The Call of Abram

12 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household^(A) to the land^(B) I will show you.^(C)

⁴ So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot^(I) went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old^(J) when he set out from Harran.^{(K) 5} He took his wife Sarai,^(L) his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated^(M) and the people^(N) they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan,^(O) and they arrived there.

⁶ Abram traveled through the land^(P) as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh^(Q) at Shechem.^(R) At that time the Canaanites^(S) were in the land. ⁷ The Lord appeared to Abram^(T) and said, “To your offspring^[c] I will give this land.^(U)”^(V) So he built an altar there to the Lord,^(W) who had appeared to him.

⁸ From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel^(X) and pitched his tent,^(Y) with Bethel on the west and Ai^(Z) on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.^(AA)

⁹ Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.^(AB)

Abram in Egypt^(AC)

¹⁰ Now there was a famine in the land,^(AD) and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.^{(AE) 11} As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai,^(AF) “I know what a beautiful woman^(AG) you are. ¹² When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. ¹³ Say you are my sister,^(AH) so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”

¹⁴ When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman.^{(AI) 15} And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. ¹⁶ He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.^(AJ)

¹⁷ But the Lord inflicted^(AK) serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household^(AL) because of Abram’s wife Sarai. ¹⁸ So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?”^(AM) he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?^{(AN) 19} Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’^(AO) so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” ²⁰ Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.

Abram and Lot Separate

13 So Abram went up from Egypt^(AP) to the Negev,^(AQ) with his wife and everything he had, and Lot^(AR) went with him. ² Abram had become very wealthy^(AS) in livestock^(AT) and in silver and gold.

³ From the Negev^(AU) he went from place to place until he came to Bethel,^(AV) to the place between Bethel and Ai^(AW) where his tent had been earlier ⁴ and where he had first built an altar.^(AX) There Abram called on the name of the Lord.^(AY)

⁵ Now Lot,^(AZ) who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. ⁶ But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together.^{(BA) 7} And quarreling^(BB) arose between Abram’s herders and Lot’s. The Canaanites^(BC) and Perizzites^(BD) were also living in the land^(BE) at that time.

⁸ So Abram said to Lot,^(BF) “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me,^(BG) or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives.^{(BH) 9} Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”^(BI)

¹⁰ Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain^(BJ) of the Jordan toward Zoar^(BK) was well watered, like the garden of the Lord,^(BL) like the land of Egypt.^(BM) (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom^(BN) and Gomorrah.)^{(BO) 11} So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: ¹² Abram lived in the land of Canaan,^(BP) while Lot^(BQ) lived among the cities of the plain^(BR) and pitched his tents near Sodom.^{(BS) 13} Now the people of Sodom^(BT) were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.^(BU)

¹⁴ The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west.^{(BV) 15} All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring^[d] forever.^{(BW) 16} I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted.^{(BX) 17} Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land,^(BY) for I am giving it to you.”^(BZ)

¹⁸ So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre^(CA) at Hebron,^(CB) where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the Lord.^(CC)

Abram Rescues Lot

14 At the time when Amraphel was king of Shinar,^[e](CD) Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer^(CE) king of Elam^(CF) and Tidal king of Goyim, ² these kings went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboyim,^(CG) and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).^{(CH) 3} All these latter kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim^(CI) (that is, the Dead Sea Valley^(CJ)). ⁴ For twelve years they had been subject to Kedorlaomer,^(CK) but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

⁵ In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer^(CL) and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites^(CM) in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites^(CN) in Shaveh Kiriathaim ⁶ and the Horites^(CO) in the hill country of Seir,^(CP) as far as El Paran^(CQ) near the desert. ⁷ Then they turned back and went to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh),^(CR) and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites,^(CS) as well as the Amorites^(CT) who were living in Hazezon Tamar.^(CU)

⁸ Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah,^(CV) the king of Admah, the king of Zeboyim^(CW) and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar)^(CX) marched out and drew up their battle lines in the Valley of Siddim^{(CY) 9} against Kedorlaomer^(CZ) king of Elam,^(DA) Tidal king of Goyim, Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. ¹⁰ Now the Valley of Siddim^(DB) was full of tar^(DC) pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah^(DD) fled, some of the men fell into them and the rest fled to the hills.^{(DE) 11} The four kings seized all the goods^(DF) of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. ¹² They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot^(DG) and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.

