Genesis 11 — GNB — Biblija.net

Isaac Lives at Gerar

¹ At first, the people of the whole world had only one language and used the same words. ² As they wandered about in the East, they came to a plain in Babylonia and settled there. ³ They said to one another, “Come on! Let's make bricks and bake them hard.” So they had bricks to build with and tar to hold them together. ⁴ They said, “Now let's build a city with a tower that reaches the sky, so that we can make a name for ourselves and not be scattered all over the earth.” ⁵ Then the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which they had built, ⁶ and he said, “Now then, these are all one people and they speak one language; this is just the beginning of what they are going to do. Soon they will be able to do anything they want!

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ Let us go down and mix up their language so that they will not understand each other.” ⁸ So the Lord scattered them all over the earth, and they stopped building the city.

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ The city was called Babylon, because there the Lord mixed up the language of all the people, and from there he scattered them all over the earth.

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

¹⁰ These are the descendants of Shem. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he had a son, Arpachshad. ¹¹ After that, he lived another 500 years and had other children.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² When Arpachshad was 35 years old, he had a son, Shelah; ¹³ after that, he lived another 403 years and had other children.

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ When Shelah was 30 years old, he had a son, Eber; ¹⁵ after that, he lived another 403 years and had other children.

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ When Eber was 34 years old, he had a son, Peleg;

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ after that, he lived another 430 years and had other children. ¹⁸ When Peleg was 30 years old, he had a son, Reu;

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ after that, he lived another 209 years and had other children.

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ When Reu was 32 years old, he had a son, Serug; ²¹ after that, he lived another 207 years and had other children.

The Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech

²² When Serug was 30 years old, he had a son, Nahor;

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

²³ after that, he lived another 200 years and had other children. ²⁴ When Nahor was 29 years old, he had a son, Terah; ²⁵ after that, he lived another 119 years and had other children.

The Agreement between Isaac and Abimelech

²⁶ After Terah was 70 years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

The Descendants of Terah

Esau Sells His Rights as the First-Born Son

²⁷ These are the descendants of Terah, who was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran was the father of Lot, ²⁸ and Haran died in his hometown of Ur in Babylonia, while his father was still living. ²⁹ Abram married Sarai, and Nahor married Milcah, the daughter of Haran, who was also the father of Iscah.

The Origin of the Moabites and Ammonites

³⁰ Sarai was not able to have children. ³¹ Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot, who was the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, Abram's wife, and with them he left the city of Ur in Babylonia to go to the land of Canaan. They went as far as Haran and settled there. ³² Terah died there at the age of 205.

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

¹ The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives, and your father's home, and go to a land that I am going to show you. ² I will give you many descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will bless you and make your name famous, so that you will be a blessing.
³ I will bless those who bless you,
But I will curse those who curse you.
And through you I will bless all the nations.” ⁴ When Abram was seventy-five years old, he started out from Haran, as the Lord had told him to do; and Lot went with him. ⁵ Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the wealth and all the slaves they had acquired in Haran, and they started out for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in Canaan, ⁶ Abram traveled through the land until he came to the sacred tree of Moreh, the holy place at Shechem. (At that time the Canaanites were still living in the land.)

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ The Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “This is the country that I am going to give to your descendants.” Then Abram built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him. ⁸ After that, he moved on south to the hill country east of the city of Bethel and set up his camp between Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There also he built an altar and worshiped the Lord.

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ Then he moved on from place to place, going toward the southern part of Canaan.

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

¹⁰ But there was a famine in Canaan, and it was so bad that Abram went farther south to Egypt, to live there for a while. ¹¹ When he was about to cross the border into Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “You are a beautiful woman.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² When the Egyptians see you, they will assume that you are my wife, and so they will kill me and let you live. ¹³ Tell them that you are my sister; then because of you they will let me live and treat me well.”

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ When he crossed the border into Egypt, the Egyptians did see that his wife was beautiful. ¹⁵ Some of the court officials saw her and told the king how beautiful she was; so she was taken to his palace.

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ Because of her the king treated Abram well and gave him flocks of sheep and goats, cattle, donkeys, slaves, and camels.

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ But because the king had taken Sarai, the Lord sent terrible diseases on him and on the people of his palace. ¹⁸ Then the king sent for Abram and asked him, “What have you done to me? Why didn't you tell me that she was your wife?

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ Why did you say that she was your sister, and let me take her as my wife? Here is your wife; take her and get out!”

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ The king gave orders to his men, so they took Abram and put him out of the country, together with his wife and everything he owned.

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

¹ Abram went north out of Egypt to the southern part of Canaan with his wife and everything he owned, and Lot went with him. ² Abram was a very rich man, with sheep, goats, and cattle, as well as silver and gold. ³ Then he left there and moved from place to place, going toward Bethel. He reached the place between Bethel and Ai where he had camped before ⁴ and had built an altar. There he worshiped the Lord. ⁵ Lot also had sheep, goats, and cattle, as well as his own family and servants. ⁶ And so there was not enough pasture land for the two of them to stay together, because they had too many animals.

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ So quarrels broke out between the men who took care of Abram's animals and those who took care of Lot's animals. (At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were still living in the land.) ⁸ Then Abram said to Lot, “We are relatives, and your men and my men shouldn't be quarreling.

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ So let's separate. Choose any part of the land you want. You go one way, and I'll go the other.”

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

¹⁰ Lot looked around and saw that the whole Jordan Valley, all the way to Zoar, had plenty of water, like the Garden of the Lord or like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord had destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.) ¹¹ So Lot chose the whole Jordan Valley for himself and moved away toward the east. That is how the two men parted.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² Abram stayed in the land of Canaan, and Lot settled among the cities in the valley and camped near Sodom, ¹³ whose people were wicked and sinned against the Lord.

