am asking you to go in to [the bed of] my maid [so that she may bear you a child]; perhaps I willobtain children by her.” And Abram listened to Saraianddid as she said.

3 After Abram had lived in the land of Canaan ten years, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian [maid], and gave her to her husband Abram to be his [secondary] wife.

4 He went in to [the bed of] Hagar, and she conceived; and when she realized that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress [regarding Sarai as insignificant because of her infertility].

5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “May [the responsibility for] the wrong done to me [by the arrogant behavior of Hagar] be upon you. I gave my maid into your arms, and when she realized that she had conceived, I was despisedandlooked on with disrespect. May the Lordjudge [who has done right] between you and me.”

6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Look, your maid isentirelyin your handsandsubject to your authority; do as you please with her.” So Sarai treated her harshlyandhumiliated her, and Hagar fled from her.

7 Butthe Angel of the Lordfound her by a spring of water in the wilderness, on the road to [Egypt by way of] Shur.

8 And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where did you come from and where are you going?” And she said, “I am running away from my mistress Sarai.”

9 The Angel of the Lordsaid to her, “Go back to your mistress, and submithumbly to her authority.”

10 Then the Angel of the Lordsaid to her, “I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be too many to count.”

11 The Angel of the Lordcontinued,

“Behold, you are with child,

And you will bear a son;

And you shall name him Ishmael (God hears),

Because the Lordhas heardandpaid attention to your persecution (suffering).

12 “He (Ishmael) will be a wild donkey of a man;

His handwill beagainst every man [continually fighting]

And every man’s hand against him;

And he will dwell in defiance of all his brothers.”

13 Then she called the name of the Lordwho spoke to her, “You areGod Who Sees”; for she said, “Have I not even here [in the wilderness] remained alive afterseeing Him [who sees me with understanding and compassion]?”

14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi (Well of the Living One Who Sees Me); it isbetween Kadesh and Bered.

15 So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son; and Abram named his son, to whom Hagar gave birth,Ishmael (God hears).

16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.

Abraham and the Covenant of Circumcision

1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, theLordappeared to him and said,

“I amGod Almighty;

Walk [habitually] before Me [with integrity, knowing that you are always in My presence], and be blamelessandcomplete [in obedience to Me].

2 “I will establish My covenant (everlasting promise) between Me and you,

And I will multiply you exceedingly [through your descendants].”

3 Then Abram fell on his face [in worship], and God spoke with him, saying,

4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you,

And [as a result] you shall be the father of many nations.

5 “No longer shall your name be Abram (exalted father),

But your name shall be Abraham (father of a multitude);

For I will make you the father of many nations.

6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, andkings will come from you.

7 I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you.

8 I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger [moving from place to place], all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession [of property]; and I will be their God.”

9 Further, God said to Abraham, “As for you [your part of the agreement], you shall keepandfaithfully obey [the terms of] My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.

10 This is [the sign of] My covenant, which you shall keepandfaithfully obey, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.

11 And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be the sign (symbol, memorial) of the covenant between Me and you.

12 Every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, [including] aservantwhether born in the house or one who is purchased with [your] money from any foreigner, who is not of your descendants.

13 Aservantwho is born in your house or one who is purchased with your money must be circumcised; and [the sign of] My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

14 And the male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”

15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai (my princess), but her name will be Sarah (Princess).

16 I will bless her, and indeed I will also give you a son by her. Yes, I will bless her, and she shall be amother ofnations; kings of peoples will come from her.”

17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, beara child?”

18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael [my firstborn] might live before You!”

19 But God said, “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son indeed, and you shall name him Isaac (laughter); and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant and with his descendants after him.

20 As for Ishmael, I have heardandlistened to you; behold, I will bless him, and will make him fruitful and will greatly multiply him [through his descendants]. He will be the father of twelve princes (chieftains, sheiks), and I will make him a great nation.

21 But My covenant [My promise, My solemn pledge], I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.”

22 And God finished speaking with him and went up from Abraham.

23 Then Abraham took Ishmael his son, and allthe servantswho were born in his house and all who were purchased with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s household, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin the very same day, as God had said to him.

24 So Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised.

25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised.

26 On the very same day Abraham was circumcised, as well as Ishmael his son.

27 All the men [servants] of his household, both those born in the house and those purchased with money from a foreigner, were circumcised along with him [as the sign of God’s covenant with Abraham].