¹³ A man who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew.^(DH) Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre^(DI) the Amorite, a brother^[f] of Eshkol^(DJ) and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. ¹⁴ When Abram heard that his relative^(DK) had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained^(DL) men born in his household^(DM) and went in pursuit as far as Dan.^{(DN) 15} During the night Abram divided his men^(DO) to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.^{(DP) 16} He recovered^(DQ) all the goods^(DR) and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.

¹⁷ After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer^(DS) and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom^(DT) came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).^(DU)

¹⁸ Then Melchizedek^(DV) king of Salem^(DW) brought out bread^(DX) and wine.^(DY) He was priest of God Most High,^{(DZ) 19} and he blessed Abram,^(EA) saying,

Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.^(EE)

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

²² But Abram said to the king of Sodom,^(EH) “With raised hand^(EI) I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High,^(EJ) Creator of heaven and earth,^{(EK) 23} that I will accept nothing belonging to you,^(EL) not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ ²⁴ I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshkol and Mamre.^(EM) Let them have their share.”

The Lord’s Covenant With Abram

15 After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram^(EN) in a vision:^(EO)

² But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord,^(ES) what can you give me since I remain childless^(ET) and the one who will inherit^[i] my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?^(EU)” ³ And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant^(EV) in my household^(EW) will be my heir.”

⁴ Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.^(EX)” ⁵ He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars^(EY)—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring^[j] be.”^(EZ)

⁶ Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.^(FA)

⁷ He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out^(FB) of Ur of the Chaldeans^(FC) to give you this land to take possession of it.”^(FD)

⁸ But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord,^(FE) how can I know^(FF) that I will gain possession of it?”^(FG)

⁹ So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer,^(FH) a goat and a ram, each three years old,^(FI) along with a dove and a young pigeon.^(FJ)”

¹⁰ Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other;^(FK) the birds, however, he did not cut in half.^{(FL) 11} Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses,^(FM) but Abram drove them away.

¹² As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep,^(FN) and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. ¹³ Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years^(FO) your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved^(FP) and mistreated there. ¹⁴ But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out^(FQ) with great possessions.^{(FR) 15} You, however, will go to your ancestors^(FS) in peace and be buried at a good old age.^{(FT) 16} In the fourth generation^(FU) your descendants will come back here,^(FV) for the sin of the Amorites^(FW) has not yet reached its full measure.”

¹⁷ When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch^(FX) appeared and passed between the pieces.^{(FY) 18} On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram^(FZ) and said, “To your descendants I give this land,^(GA) from the Wadi^[k] of Egypt^(GB) to the great river, the Euphrates^(GC)— ¹⁹ the land of the Kenites,^(GD) Kenizzites, Kadmonites, ²⁰ Hittites,^(GE) Perizzites,^(GF) Rephaites,^{(GG) 21} Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”^(GH)

Hagar and Ishmael

16 Now Sarai,^(GI) Abram’s wife, had borne him no children.^(GJ) But she had an Egyptian slave^(GK) named Hagar;^{(GL) 2} so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children.^(GM) Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”^(GN)

Abram agreed to what Sarai said. ³ So after Abram had been living in Canaan^(GO) ten years,^(GP) Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. ⁴ He slept with Hagar,^(GQ) and she conceived.

When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.^{(GR) 5} Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.”^(GS)

⁶ “Your slave is in your hands,^(GT)” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated^(GU) Hagar; so she fled from her.

⁷ The angel of the Lord^(GV) found Hagar near a spring^(GW) in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur.^{(GX) 8} And he said, “Hagar,^(GY) slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”^(GZ)

“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.

⁹ Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” ¹⁰ The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”^(HA)

¹¹ The angel of the Lord^(HB) also said to her:

¹³ She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,^(HI)” for she said, “I have now seen^[n] the One who sees me.”^{(HJ) 14} That is why the well^(HK) was called Beer Lahai Roi^[o];^(HL) it is still there, between Kadesh^(HM) and Bered.