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ After Lot had left, the Lord said to Abram, “From where you are, look carefully in all directions. ¹⁵ I am going to give you and your descendants all the land that you see, and it will be yours forever.

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ I am going to give you so many descendants that no one will be able to count them all; it would be as easy to count all the specks of dust on earth!

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ Now, go and look over the whole land, because I am going to give it all to you.” ¹⁸ So Abram moved his camp and settled near the sacred trees of Mamre at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

¹ Four kings, Amraphel of Babylonia, Arioch of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer of Elam, and Tidal of Goiim, ² went to war against five other kings: Bera of Sodom, Birsha of Gomorrah, Shinab of Admah, Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (or Zoar). ³ These five kings had formed an alliance and joined forces in Siddim Valley, which is now the Dead Sea. ⁴ They had been under the control of Chedorlaomer for twelve years, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled against him. ⁵ In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and his allies came with their armies and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in the plain of Kiriathaim, ⁶ and the Horites in the mountains of Edom, pursuing them as far as Elparan on the edge of the desert.

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ Then they turned around and came back to Kadesh (then known as Enmishpat). They conquered all the land of the Amalekites and defeated the Amorites who lived in Hazazon Tamar. ⁸ Then the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela drew up their armies for battle in Siddim Valley and fought

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ against the kings of Elam, Goiim, Babylonia, and Ellasar, five kings against four.

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

¹⁰ The valley was full of tar pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah tried to run away from the battle, they fell into the pits; but the other three kings escaped to the mountains. ¹¹ The four kings took everything in Sodom and Gomorrah, including the food, and went away.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² Lot, Abram's nephew, was living in Sodom, so they took him and all his possessions. ¹³ But a man escaped and reported all this to Abram, the Hebrew, who was living near the sacred trees belonging to Mamre the Amorite. Mamre and his brothers Eshcol and Aner were Abram's allies.

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ When Abram heard that his nephew had been captured, he called together all the fighting men in his camp, 318 in all, and pursued the four kings all the way to Dan. ¹⁵ There he divided his men into groups, attacked the enemy by night, and defeated them. He chased them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus,

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ and got back all the loot that had been taken. He also brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other prisoners.

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ When Abram came back from his victory over Chedorlaomer and the other kings, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in Shaveh Valley (also called King's Valley). ¹⁸ And Melchizedek, who was king of Salem and also a priest of the Most High God, brought bread and wine to Abram,

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ blessed him, and said, “May the Most High God, who made heaven and earth, bless Abram!

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ May the Most High God, who gave you victory over your enemies, be praised!” And Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the loot he had recovered. ²¹ The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Keep the loot, but give me back all my people.”

The Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech

²² Abram answered, “I solemnly swear before the Lord, the Most High God, Maker of heaven and earth,

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

²³ that I will not keep anything of yours, not even a thread or a sandal strap. Then you can never say, ‘I am the one who made Abram rich.’ ²⁴ I will take nothing for myself. I will accept only what my men have used. But let my allies, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, take their share.”

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

¹ After this, Abram had a vision and heard the Lord say to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I will shield you from danger and give you a great reward.” ² But Abram answered, “Sovereign Lord, what good will your reward do me, since I have no children? My only heir is Eliezer of Damascus. ³ You have given me no children, and one of my slaves will inherit my property.” ⁴ Then he heard the Lord speaking to him again: “This slave Eliezer will not inherit your property; your own son will be your heir.” ⁵ The Lord took him outside and said, “Look at the sky and try to count the stars; you will have as many descendants as that.” ⁶ Abram put his trust in the Lord, and because of this the Lord was pleased with him and accepted him.

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ Then the Lord said to him, “I am the Lord, who led you out of Ur in Babylonia, to give you this land as your own.” ⁸ But Abram asked, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that it will be mine?”

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ He answered, “Bring me a cow, a goat, and a ram, each of them three years old, and a dove and a pigeon.”

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

¹⁰ Abram brought the animals to God, cut them in half, and placed the halves opposite each other in two rows; but he did not cut up the birds. ¹¹ Vultures came down on the bodies, but Abram drove them off.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² When the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and fear and terror came over him. ¹³ The Lord said to him, “Your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land; they will be slaves there and will be treated cruelly for four hundred years.

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and when they leave that foreign land, they will take great wealth with them. ¹⁵ You yourself will live to a ripe old age, die in peace, and be buried.

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ It will be four generations before your descendants come back here, because I will not drive out the Amorites until they become so wicked that they must be punished.”

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ When the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch suddenly appeared and passed between the pieces of the animals. ¹⁸ Then and there the Lord made a covenant with Abram. He said, “I promise to give your descendants all this land from the border of Egypt to the Euphrates River,

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ including the lands of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, ²¹ the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

¹ Abram's wife Sarai had not borne him any children. But she had an Egyptian slave woman named Hagar, ² and so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Why don't you sleep with my slave? Perhaps she can have a child for me.” Abram agreed with what Sarai said. ³ So she gave Hagar to him to be his concubine. (This happened after Abram had lived in Canaan for ten years.) ⁴ Abram had intercourse with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she found out that she was pregnant, she became proud and despised Sarai. ⁵ Then Sarai said to Abram, “It's your fault that Hagar despises me. I myself gave her to you, and ever since she found out that she was pregnant, she has despised me. May the Lord judge which of us is right, you or me!” ⁶ Abram answered, “Very well, she is your slave and under your control; do whatever you want with her.” Then Sarai treated Hagar so cruelly that she ran away.

