Abram and Lot

13 So Abram went up from Egypt to ^(A)the ^[a]Negev, he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him.

² Now Abram was ^(B)very rich in livestock, silver, and gold. ³ And he went ^[b]on his journeys from the ^[c]Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, ^(C)between Bethel and Ai, ⁴ to the place of the ^(D)altar which he had made there previously; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord. ⁵ Now ^(E)Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks, herds, and tents. ⁶ And ^(F)the land could not ^[d]support both of them ^[e]while living together, ^(G)for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together. ^7 (H)And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now ^(I)the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at that time.

^8 (J)So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are relatives! ⁹ Is the entire land not before you? Please separate from me; if you choose the left, then I will go to the right; or if you choose the right, then I will go to the left.” ¹⁰ Lot raised his eyes and saw all the ^[f]vicinity of the ^(K)Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere—this was before the Lord ^(L)destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like ^(M)the garden of the Lord, ^(N)like the land of Egypt ^[g]going toward ^(O)Zoar. ¹¹ So Lot chose for himself all the ^[h]vicinity of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. So they separated from each other. ¹² Abram ^[i]settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot ^[j]settled in ^(P)the cities of the ^[k]vicinity of the Jordan, and moved his tents as far as Sodom. ¹³ Now ^(Q)the men of Sodom were ^[l]exceedingly wicked ^(R)sinners against the Lord.

¹⁴ The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “^(S)Now raise your eyes and look from the place where you are, ^(T)northward and southward, and eastward and westward; ^15 (U)for all the land which you see ^(V)I will give to you and to your ^[m]descendants forever. ¹⁶ I will make your ^[n]descendants ^(W)as plentiful as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can count the dust of the earth, then your ^[o]descendants could also be counted. ¹⁷ Arise, ^(X)walk about in the land through its length and width; for ^(Y)I will give it to you.” ¹⁸ Then Abram moved his tent and came and lived by the ^[p](Z)oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron; and there he built ^(AA)an altar to the Lord.

War of the Kings

14 And it came about in the days of Amraphel king of ^(AB)Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of ^(AC)Elam, and Tidal king of ^[q]Goiim, ² that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of ^(AD)Admah, and Shemeber king of ^(AE)Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, ^(AF)Zoar). ³ All these kings ^[r]came as allies to ^(AG)the Valley of Siddim (that is, ^(AH)the Salt Sea). ⁴ For twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. ⁵ And in the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and ^[s]defeated the ^(AI)Rephaim in ^(AJ)Ashteroth-karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in ^[t](AK)Shaveh-kiriathaim, ⁶ and the ^(AL)Horites on their Mount Seir, as far as ^(AM)El-paran, which is by the wilderness. ⁷ Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, ^(AN)Kadesh), and ^[u]conquered all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, who lived in ^(AO)Hazazon-tamar. ⁸ And the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) came out; and they lined up for battle against them in ^(AP)the Valley of Siddim, ⁹ against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of ^[v]Goiim, 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 ^(AQ)the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell ^[w]into them. But those who survived fled to the ^(AR)hill country. ¹¹ Then they took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food supply, and departed. ¹² They also took Lot, ^(AS)Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed, ^(AT)for he was living in Sodom.

¹³ Then ^[x]a survivor came and told Abram the ^(AU)Hebrew. Now he was residing by the ^[y](AV)oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and they were ^[z](AW)allies with Abram. ¹⁴ When Abram heard that ^(AX)his relative had been taken captive, he ^[aa]led out his trained men, ^(AY)born in his house, numbering 318, and went in pursuit as far as ^(AZ)Dan. ¹⁵ Then ^(BA)he divided ^[ab]his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and ^[ac]defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is ^[ad]north of ^(BB)Damascus. ¹⁶ He ^(BC)brought back all the possessions, and also brought back ^(BD)his relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women, and the other people.

God’s Promise to Abram

¹⁷ Then after his return from the ^[ae]defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, ^(BE)the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, ^(BF)the King’s Valley). ¹⁸ And ^(BG)Melchizedek the king of Salem brought out ^(BH)bread and wine; now he was a ^(BI)priest of ^[af]God Most High. ¹⁹ And he blessed him and said,

And ^(BK)he gave him a tenth of everything. ²¹ Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give the ^[aj]people to me and take the possessions for yourself.” ²² But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have ^[ak]sworn to the Lord ^[al](BL)God Most High, ^[am](BM)Possessor of heaven and earth, ²³ that ^(BN)I will not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, so that you do not say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ ^24 [an]I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me, ^(BO)Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their share.”