Birth of Isaac Promised

1 Now the Lordappeared to Abraham by the terebinthtreesof Mamre [in Hebron], while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day.

2 When he raised his eyes and looked up, behold, three men were standing [a little distance] from him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed down [with his face] to the ground,

3 and Abraham said, “Mylord, if now I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass by your servant [without stopping to visit].

4 Please let a little water be brought [by one of my servants] and [you may] wash your feet, and reclineandrest comfortably under the tree.

5 And I will bring a piece of bread to refreshandsustainyou; after that you may go on, since you have come to your servant.” And they replied, “Do as you have said.”

6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Quickly, get ready threemeasures of fine meal, knead it and bake cakes.”

7 Abraham also ran to the herd and brought a calf, tender and choice, and he gave it to the servant [to butcher], and he hurried to prepare it.

8 Then he tookcurds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before the men; and he stood beside them under the tree while they ate.

9 Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “There, in the tent.”

10 He said, “I will surely return to you at thistime next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him.

11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in years; she was past [the age of] childbearing.

12 So Sarah laughed to herself [when she heard the Lord’swords], saying, “After I have become old, shall I have pleasureanddelight, my lord (husband) being also old?”

13 And the Lordasked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh [to herself], saying, ‘Shall I really give birth [to a child] when I am so old?’

14 Is anything too difficultortoo wonderful for theLord? At the appointed time, when the season [for her delivery] comes, I will return to you and Sarah will have a son.”

15 Then Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh”; because she was afraid. And He (the Lord) said, “No, but you did laugh.”

16 Then the men got up from there, and looked toward Sodom; and Abraham walked with them to send them on the way.

17 The Lordsaid, “Shall I keep secret from Abraham [My friend and servant] what I am going to do,

18 since Abrahamis destined to become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him?

19 For I have known (chosen, acknowledged) him [as My own], so that he may teachandcommand his children and [the sons of] his household after him to keep the way of the Lordby doing what is righteous and just, so that the Lordmay bring upon Abraham what He has promised him.”

20 And the Lordsaid, “The outcry [of the sin] of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave.

21 I will go down now, and see whether they have acted [as vilely and wickedly] as the outcry which has come to Me [indicates]; and if not, I will know.”

22 Now the [two] men (angelic beings) turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord.

23 Abraham approached [the Lord] and said, “Will You really sweep away the righteous (those who do right) with the wicked (those who do evil)?

24 Suppose there are fifty righteous [people] within the city; will You really sweep it away and not spare it for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it?

25 Far be it from You to dosuch a thing–to strike the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked aretreatedalike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right [by executing just and righteous judgment]?”

26 So the Lordsaid, “If I find within the city of Sodom fifty righteous [people], then I will spare the entire place for their sake.”

27 Abraham answered, “Now behold, I who am but dust [in origin] and ashes have decided to speak to the Lord.

28 If five of the fifty righteous are lacking, will You destroy the entire city for lack of five?” And He said, “If I find [at least] forty-five [righteous people] there, I will not destroy it.”

29 Abraham spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose [only] forty are found there.” And He said, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty [who are righteous].”

30 Then Abraham said [to Him], “Oh, may the Lord not be angry, and I will speak; suppose thirty [righteous people] are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

31 And he said, “Now behold, I have decided to speak to the Lord [again]. Suppose [only] twenty [righteous people] are found there?” And the Lord said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”

32 Then Abraham said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry [with me], and I will speak only this once; suppose ten [righteous people] are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”

33 As soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham the Lorddeparted, and Abraham returned to his own place.

The Doom of Sodom

1 It was evening when the two angels came to Sodom. Lot was sitting at Sodom’s [city] gate. Seeing them, Lot got up to meet them and bowed downwith hisface to the ground.

2 And he said, “See here, my lords, please turn asideandcome into your servant’s house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may get up early and go on your way.” But they said, “No, we shall spend the night in the open plaza [of the city].”

3 However, Lot strongly urged them, so they turned aside and entered his house; and he prepared a feast for them [with wine], and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

4 But before they lay down [to sleep], the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, surrounded the house,all the men from every quarter;

5 and they called out to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we may know them [intimately].”