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ The angel of the Lord met Hagar at a spring in the desert on the road to Shur ⁸ and said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She answered, “I am running away from my mistress.”

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ He said, “Go back to her and be her slave.”

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

¹⁰ Then he said, “I will give you so many descendants that no one will be able to count them. ¹¹ You are going to have a son, and you will name him Ishmael, because the Lord has heard your cry of distress.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² But your son will live like a wild donkey; he will be against everyone, and everyone will be against him. He will live apart from all his relatives.” ¹³ Hagar asked herself, “Have I really seen God and lived to tell about it?” So she called the Lord, who had spoken to her, “A God Who Sees.”

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ That is why people call the well between Kadesh and Bered “The Well of the Living One Who Sees Me.” ¹⁵ Hagar bore Abram a son, and he named him Ishmael.

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ Abram was eighty-six years old at the time.

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

¹ When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the Almighty God. Obey me and always do what is right. ² I will make my covenant with you and give you many descendants.” ³ Abram bowed down with his face touching the ground, and God said, ⁴ “I make this covenant with you: I promise that you will be the ancestor of many nations. ⁵ Your name will no longer be Abram, but Abraham, because I am making you the ancestor of many nations. ⁶ I will give you many descendants, and some of them will be kings. You will have so many descendants that they will become nations.

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ “I will keep my promise to you and to your descendants in future generations as an everlasting covenant. I will be your God and the God of your descendants. ⁸ I will give to you and to your descendants this land in which you are now a foreigner. The whole land of Canaan will belong to your descendants forever, and I will be their God.”

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ God said to Abraham, “You also must agree to keep the covenant with me, both you and your descendants in future generations.

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

¹⁰ You and your descendants must all agree to circumcise every male among you. ¹¹ -12 From now on you must circumcise every baby boy when he is eight days old, including slaves born in your homes and slaves bought from foreigners. This will show that there is a covenant between you and me. ¹³ Each one must be circumcised, and this will be a physical sign to show that my covenant with you is everlasting.

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ Any male who has not been circumcised will no longer be considered one of my people, because he has not kept the covenant with me.” ¹⁵ God said to Abraham, “You must no longer call your wife Sarai; from now on her name is Sarah.

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ I will bless her, and I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will become the mother of nations, and there will be kings among her descendants.”

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ Abraham bowed down with his face touching the ground, but he began to laugh when he thought, “Can a man have a child when he is a hundred years old? Can Sarah have a child at ninety?” ¹⁸ He asked God, “Why not let Ishmael be my heir?”

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ But God said, “No. Your wife Sarah will bear you a son and you will name him Isaac. I will keep my covenant with him and with his descendants forever. It is an everlasting covenant.

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ I have heard your request about Ishmael, so I will bless him and give him many children and many descendants. He will be the father of twelve princes, and I will make a great nation of his descendants. ²¹ But I will keep my covenant with your son Isaac, who will be born to Sarah about this time next year.”

The Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech

²² When God finished speaking to Abraham, he left him.

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

²³ On that same day Abraham obeyed God and circumcised his son Ishmael and all the other males in his household, including the slaves born in his home and those he had bought. ²⁴ Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, ²⁵ and his son Ishmael was thirteen.

The Agreement between Isaac and Abimelech

²⁶ They were both circumcised on the same day,

The Descendants of Terah

Esau Sells His Rights as the First-Born Son

²⁷ together with all of Abraham's slaves.

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

¹ The Lord appeared to Abraham at the sacred trees of Mamre. As Abraham was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the hottest part of the day, ² he looked up and saw three men standing there. As soon as he saw them, he ran out to meet them. Bowing down with his face touching the ground, ³ he said, “Sirs, please do not pass by my home without stopping; I am here to serve you. ⁴ Let me bring some water for you to wash your feet; you can rest here beneath this tree. ⁵ I will also bring a bit of food; it will give you strength to continue your journey. You have honored me by coming to my home, so let me serve you.” They replied, “Thank you; we accept.” ⁶ Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick, take a sack of your best flour, and bake some bread.”

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ Then he ran to the herd and picked out a calf that was tender and fat, and gave it to a servant, who hurried to get it ready. ⁸ He took some cream, some milk, and the meat, and set the food before the men. There under the tree he served them himself, and they ate.

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ Then they asked him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” “She is there in the tent,” he answered.

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

¹⁰ One of them said, “Nine months from now I will come back, and your wife Sarah will have a son.” Sarah was behind him, at the door of the tent, listening. ¹¹ Abraham and Sarah were very old, and Sarah had stopped having her monthly periods.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² So Sarah laughed to herself and said, “Now that I am old and worn out, can I still enjoy sex? And besides, my husband is old too.” ¹³ Then the Lord asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Can I really have a child when I am so old?’

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ Is anything too hard for the Lord? As I said, nine months from now I will return, and Sarah will have a son.” ¹⁵ Because Sarah was afraid, she denied it. “I didn't laugh,” she said. “Yes, you did,” he replied. “You laughed.”

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ Then the men left and went to a place where they could look down at Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on their way.

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ And the Lord said to himself, “I will not hide from Abraham what I am going to do. ¹⁸ His descendants will become a great and mighty nation, and through him I will bless all the nations.

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ I have chosen him in order that he may command his sons and his descendants to obey me and to do what is right and just. If they do, I will do everything for him that I have promised.”

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ Then the Lord said to Abraham, “There are terrible accusations against Sodom and Gomorrah, and their sin is very great. ²¹ I must go down to find out whether or not the accusations which I have heard are true.”

The Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech

²² Then the two men left and went on toward Sodom, but the Lord remained with Abraham.

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

²³ Abraham approached the Lord and asked, “Are you really going to destroy the innocent with the guilty? ²⁴ If there are fifty innocent people in the city, will you destroy the whole city? Won't you spare it in order to save the fifty? ²⁵ Surely you won't kill the innocent with the guilty. That's impossible! You can't do that. If you did, the innocent would be punished along with the guilty. That is impossible. The judge of all the earth has to act justly.”

The Agreement between Isaac and Abimelech

²⁶ The Lord answered, “If I find fifty innocent people in Sodom, I will spare the whole city for their sake.”

The Descendants of Terah

Esau Sells His Rights as the First-Born Son

²⁷ Abraham spoke again: “Please forgive my boldness in continuing to speak to you, Lord. I am only a man and have no right to say anything. ²⁸ But perhaps there will be only forty-five innocent people instead of fifty. Will you destroy the whole city because there are five too few?” The Lord answered, “I will not destroy the city if I find forty-five innocent people.” ²⁹ Abraham spoke again: “Perhaps there will be only forty.” He replied, “I will not destroy it if there are forty.”

The Origin of the Moabites and Ammonites

³⁰ Abraham said, “Please don't be angry, Lord, but I must speak again. What if there are only thirty?” He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty.” ³¹ Abraham said, “Please forgive my boldness in continuing to speak to you, Lord. Suppose that only twenty are found?” He said, “I will not destroy the city if I find twenty.” ³² Abraham said, “Please don't be angry, Lord, and I will speak only once more. What if only ten are found?” He said, “I will not destroy it if there are ten.” ³³ After he had finished speaking with Abraham, the Lord went away, and Abraham returned home. ^*

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

¹ When the two angels came to Sodom that evening, Lot was sitting at the city gate. As soon as he saw them, he got up and went to meet them. He bowed down before them ² and said, “Sirs, I am here to serve you. Please come to my house. You can wash your feet and spend the night. In the morning you can get up early and go on your way.” But they answered, “No, we will spend the night here in the city square.” ³ He kept on urging them, and finally they went with him to his house. Lot ordered his servants to bake some bread and prepare a fine meal for the guests. When it was ready, they ate it. ⁴ Before the guests went to bed, the men of Sodom surrounded the house. All the men of the city, both young and old, were there. ⁵ They called out to Lot and asked, “Where are the men who came to stay with you tonight? Bring them out to us!” The men of Sodom wanted to have sex with them. ⁶ Lot went outside and closed the door behind him.

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ He said to them, “Friends, I beg you, don't do such a wicked thing! ⁸ Look, I have two daughters who are still virgins. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do whatever you want with them. But don't do anything to these men; they are guests in my house, and I must protect them.”

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ But they said, “Get out of our way, you foreigner! Who are you to tell us what to do? Out of our way, or we will treat you worse than them.” They pushed Lot back and moved up to break down the door.

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

¹⁰ But the two men inside reached out, pulled Lot back into the house, and shut the door. ¹¹ Then they struck all the men outside with blindness, so that they couldn't find the door.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² The two men said to Lot, “If you have anyone else here—sons, daughters, sons-in-law, or any other relatives living in the city—get them out of here, ¹³ because we are going to destroy this place. The Lord has heard the terrible accusations against these people and has sent us to destroy Sodom.”

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ Then Lot went to the men that his daughters were going to marry, and said, “Hurry up and get out of here; the Lord is going to destroy this place.” But they thought he was joking. ¹⁵ At dawn the angels tried to make Lot hurry. “Quick!” they said. “Take your wife and your two daughters and get out, so that you will not lose your lives when the city is destroyed.”

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ Lot hesitated. The Lord, however, had pity on him; so the men took him, his wife, and his two daughters by the hand and led them out of the city.

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ Then one of the angels said, “Run for your lives! Don't look back and don't stop in the valley. Run to the hills, so that you won't be killed.” ¹⁸ But Lot answered, “No, please don't make us do that, sir.

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ You have done me a great favor and saved my life. But the hills are too far away; the disaster will overtake me, and I will die before I get there.

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ Do you see that little town? It is near enough. Let me go over there—you can see it is just a small place—and I will be safe.” ²¹ He answered, “All right, I agree. I won't destroy that town.

The Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech

²² Hurry! Run! I can't do anything until you get there.” Because Lot called it small, the town was named Zoar.

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

²³ The sun was rising when Lot reached Zoar. ²⁴ Suddenly the Lord rained burning sulfur on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah ²⁵ and destroyed them and the whole valley, along with all the people there and everything that grew on the land.

The Agreement between Isaac and Abimelech

²⁶ But Lot's wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt.

The Descendants of Terah

Esau Sells His Rights as the First-Born Son

²⁷ Early the next morning Abraham hurried to the place where he had stood in the presence of the Lord. ²⁸ He looked down at Sodom and Gomorrah and the whole valley and saw smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a huge furnace. ²⁹ But when God destroyed the cities of the valley where Lot was living, he kept Abraham in mind and allowed Lot to escape to safety.

