Genesis 15-25

New American Standard Bible 1995

Abram Promised a Son

15 After these things ^(A)the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying,

² Abram said, “O Lord ^[b]God, what will You give me, since I ^[c]am childless, and the ^[d]heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ And Abram said, “^[e]Since You have given no ^[f]offspring to me, ^[g]one ^(E)born in my house is my heir.” ⁴ Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; ^(F)but one who will come forth from your own ^[h]body, he shall be your heir.” ⁵ And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and ^(G)count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “^(H)So shall your ^[i]descendants be.” ^6 (I)Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. ⁷ And He said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of ^(J)Ur of the Chaldeans, to ^(K)give you this land to ^[j]possess it.” ⁸ He said, “O Lord ^[k]God, ^(L)how may I know that I will ^[l]possess it?” ⁹ So He said to him, “^[m]Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” ¹⁰ Then he ^[n]brought all these to Him and ^(M)cut them ^[o]in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he ^(N)did not cut the birds. ¹¹ The birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.

¹² Now when the sun was going down, ^(O)a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, ^[p]terror and great darkness fell upon him. ¹³ God said to Abram, “Know for certain that ^(P)your ^[q]descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, ^[r]where ^(Q)they will be enslaved and oppressed ^(R)four hundred years. ¹⁴ But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out ^(S)with ^[s]many possessions. ¹⁵ As for you, ^(T)you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶ Then in ^(U)the fourth generation they will return here, for ^(V)the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.”

¹⁷ It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which ^(W)passed between these pieces. ¹⁸ On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying,

^19 (Z)the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite ²⁰ and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim ²¹ and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite.”

Sarai and Hagar

16 Now ^(AA)Sarai, Abram’s wife had borne him no children, and she had ^(AB)an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar. ² So Sarai said to Abram, “Now behold, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. ^(AC)Please go in to my maid; perhaps I will ^[u]obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. ³ After Abram had ^[v]lived ^(AD)ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. ⁴ He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her sight. ⁵ And Sarai said to Abram, “^(AE)May the wrong done me be upon you. I gave my maid into your ^[w]arms, but when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her ^[x]sight. ^(AF)May the Lord judge between ^[y]you and me.” ⁶ But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your maid is in your ^[z]power; do to her what is good in your ^[aa]sight.” So Sarai treated her harshly, and ^(AG)she fled from her presence.

⁷ Now ^(AH)the angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to ^(AI)Shur. ⁸ He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, ^(AJ)where have you come from and where are you going?” And she said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.” ⁹ Then the angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself ^[ab]to her authority.” ¹⁰ Moreover, the ^(AK)angel of the Lord said to her, “^(AL)I will greatly multiply your ^[ac]descendants so that ^[ad]they will be too many to count.” ¹¹ The angel of the Lord said to her further,

¹³ Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “^[ai]You are ^[aj]a God who sees”; for she said, “^(AP)Have I even ^[ak]remained alive here after seeing Him?” ¹⁴ Therefore the well was called ^[al]Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between ^(AQ)Kadesh and Bered.

¹⁵ So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. ¹⁶ Abram was ^(AR)eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to ^[am]him.

Abraham and the Covenant of Circumcision

17 Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, ^(AS)the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him,

³ Abram ^(AX)fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying,

⁶ I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and ^(BB)kings will come forth from you. ⁷ I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your ^[as]descendants after you throughout their generations for an ^(BC)everlasting covenant, ^(BD)to be God to you and ^(BE)to your ^[at]descendants after you. ^8 (BF)I will give to you and to your ^[au]descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and ^(BG)I will be their God.”

⁹ God said further to Abraham, “Now as for you, ^(BH)you shall keep My covenant, you and your ^[av]descendants after you throughout their generations. ^10 (BI)This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your ^[aw]descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. ¹¹ And ^(BJ)you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. ¹² And every male among you who is ^(BK)eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, a servant who is born in the house or who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your ^[ax]descendants. ¹³ A servant who is born in your house or ^(BL)who is bought with your money shall surely be circumcised; thus shall My covenant be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. ¹⁴ But an uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be ^(BM)cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”