6 But Lot went out of the doorway to the men, and shut the door after him,

7 and said, “Please, my brothers, do not do something so wicked.

8 See here, I have two daughters who have not known a man [intimately]; please let me bring them out to you [instead], and you can do as you please with them; only do nothing to these men, because they have in fact come under the shelter of my roof [for protection].”

9 But they said, “Get out of the way!” And they said, “This man (Lot) came [as an outsider] to live here temporarily, and now he is acting like a judge. Now we will treat you worse than your visitors!” So they rushed forwardandpressed violently againstLot and came close to breaking down the door [of his house].

10 But the men (angels) reached out with their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door [after him].

11 They struck (punished) the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, from the young men to the old men, so that they exhaustedthemselves tryingto find the doorway.

12 And the [two] men (angels) asked Lot, “Have you any others here [in Sodom]–a son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters? Whomever you have in the city, take them out of here;

13 for we are destroying this place, because the outcry [for judgment] against them has grown so great before the Lordthat the Lordhas sent us to destroyandruin it.”

14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were [betrothed, and legally promised] to marry his daughters, and said, “Get up, get out of this place, for the Lordis about to destroy this city!” But to his sons-in-law he appeared to be joking.

15 When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot [to hurry], saying, “Get up! Take your wife and two daughters who are here [and go], or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.”

16 But Lot hesitatedandlingered. The men took hold of his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, because the Lordwas merciful to him [for Abraham’s sake]; and they brought him out, and left him outside the city [with his family].

17 When they had brought them outside, one [of the angels] said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, or stop anywhere in the entire valley; escape to the mountains [of Moab], or you will be consumedandswept away.”

18 But Lot said to them, “Oh no, [not that place] my lords!

19 Please listen, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your lovingkindness (mercy) to me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, because the disaster will overtake me and I will be killed.

20 Now look, this town [in the distance] is nearenough for usto flee to, and it is small [with only a few people]. Please, let me escape there (is it not small?) so that my life will be saved.”

21 And the angel said to him, “Behold, I grant you this request also; I will not destroy this town of which you have spoken.

22 Hurry and take refuge there, for I cannot do anything [to punish Sodom] until you arrive there.” For this reason the town was named Zoar (few, small).

23 The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar.

24 Then the Lordrained down brimstone (flaming sulfur) and fire on Sodom and on Gomorrah from the Lordout of heaven,

25 and He overthrew (demolished, ended) those cities, and the entire valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and whatever grew on the ground.

26 But Lot’s wife, from behind him, [foolishly, longingly] looked [back toward Sodom in an act of disobedience], and shebecame a pillar of salt.

27 Abraham started out early the next morning to the place where he [only the day before] had stood before the Lord;

28 and he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the valley [of the Dead Sea]; and he saw, and behold, the smoke ofthe land went up like the smoke of a kiln (pottery furnace).

29 Now when God ravagedanddestroyed the cities of the plain [of Siddim], He remembered Abraham [and for that reason], and He sent [Abraham’s nephew] Lot out of the midst of the destruction, when He destroyed the cities in which Lot had lived.

Lot Is Debased

30 Now Lot went up from Zoar, and lived in the mountain together with his two daughters, for he was afraid to stay [any longer] in Zoar; and he lived in a cave with his two daughters.

31 The firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is aging, and there is not a man on earth [available] to be intimate with us in the customary way [so that we may have children].

32 Come, let us make our father drunk with wine, and we will lie with him so that we may preserve our family through our father.”

33 So they gave their father wine that night, and the firstborn went in and lay with her father; and he did not know when she lay down or when she got up [because he was completely intoxicated].

34 Then the next day, the firstborn said to the younger, “Behold, I lay with my father last night; let us make him drunk with wine tonight also, and then you go in and lie with him, so that we may preserve our family through our father.”

35 So they gave their father wine that night also, and the younger got up and lay with him; andagainhe did not know when she lay down or when she got up.

36 Thus both the daughters of Lot conceived by their father.

37 The firstborn gave birth to a son, and named him Moab (from father); he is the father of the Moabites to this day.

38 The younger also gave birth to a son and named him Ben-ammi (son of my people); he is the father of the Ammonites to this day.

Abraham’s Deception

1 Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the Negev (the South country), and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he lived temporarily in Gerar.