The Origin of the Moabites and Ammonites

³⁰ Because Lot was afraid to stay in Zoar, he and his two daughters moved up into the hills and lived in a cave. ³¹ The older daughter said to her sister, “Our father is getting old, and there are no men in the whole world to marry us so that we can have children. ³² Come on, let's get our father drunk, so that we can sleep with him and have children by him.” ³³ That night they gave him wine to drink, and the older daughter had intercourse with him. But he was so drunk that he didn't know it. ^*

Esau's Foreign Wives

³⁴ The next day the older daughter said to her sister, “I slept with him last night; now let's get him drunk again tonight, and you sleep with him. Then each of us will have a child by our father.” ³⁵ So that night they got him drunk, and the younger daughter had intercourse with him. Again he was so drunk that he didn't know it. ³⁶ In this way both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their own father. ³⁷ The older daughter had a son, whom she named Moab. He was the ancestor of the present-day Moabites. ³⁸ The younger daughter also had a son, whom she named Benammi. He was the ancestor of the present-day Ammonites.

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

¹ Abraham moved from Mamre to the southern part of Canaan and lived between Kadesh and Shur. Later, while he was living in Gerar, ² he said that his wife Sarah was his sister. So King Abimelech of Gerar had Sarah brought to him. ³ One night God appeared to him in a dream and said, “You are going to die, because you have taken this woman; she is already married.” ⁴ But Abimelech had not come near her, and he said, “Lord, I am innocent! Would you destroy me and my people? ⁵ Abraham himself said that she was his sister, and she said the same thing. I did this with a clear conscience, and I have done no wrong.” ⁶ God replied in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did it with a clear conscience; so I kept you from sinning against me and did not let you touch her.

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ But now, give the woman back to her husband. He is a prophet, and he will pray for you, so that you will not die. But if you do not give her back, I warn you that you are going to die, you and all your people.” ⁸ Early the next morning Abimelech called all his officials and told them what had happened, and they were terrified.

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ Then Abimelech called Abraham and asked, “What have you done to us? What wrong have I done to you to make you bring this disaster on me and my kingdom? No one should ever do what you have done to me.

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

¹⁰ Why did you do it?” ¹¹ Abraham answered, “I thought that there would be no one here who has reverence for God and that they would kill me to get my wife.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² She really is my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not of my mother, and I married her. ¹³ So when God sent me from my father's house into foreign lands, I said to her, ‘You can show how loyal you are to me by telling everyone that I am your brother.’”

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ Then Abimelech gave Sarah back to Abraham, and at the same time he gave him sheep, cattle, and slaves. ¹⁵ He said to Abraham, “Here is my whole land; live anywhere you like.”

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ He said to Sarah, “I am giving your brother a thousand pieces of silver as proof to all who are with you that you are innocent; everyone will know that you have done no wrong.”

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ -18 Because of what had happened to Sarah, Abraham's wife, the Lord had made it impossible for any woman in Abimelech's palace to have children. So Abraham prayed for Abimelech, and God healed him. He also healed his wife and his slave women, so that they could have children.

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

¹ The Lord blessed Sarah, as he had promised, ² and she became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham when he was old. The boy was born at the time God had said he would be born. ³ Abraham named him Isaac, ⁴ and when Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded. ⁵ Abraham was a hundred years old when Isaac was born. ⁶ Sarah said, “God has brought me joy and laughter. Everyone who hears about it will laugh with me.”

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ Then she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.” ⁸ The child grew, and on the day that he was weaned, Abraham gave a great feast.

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ One day Ishmael, whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham, was playing with Sarah's son Isaac.

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

¹⁰ Sarah saw them and said to Abraham, “Send this slave and her son away. The son of this woman must not get any part of your wealth, which my son Isaac should inherit.” ¹¹ This troubled Abraham very much, because Ishmael also was his son.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² But God said to Abraham, “Don't be worried about the boy and your slave Hagar. Do whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that you will have the descendants I have promised. ¹³ I will also give many children to the son of the slave woman, so that they will become a nation. He too is your son.”

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ Early the next morning Abraham gave Hagar some food and a leather bag full of water. He put the child on her back and sent her away. She left and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba. ¹⁵ When the water was all gone, she left the child under a bush

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ and sat down about a hundred yards away. She said to herself, “I can't bear to see my child die.” While she was sitting there, she began to cry.

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ God heard the boy crying, and from heaven the angel of God spoke to Hagar, “What are you troubled about, Hagar? Don't be afraid. God has heard the boy crying. ¹⁸ Get up, go and pick him up, and comfort him. I will make a great nation out of his descendants.”

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well. She went and filled the leather bag with water and gave some to the boy.

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ God was with the boy as he grew up; he lived in the wilderness of Paran and became a skillful hunter. ²¹ His mother got an Egyptian wife for him.

The Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech

²² At that time Abimelech went with Phicol, the commander of his army, and said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do.

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

²³ So make a vow here in the presence of God that you will not deceive me, my children, or my descendants. I have been loyal to you, so promise that you will also be loyal to me and to this country in which you are living.” ²⁴ Abraham said, “I promise.” ²⁵ Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well which the servants of Abimelech had seized.

The Agreement between Isaac and Abimelech

²⁶ Abimelech said, “I don't know who did this. You didn't tell me about it, and this is the first I have heard of it.”

The Descendants of Terah

Esau Sells His Rights as the First-Born Son

²⁷ Then Abraham gave some sheep and cattle to Abimelech, and the two of them made an agreement. ²⁸ Abraham separated seven lambs from his flock, ²⁹ and Abimelech asked him, “Why did you do that?”

The Origin of the Moabites and Ammonites

³⁰ Abraham answered, “Accept these seven lambs. By doing this, you admit that I am the one who dug this well.” ³¹ And so the place was called Beersheba, because it was there that the two of them made a vow. ³² After they had made this agreement at Beersheba, Abimelech and Phicol went back to Philistia. ³³ Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and worshiped the Lord, the Everlasting God. ^*

Esau's Foreign Wives

³⁴ Abraham lived in Philistia for a long time.

