Genesis 12-17

Genesis 12

¹And Jehovah had said to Abram, Go out of thy land, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, to the land that I will shew thee.

²And I will make of thee a great nation, and bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing.

³And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

⁴And Abram departed as Jehovah had said to him. And Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed out of Haran.

⁵And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had acquired, and the souls that they had obtained in Haran, and they went out to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

⁶And Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.

⁷And Jehovah appeared to Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land. And there he built an altar to Jehovah who had appeared to him.

⁸And he removed thence towards the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel toward the west, and Ai toward the east; and there he built an altar to Jehovah, and called on the name of Jehovah.

⁹And Abram moved onward, going on still toward the south.

¹⁰And there was a famine in the land. And Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was grievous in the land.

¹¹And it came to pass when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a woman fair to look upon.

¹²And it will come to pass when the Egyptians see thee, that they will say, She is his wife; and they will slay me, and save thee alive.

¹³Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister, that it may be well with me on thy account, and my soul may live because of thee.

¹⁴And it came to pass when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair.

¹⁵And the princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.

¹⁶And he treated Abram well on her account; and he had sheep, and oxen, and he-asses, and bondmen, and bondwomen, and she-asses, and camels.

¹⁷And Jehovah plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife.

¹⁸And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this thou hast done to me? Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?

¹⁹Why didst thou say, She is my sister, so that I took her as my wife. And now, behold, there is thy wife: take her, and go away.

²⁰And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him, and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

Genesis 13

¹And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, towards the south.

²And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

³And he went on his journeys from the south as far as Bethel; as far as the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai;

⁴to the place of the altar that he had made there at the first. And there Abram called on the name of Jehovah.

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

⁶And the land could not support them, that they might dwell together, for their property was great; and they could not dwell together.

⁷And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle and the herdsmen of Lot's cattle. And the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land.

⁸And Abram said to Lot, I pray thee let there be no contention between me and thee, and between my herdsmen and thy herdsmen, for we are brethren.

⁹Is not the whole land before thee? Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if to the left, then I will take the right; and if to the right, then I will take the left.

¹⁰And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of the Jordan that it was thoroughly watered, before Jehovah had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah; as the garden of Jehovah, like the land of Egypt, as one goes to Zoar.

¹¹And Lot chose for himself all the plain of the Jordan; and Lot went toward the east. And they separated the one from the other:

¹²Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan; and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain, and pitched tents as far as Sodom.

¹³And the people of Sodom were wicked, and great sinners before Jehovah.

¹⁴And Jehovah said to Abram, after that Lot had separated himself from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, northward and southward and eastward and westward;

¹⁵for all the land that thou seest will I give to thee, and to thy seed for ever.

¹⁶And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth, so that if any one can number the dust of the earth, thy seed also will be numbered.

¹⁷Arise, walk through the land according to the length of it and according to the breadth of it; for I will give it to thee.

¹⁸Then Abram moved his tents, and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron. And he built there an altar to Jehovah.

Genesis 14

¹And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel the king of Shinar, Arioch the king of El-lasar, Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and Tidal the king of nations,

²that they made war with Bera the king of Sodom, and with Birsha the king of Gomorrah, Shinab the king of Admah, and Shemeber the king of Zeboim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.

³All these were joined in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea.

⁴Twelve years had they served Chedorlaomer; and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

⁵And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh-Kirjathaim,

⁶and the Horites on their mount Seir, to El-Paran, which is by the wilderness.

⁷And they returned, and came to En-mishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites that dwelt at Hazazon-Tamar.

⁸And the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar, went out, and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim,

⁹with Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and Tidal the king of nations, and Amraphel the king of Shinar, and Arioch the king of Ellasar -- four kings with the five.

¹⁰And the vale of Siddim was full of pits of asphalt. And the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there: and they that remained fled to the mountain.

¹¹And they took all the property of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and departed.

¹²And they took Lot and his property, Abram's brother's son, and departed. For he dwelt in Sodom.

¹³And one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew. And he dwelt by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, the brother of Eshcol, and the brother of Aner. And these were Abram's allies.

¹⁴And Abram heard that his brother was taken captive; and he led out his trained servants, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them as far as Dan.

¹⁵And he divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and smote them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is to the left of Damascus.

¹⁶And he brought back all the property, and brought again his brother Lot and his property, and the women also, and the people.

¹⁷And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after he had returned from smiting Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, into the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's valley.

¹⁸And Melchisedec king of Salem brought out bread and wine. And he was priest of the Most High God.

¹⁹And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, possessor of heavens and earth.

²⁰And blessed be the Most High God, who has delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him the tenth of all.

²¹And the king of Sodom said to Abram, Give me the souls, and take the property for thyself.

²²And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted up my hand to Jehovah, the Most High God, possessor of heavens and earth,

²³if from a thread even to a sandal-thong, yes, if of all that is thine, I take anything ...; that thou mayest not say, I have made Abram rich;

²⁴save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men that went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, let them take their portion.

Genesis 15

¹After these things the word of Jehovah came to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram; I am thy shield, thy exceeding great reward.