2 Abrahamsaid [again] of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” SoAbimelech king of Gerar sent and tookSarah [into his harem].

3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream during the night, and said, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken [as your wife], for she is another man’s wife.”

4 Now Abimelech had not yet come near her; so he said, “Lord, will you kill a people who are righteousandinnocentandblameless [regarding Sarah]?

5 Did Abraham not tell me, ‘She is my sister?’ And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.”

6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this in the integrity of your heart, for it was I who kept you backandspared you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not give you an opportunity to touch her.

7 So now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not returnher[to him], know that you shall die, you and all who are yours (your household).”

8 So Abimelech got up early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things; and the men were terrified.

9 Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I offended you that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me what ought not to be done [to anyone].”

10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What have you encounteredorseen [in us or our customs], that you have done this [unjust] thing?”

11 Abraham said, “Because I thought, ‘Surely there is no fearorreverence of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’

12 Besides, she actually is my [half] sister; she is the daughter of my father [Terah], but not of my mother; and she became my wife.

13 When God caused me to wander from my father’s house, I said to her, ‘This kindnessandloyalty you can show me: at every place we stop, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”

14 Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen and male and female slaves, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him [as God commanded].

15 So Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you; settle wherever you please.”

16 Then to Sarah he said, “Look, I have given this brother of yours athousand pieces of silver; it is to compensate you [for all that has happened]andto vindicate your honor before all who are with you; before all men you are clearedandcompensated.”

17 So Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maids, and theyagaingave birth tochildren,

18 for the Lordhad securely closed the wombs of all [the women] in Abimelech’s household because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

Isaac Is Born

1 The Lordgraciously rememberedandvisited Sarah as He had said, and the Lorddid for her as He had promised.

2 So Sarah conceived and gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him.

3 Abraham named his son Isaac (laughter),the sonto whom Sarah gave birth.

4 So Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, just as God had commanded him.

5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born.

6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh; all who hear [about our good news] will laugh with me.”

7 And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have given birth to a son by him in his old age.”

8 The child [Isaac] grew and wasweaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.

Sarah Turns against Hagar

9 Now [as time went on] Sarah saw [Ishmael] the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham,mocking [Isaac].

10 Therefore she said to Abraham, “Drive out this maid and her son, for the son of this maid shall not be an heir with my son Isaac.”

11 The situationdistressed Abraham greatly because of his son [Ishmael].

12 God said to Abraham, “Do not let it distress you because of Ishmael and your maid; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to heranddo what she asks, for your descendants will be named through Isaac.

13 And I will also make a nation of [Ishmael] the son of the maid, because he is your descendant.”

14 So Abraham got up early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder, andgave herthe boy, and sent heraway. And she left [but lost her way] and wandered [aimlessly] in the Wilderness of Beersheba.

15 When the water in the skin was all gone, Hagar abandoned the boy under one of the bushes.

16 Then she went and sat down opposite him, about a bowshot away, for she said, “Do not let me see the boy die.” And as she sat down opposite him, she raised her voice and wept.

17 God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy from where he is [resting].

18 Get up, help the boy up, and hold him by the hand, for I will make him a great nation.”

19 Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the [empty] skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

20 God was with Ishmael, and he grewanddeveloped; and he lived in the wilderness and became an [expert] archer.

21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

Covenant with Abimelech

22 Now at that time Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do;

23 so now, swear to me here by God that you will not deal unfairly with me [by breaking any agreements we have] or with my son or with my descendants, but as I have treated you with kindness, you shall do the same to me and to the land in which you have sojourned (temporarily lived).”

24 And Abraham said, “I will swear.”

25 Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well of water which the servants of Abimelech had [violently] seized [from him],

26 Abimelech said, “I do not know who did this thing. Indeed, you did not tell me, and I did not hear of it until today.”

27 So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a covenant (binding agreement).

28 Then Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs of the flock,

29 and Abimelech said to Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set apart?”

30 Abraham said, “You are to accept these seven ewe lambs from me as a witness for me, that I dug this well.”

31 Therefore that place was called Beersheba (Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), because there the two of them swore an oath.

32 So they made a covenant at Beersheba; then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, got up and returned to the land of the Philistines.

33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the Lord[in prayer],the Eternal God.

34 And Abraham lived [as a resident alien] in the land of the Philistines formany days.