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

¹ Some time later God tested Abraham; he called to him, “Abraham!” And Abraham answered, “Yes, here I am!” ² “Take your son,” God said, “your only son, Isaac, whom you love so much, and go to the land of Moriah. There on a mountain that I will show you, offer him as a sacrifice to me.” ³ Early the next morning Abraham cut some wood for the sacrifice, loaded his donkey, and took Isaac and two servants with him. They started out for the place that God had told him about. ⁴ On the third day Abraham saw the place in the distance. ⁵ Then he said to the servants, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there and worship, and then we will come back to you.” ⁶ Abraham made Isaac carry the wood for the sacrifice, and he himself carried a knife and live coals for starting the fire. As they walked along together,

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ Isaac spoke up, “Father!” He answered, “Yes, my son?” Isaac asked, “I see that you have the coals and the wood, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?” ⁸ Abraham answered, “God himself will provide one.” And the two of them walked on together.

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ When they came to the place which God had told him about, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. He tied up his son and placed him on the altar, on top of the wood.

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

¹⁰ Then he picked up the knife to kill him. ¹¹ But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!” He answered, “Yes, here I am.”

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² “Don't hurt the boy or do anything to him,” he said. “Now I know that you honor and obey God, because you have not kept back your only son from him.” ¹³ Abraham looked around and saw a ram caught in a bush by its horns. He went and got it and offered it as a burnt offering instead of his son.

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ Abraham named that place “The Lord Provides.” And even today people say, “On the Lord's mountain he provides.” ¹⁵ The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time,

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ “I make a vow by my own name—the Lord is speaking—that I will richly bless you. Because you did this and did not keep back your only son from me,

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ I promise that I will give you as many descendants as there are stars in the sky or grains of sand along the seashore. Your descendants will conquer their enemies. ¹⁸ All the nations will ask me to bless them as I have blessed your descendants—all because you obeyed my command.”

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ Abraham went back to his servants, and they went together to Beersheba, where Abraham settled.

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ Some time later Abraham learned that Milcah had borne eight children to his brother Nahor: ²¹ Uz the first-born, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram,

The Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech

²² Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel,

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

²³ Rebecca's father. Milcah bore these eight sons to Nahor, Abraham's brother. ²⁴ Reumah, Nahor's concubine, bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

¹ Sarah lived to be 127 years old. ² She died in Hebron in the land of Canaan, and Abraham mourned her death. ³ He left the place where his wife's body was lying, went to the Hittites, and said, ⁴ “I am a foreigner living here among you; sell me some land, so that I can bury my wife.” ⁵ They answered, ⁶ “Listen to us, sir. We look upon you as a mighty leader; bury your wife in the best grave that we have. Any of us would be glad to give you a grave, so that you can bury her.”

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ Then Abraham bowed before them ⁸ and said, “If you are willing to let me bury my wife here, please ask Ephron son of Zohar

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ to sell me Machpelah Cave, which is near the edge of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for its full price, here in your presence, so that I can own it as a burial ground.”

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

¹⁰ Ephron himself was sitting with the other Hittites at the meeting place at the city gate; he answered in the hearing of everyone there, ¹¹ “Listen, sir; I will give you the whole field and the cave that is in it. Here in the presence of my own people, I will give it to you, so that you can bury your wife.”

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² But Abraham bowed before the Hittites ¹³ and said to Ephron, so that everyone could hear, “May I ask you, please, to listen. I will buy the whole field. Accept my payment, and I will bury my wife there.”

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ Ephron answered, ¹⁵ “Sir, land worth only four hundred pieces of silver—what is that between us? Bury your wife in it.”

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ Abraham agreed and weighed out the amount that Ephron had mentioned in the hearing of the people—four hundred pieces of silver, according to the standard weights used by the merchants.

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ That is how the property which had belonged to Ephron at Machpelah east of Mamre, became Abraham's. It included the field, the cave which was in it, and all the trees in the field up to the edge of the property. ¹⁸ It was recognized as Abraham's property by all the Hittites who were there at the meeting.

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ Then Abraham buried his wife Sarah in that cave in the land of Canaan.

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ So the field which had belonged to the Hittites, and the cave in it, became the property of Abraham for a burial ground.

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

¹ Abraham was now very old, and the Lord had blessed him in everything he did. ² He said to his oldest servant, who was in charge of all that he had, “Place your hand between my thighs and make a vow. ³ I want you to make a vow in the name of the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not choose a wife for my son from the people here in Canaan. ⁴ You must go back to the country where I was born and get a wife for my son Isaac from among my relatives.” ⁵ But the servant asked, “What if the young woman will not leave home to come with me to this land? Shall I send your son back to the land you came from?” ⁶ Abraham answered, “Make sure that you don't send my son back there!

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ The Lord, the God of heaven, brought me from the home of my father and from the land of my relatives, and he solemnly promised me that he would give this land to my descendants. He will send his angel before you, so that you can get a wife there for my son. ⁸ If the young woman is not willing to come with you, you will be free from this promise. But you must not under any circumstances take my son back there.”

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ So the servant put his hand between the thighs of Abraham, his master, and made a vow to do what Abraham had asked.

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

¹⁰ The servant, who was in charge of Abraham's property, took ten of his master's camels and went to the city where Nahor had lived in northern Mesopotamia. ¹¹ When he arrived, he made the camels kneel down at the well outside the city. It was late afternoon, the time when women came out to get water.

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² He prayed, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, give me success today and keep your promise to my master. ¹³ Here I am at the well where the young women of the city will be coming to get water.