²And Abram said, Lord Jehovah, what wilt thou give me? seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus.

³And Abram said, Lo, to me thou hast given no seed, and behold, a son of my house will be mine heir.

⁴And behold, the word of Jehovah came to him, saying, This shall not be thine heir, but he that will come forth out of thy body shall be thine heir.

⁵And he led him out, and said, Look now toward the heavens, and number the stars, if thou be able to number them. And he said to him, So shall thy seed be!

⁶And he believed Jehovah; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness.

⁷And he said to him, I am Jehovah who brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give thee this land to possess it.

⁸And he said, Lord Jehovah, how shall I know that I shall possess it?

⁹And he said to him, Take me a heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon.

¹⁰And he took all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid the half of each opposite its fellow; but the birds he did not divide.

¹¹And the birds of prey came down on the carcases; and Abram scared them away.

¹²And as the sun was just going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, a horror, a great darkness, fell upon him.

¹³And he said to Abram, Know assuredly that thy seed will be a sojourner in a land that is not theirs, and they shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years.

¹⁴But also that nation which they shall serve I will judge; and afterwards they shall come out with great property.

¹⁵And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.

¹⁶And in the fourth generation they shall come hither again; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

¹⁷And it came to pass when the sun had gone down, and it was dark, that behold, there was a smoking furnace, and a flame of fire which passed between those pieces.

¹⁸On the same day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates;

¹⁹the Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,

²⁰and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaim,

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

Genesis 16

¹And Sarai Abram's wife did not bear him children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant; and her name was Hagar.

²And Sarai said to Abram, Behold now, Jehovah has shut me up, that I do not bear. Go in, I pray thee, to my maidservant: it may be that I shall be built up by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

³And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar, the Egyptian, her maidservant, at the end of ten years that Abram had dwelt in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram, as his wife.

⁴And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was lightly esteemed in her eyes.

⁵And Sarai said to Abram, My wrong be on thee! I have given my maidservant into thy bosom; and now she sees that she has conceived, I am lightly esteemed in her eyes. Jehovah judge between me and thee!

⁶And Abram said to Sarai, Behold, thy maidservant is in thy hand: do to her what is good in thine eyes. And Sarai oppressed her; and she fled from her face.

⁷And the Angel of Jehovah found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur.

⁸And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maidservant, whence comest thou? and whither art thou going? And she said, I am fleeing from the face of my mistress Sarai.

⁹And the Angel of Jehovah said to her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.

¹⁰And the Angel of Jehovah said to her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.

¹¹And the Angel of Jehovah said to her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael, because Jehovah hath hearkened to thy affliction.

¹²And he will be a wild-ass of a man, his hand against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell before the face of all his brethren.

¹³And she called the name of Jehovah who spoke to her, Thou art the God who reveals himself, for she said, Also here have I seen after he has revealed himself.

¹⁴Therefore the well was named Beer-lahai-roi: behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

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

¹⁶And Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

Genesis 17

¹And Abram was ninety-nine years old, when Jehovah appeared to Abram, and said to him, I am the Almighty God: walk before my face, and be perfect.

²And I will set my covenant between me and thee, and will very greatly multiply thee.

³And Abram fell on his face; and God talked with him, saying,

⁴It is I: behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of a multitude of nations.

⁵And thy name shall no more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of a multitude of nations have I made thee.

⁶And I will make thee exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

⁷And I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to thee, and to thy seed after thee.

⁸And I give to thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land of thy sojourning, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be a God to them.

⁹And God said to Abraham, And as for thee, thou shalt keep my covenant, thou and thy seed after thee in their generations.

¹⁰This is my covenant which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee -- that every male among you be circumcised.

¹¹And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and that shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.

¹²And at eight days old shall every male in your generations be circumcised among you -- he who is born in the house, and he who is bought with money, any stranger who is not of thy seed.

¹³He who is born in thy house, and he who is bought with thy money, must be circumcised; and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

¹⁴And the uncircumcised male who hath not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from his peoples: he hath broken my covenant.

¹⁵And God said to Abraham, As to Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.

¹⁶And I will bless her, and I will give thee a son also of her; and I will bless her, and she shall become nations: kings of peoples shall be of her.

¹⁷And Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born to him that is a hundred years old? and shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear?

¹⁸And Abraham said to God, Oh that Ishmael might live before thee!

¹⁹And God said, Sarah thy wife shall indeed bear thee a son; and thou shalt call his name Isaac; and I will establish my covenant with him, for an everlasting covenant for his seed after him.

²⁰And for Ishmael I have heard thee: behold, I will bless him, and will make him fruitful, and will very greatly multiply him; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

²¹But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to thee at this appointed time in the next year.

²²And he left off talking with him; and God went up from Abraham.

²³And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all who were born in his house, and all who were bought with his money -- every male among the people of Abraham's house -- and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin on that same day, as God had said to him.

²⁴And Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

²⁵And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

²⁶In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son;

²⁷and all the men of his house, born in his house, or bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.