¹⁵ So Hagar^(HN) bore Abram a son,^(HO) and Abram gave the name Ishmael^(HP) to the son she had borne. ¹⁶ Abram was eighty-six years old^(HQ) when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

The Covenant of Circumcision

17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old,^(HR) the Lord appeared to him^(HS) and said, “I am God Almighty^[p];^(HT) walk before me faithfully and be blameless.^{(HU) 2} Then I will make my covenant between me and you^(HV) and will greatly increase your numbers.”^(HW)

³ Abram fell facedown,^(HX) and God said to him, ⁴ “As for me, this is my covenant with you:^(HY) You will be the father of many nations.^{(HZ) 5} No longer will you be called Abram^[q]; your name will be Abraham,^[r](IA) for I have made you a father of many nations.^{(IB) 6} I will make you very fruitful;^(IC) I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.^{(ID) 7} I will establish my covenant^(IE) as an everlasting covenant^(IF) between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God^(IG) and the God of your descendants after you.^{(IH) 8} The whole land of Canaan,^(II) where you now reside as a foreigner,^(IJ) I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you;^(IK) and I will be their God.^(IL)”

⁹ Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant,^(IM) you and your descendants after you for the generations to come.^{(IN) 10} This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.^{(IO) 11} You are to undergo circumcision,^(IP) and it will be the sign of the covenant^(IQ) between me and you. ¹² For the generations to come^(IR) every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised,^(IS) including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. ¹³ Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised.^(IT) My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant.^{(IU) 14} Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised^(IV) in the flesh, will be cut off from his people;^(IW) he has broken my covenant.^(IX)”

¹⁵ God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai^(IY) your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah.^{(IZ) 16} I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her.^(JA) I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations;^(JB) kings of peoples will come from her.”

¹⁷ Abraham fell facedown;^(JC) he laughed^(JD) and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old?^(JE) Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?”^{(JF) 18} And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael^(JG) might live under your blessing!”^(JH)

¹⁹ Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son,^(JI) and you will call him Isaac.^[s](JJ) I will establish my covenant with him^(JK) as an everlasting covenant^(JL) for his descendants after him. ²⁰ And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers.^(JM) He will be the father of twelve rulers,^(JN) and I will make him into a great nation.^{(JO) 21} But my covenant^(JP) I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you^(JQ) by this time next year.”^{(JR) 22} When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.^(JS)

²³ On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household^(JT) or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him.^{(JU) 24} Abraham was ninety-nine years old^(JV) when he was circumcised,^{(JW) 25} and his son Ishmael^(JX) was thirteen; ²⁶ Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that very day. ²⁷ And every male in Abraham’s household^(JY), including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.

The Helper of Israel

Abraham Justified by Faith

4 What then shall we say^(A) that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh,^(B) discovered in this matter? ² If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God.^{(C) 3} What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”^[a](D)

⁴ Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift^(E) but as an obligation. ⁵ However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.^{(F) 6} David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

⁹ Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised?^(H) We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness.^{(I) 10} Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! ¹¹ And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised.^(J) So then, he is the father^(K) of all who believe^(L) but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. ¹² And he is then also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

¹³ It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise^(M) that he would be heir of the world,^(N) but through the righteousness that comes by faith.^{(O) 14} For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless,^{(P) 15} because the law brings wrath.^(Q) And where there is no law there is no transgression.^(R)

¹⁶ Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace^(S) and may be guaranteed^(T) to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.^{(U) 17} As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.”^[c](V) He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life^(W) to the dead and calls^(X) into being things that were not.^(Y)

¹⁸ Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations,^(Z) just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”^{[d](AA) 19} Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead^(AB)—since he was about a hundred years old^(AC)—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.^{(AD) 20} Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened^(AE) in his faith and gave glory to God,^{(AF) 21} being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.^{(AG) 22} This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”^{(AH) 23} The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, ²⁴ but also for us,^(AI) to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him^(AJ) who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.^{(AK) 25} He was delivered over to death for our sins^(AL) and was raised to life for our justification.^(AM)