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ I will say to one of them, ‘Please, lower your jar and let me have a drink.’ If she says, ‘Drink, and I will also bring water for your camels,’ may she be the one that you have chosen for your servant Isaac. If this happens, I will know that you have kept your promise to my master.” ¹⁵ Before he had finished praying, Rebecca arrived with a water jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, who was the son of Abraham's brother Nahor and his wife Milcah.

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ She was a very beautiful young woman and still a virgin. She went down to the well, filled her jar, and came back.

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ The servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a drink of water from your jar.” ¹⁸ She said, “Drink, sir,” and quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and held it while he drank.

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ When he had finished, she said, “I will also bring water for your camels and let them have all they want.”

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ She quickly emptied her jar into the animals' drinking trough and ran to the well to get more water, until she had watered all his camels. ²¹ The man kept watching her in silence, to see if the Lord had given him success.

The Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech

²² When she had finished, the man took an expensive gold ring and put it in her nose and put two large gold bracelets on her arms.

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

²³ He said, “Please tell me who your father is. Is there room in his house for my men and me to spend the night?” ²⁴ “My father is Bethuel son of Nahor and Milcah,” she answered. ²⁵ “There is plenty of straw and fodder at our house, and there is a place for you to stay.”

The Agreement between Isaac and Abimelech

²⁶ Then the man knelt down and worshiped the Lord.

The Descendants of Terah

Esau Sells His Rights as the First-Born Son

²⁷ He said, “Praise the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has faithfully kept his promise to my master. The Lord has led me straight to my master's relatives.” ²⁸ The young woman ran to her mother's house and told the whole story. ²⁹ Now Rebecca had a brother named Laban, and he ran outside to go to the well where Abraham's servant was.

The Origin of the Moabites and Ammonites

³⁰ Laban had seen the nose ring and the bracelets on his sister's arms and had heard her say what the man had told her. He went to Abraham's servant, who was standing by his camels at the well, ³¹ and said, “Come home with me. You are a man whom the Lord has blessed. Why are you standing out here? I have a room ready for you in my house, and there is a place for your camels.” ³² So the man went into the house, and Laban unloaded the camels and gave them straw and fodder. Then he brought water for Abraham's servant and his men to wash their feet. ³³ When food was brought, the man said, “I will not eat until I have said what I have to say.” Laban said, “Go on and speak.” ^*

Esau's Foreign Wives

³⁴ “I am the servant of Abraham,” he began. ³⁵ “The Lord has greatly blessed my master and made him a rich man. He has given him flocks of sheep and goats, cattle, silver, gold, male and female slaves, camels, and donkeys. ³⁶ Sarah, my master's wife, bore him a son when she was old, and my master has given everything he owns to him. ³⁷ My master made me promise with a vow to obey his command. He said, ‘Do not choose a wife for my son from the young women in the land of Canaan. ³⁸ Instead, go to my father's people, to my relatives, and choose a wife for him.’ ³⁹ And I asked my master, ‘What if she will not come with me?’ ⁴⁰ He answered, ‘The Lord, whom I have always obeyed, will send his angel with you and give you success. You will get for my son a wife from my own people, from my father's family. ⁴¹ There is only one way for you to be free from your vow: if you go to my relatives and they refuse you, then you will be free.’ ⁴² “When I came to the well today, I prayed, ‘Lord, God of my master Abraham, please give me success in what I am doing. ⁴³ Here I am at the well. When a young woman comes out to get water, I will ask her to give me a drink of water from her jar. ⁴⁴ If she agrees and also offers to bring water for my camels, may she be the one that you have chosen as the wife for my master's son.’ ⁴⁵ Before I had finished my silent prayer, Rebecca came with a water jar on her shoulder and went down to the well to get water. I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ ⁴⁶ She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I will also water your camels.’ So I drank, and she watered the camels. ⁴⁷ I asked her, ‘Who is your father?’ And she answered, ‘My father is Bethuel son of Nahor and Milcah.’ Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms. ⁴⁸ I knelt down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me straight to my master's relative, where I found his daughter for my master's son. ⁴⁹ Now, if you intend to fulfill your responsibility toward my master and treat him fairly, please tell me; if not, say so, and I will decide what to do.” ⁵⁰ Laban and Bethuel answered, “Since this matter comes from the Lord, it is not for us to make a decision. ⁵¹ Here is Rebecca; take her and go. Let her become the wife of your master's son, as the Lord himself has said.” ⁵² When the servant of Abraham heard this, he bowed down and worshiped the Lord. ⁵³ Then he brought out clothing and silver and gold jewelry, and gave them to Rebecca. He also gave expensive gifts to her brother and to her mother. ⁵⁴ Then Abraham's servant and the men with him ate and drank, and spent the night there. When they got up in the morning, he said, “Let me go back to my master.” ⁵⁵ But Rebecca's brother and her mother said, “Let her stay with us a week or ten days, and then she may go.” ⁵⁶ But he said, “Don't make us stay. The Lord has made my journey a success; let me go back to my master.” ⁵⁷ They answered, “Let's call her and find out what she has to say.” ⁵⁸ So they called Rebecca and asked, “Do you want to go with this man?” “Yes,” she answered. ⁵⁹ So they let Rebecca and her old family servant go with Abraham's servant and his men. ⁶⁰ And they gave Rebecca their blessing in these words:
“May you, sister, become the mother of millions!
May your descendants conquer the cities of their enemies!” ⁶¹ Then Rebecca and her young women got ready and mounted the camels to go with Abraham's servant, and they all started out. ⁶² Isaac had come into the wilderness of “The Well of the Living One Who Sees Me” and was staying in the southern part of Canaan. ^* ⁶³ He went out in the early evening to take a walk in the fields and saw camels coming. ⁶⁴ When Rebecca saw Isaac, she got down from her camel ⁶⁵ and asked Abraham's servant, “Who is that man walking toward us in the field?” “He is my master,” the servant answered. So she took her scarf and covered her face. ⁶⁶ The servant told Isaac everything he had done. ⁶⁷ Then Isaac brought Rebecca into the tent that his mother Sarah had lived in, and she became his wife. Isaac loved Rebecca, and so he was comforted for the loss of his mother.

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

¹ Abraham married another woman, whose name was Keturah. ² She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. ³ Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan, and the descendants of Dedan were the Asshurim, the Letushim, and the Leummim. ⁴ The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were Keturah's descendants. ⁵ Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac; ⁶ but while he was still alive, he gave presents to the sons his other wives had borne him. Then he sent these sons to the land of the East, away from his son Isaac.

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ -8 Abraham died at the ripe old age of 175.

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in Machpelah Cave, in the field east of Mamre that had belonged to Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite.

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

¹⁰ It was the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites; both Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried there. ¹¹ After the death of Abraham, God blessed his son Isaac, who lived near “The Well of the Living One Who Sees Me.”

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael

¹² Ishmael, whom Hagar, the Egyptian slave of Sarah, bore to Abraham, ¹³ had the following sons, listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,

Abram Moves to Hebron

¹⁴ Mishma, Dumah, Massa, ¹⁵ Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ They were the ancestors of twelve tribes, and their names were given to their villages and camping places.

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷ Ishmael was 137 years old when he died. ¹⁸ The descendants of Ishmael lived in the territory between Havilah and Shur, to the east of Egypt on the way to Assyria. They lived apart from the other descendants of Abraham.

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ This is the story of Abraham's son Isaac.

The Descendants of Nahor

²⁰ Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebecca, the daughter of Bethuel (an Aramean from Mesopotamia) and sister of Laban. ²¹ Because Rebecca had no children, Isaac prayed to the Lord for her. The Lord answered his prayer, and Rebecca became pregnant.

The Agreement between Abraham and Abimelech

²² She was going to have twins, and before they were born, they struggled against each other in her womb. She said, “Why should something like this happen to me?” So she went to ask the Lord for an answer.

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

²³ The Lord said to her,
“Two nations are within you;
You will give birth to two rival peoples.
One will be stronger than the other;
The older will serve the younger.” ²⁴ The time came for her to give birth, and she had twin sons. ²⁵ The first one was reddish, and his skin was like a hairy robe, so he was named Esau.

The Agreement between Isaac and Abimelech

²⁶ The second one was born holding on tightly to the heel of Esau, so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.

The Descendants of Terah

Esau Sells His Rights as the First-Born Son

²⁷ The boys grew up, and Esau became a skilled hunter, a man who loved the outdoors, but Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home. ²⁸ Isaac preferred Esau, because he enjoyed eating the animals Esau killed, but Rebecca preferred Jacob. ²⁹ One day while Jacob was cooking some bean soup, Esau came in from hunting. He was hungry

The Origin of the Moabites and Ammonites

³⁰ and said to Jacob, “I'm starving; give me some of that red stuff.” (That is why he was named Edom.) ³¹ Jacob answered, “I will give it to you if you give me your rights as the first-born son.” ³² Esau said, “All right! I am about to die; what good will my rights do me?” ³³ Jacob answered, “First make a vow that you will give me your rights.” Esau made the vow and gave his rights to Jacob. ^*

Esau's Foreign Wives

³⁴ Then Jacob gave him some bread and some of the soup. He ate and drank and then got up and left. That was all Esau cared about his rights as the first-born son.

The Tower of Babylon

God's Call to Abram

Abram and Lot Separate

Abram Rescues Lot

God's Covenant with Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

A Son Is Promised to Abraham

The Sinfulness of Sodom

Abraham and Abimelech

The Birth of Isaac

God Commands Abraham to Offer Isaac

Sarah Dies and Abraham Buys a Burial Ground

A Wife for Isaac

Other Descendants of Abraham

Isaac Lives at Gerar

¹ There was another famine in the land besides the earlier one during the time of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar. ² The Lord had appeared to Isaac and had said, “Do not go to Egypt; stay in this land, where I tell you to stay. ³ Live here, and I will be with you and bless you. I am going to give all this territory to you and to your descendants. I will keep the promise I made to your father Abraham. ⁴ I will give you as many descendants as there are stars in the sky, and I will give them all this territory. All the nations will ask me to bless them as I have blessed your descendants. ⁵ I will bless you, because Abraham obeyed me and kept all my laws and commands.” ⁶ So Isaac lived at Gerar.

The Death and Burial of Abraham

⁷ When the men there asked about his wife, he said that she was his sister. He would not admit that she was his wife, because he was afraid that the men there would kill him to get Rebecca, who was very beautiful. ⁸ When Isaac had been there for some time, King Abimelech looked down from his window and saw Isaac and Rebecca making love.

Hagar and Ishmael Are Sent Away

⁹ Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, “So she is your wife! Why did you say she was your sister?” He answered, “I thought I would be killed if I said she was my wife.”

The Descendants of Shem

Abram in Egypt

¹⁰ “What have you done to us?” Abimelech said. “One of my men might easily have slept with your wife, and you would have been responsible for our guilt.” ¹¹ Abimelech warned all the people: “Anyone who mistreats this man or his wife will be put to death.”

Lot Leaves Sodom

The Descendants of Ishmael