¹⁵ Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but ^[ay]Sarah shall be her name. ¹⁶ I will bless her, and indeed I will give you ^(BN)a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; ^(BO)kings of peoples will ^[az]come from her.” ¹⁷ Then Abraham ^(BP)fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And ^(BQ)will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” ¹⁸ And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before You!” ¹⁹ But God said, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you ^(BR)a son, and you shall call his name ^[ba]Isaac; and ^(BS)I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his ^[bb]descendants after him. ²⁰ As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him, and ^(BT)will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly. ^(BU)He shall ^[bc]become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a ^(BV)great nation. ²¹ But My covenant I will establish with ^(BW)Isaac, whom ^(BX)Sarah will bear to you at this season next year.” ²² When He finished talking with him, ^(BY)God went up from Abraham.

²³ Then Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all the servants who were ^(BZ)born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s household, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the very same day, ^(CA)as God had said to him. ²⁴ Now Abraham was ninety-nine years old when ^(CB)he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. ²⁵ And ^(CC)Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. ²⁶ In the very same day Abraham was circumcised, and Ishmael his son. ²⁷ All the men of his household, who were ^(CD)born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

Birth of Isaac Promised

18 Now ^(CE)the Lord appeared to him by the ^[bd](CF)oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. ² When he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three ^(CG)men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth, ³ and said, “^[be]My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please do not ^[bf]pass Your servant by. ⁴ Please let a little water be brought and ^(CH)wash your feet, and ^[bg]rest yourselves under the tree; ⁵ and I will ^[bh](CI)bring a piece of bread, that you may ^[bi]refresh yourselves; after that you may go on, since you have ^[bj]visited your servant.” And they said, “So do, as you have said.” ⁶ So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “^[bk]Quickly, prepare three ^[bl]measures of fine flour, knead it and make bread cakes.” ⁷ Abraham also ran to the herd, and took a tender and ^[bm]choice calf and gave it to the servant, and he hurried to prepare it. ⁸ He took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and placed it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree ^[bn]as they ate.

⁹ Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” ¹⁰ He said, “^(CJ)I will surely return to you ^[bo]at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him. ¹¹ Now ^(CK)Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was ^(CL)past ^[bp]childbearing. ¹² Sarah laughed ^[bq]to herself, saying, “^(CM)After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my ^(CN)lord being old also?” ¹³ And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed ^[br]bear a child, when I am so old?’ ^14 (CO)Is anything too ^[bs]difficult for the Lord? At the ^(CP)appointed time I will return to you, ^[bt]at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” ¹⁵ Sarah denied it however, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”

¹⁶ Then ^(CQ)the men rose up from there, and looked down toward Sodom; and Abraham was walking with them to send them off. ^17 (CR)The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham ^(CS)what I am about to do, ¹⁸ since Abraham will surely become a great and ^[bu]mighty nation, and in him ^(CT)all the nations of the earth will be blessed? ¹⁹ For I have ^[bv](CU)chosen him, so that he may ^(CV)command his children and his household after him to ^(CW)keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham ^(CX)what He has spoken about him.” ²⁰ And the Lord said, “^(CY)The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. ²¹ I will ^(CZ)go down now, and see if they have done entirely according to its outcry, which has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”

²² Then ^(DA)the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before ^(DB)the Lord. ²³ Abraham came near and said, “^(DC)Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴ Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not ^[bw]spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? ²⁵ Far be it from You to do ^[bx]such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not ^(DD)the Judge of all the earth ^[by]deal justly?” ²⁶ So the Lord said, “^(DE)If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will ^[bz]spare the whole place on their account.” ²⁷ And Abraham replied, “Now behold, I have ^[ca]ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but ^(DF)dust and ashes. ²⁸ Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the whole city because of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” ²⁹ He spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose forty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it on account of the forty.” ³⁰ Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” ³¹ And he said, “Now behold, I have ^[cb]ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.” ³² Then he said, “^(DG)Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.” ³³ As soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham ^(DH)the Lord departed, and Abraham returned to his place.

The Doom of Sodom

19 Now the ^(DI)two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When ^(DJ)Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and ^[cc]bowed down with his face to the ground. ² And he said, “Now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your servant’s house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.” They said however, “No, but we shall spend the night in the square.” ³ Yet he urged them strongly, so they turned aside to him and entered his house; ^(DK)and he prepared a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. ⁴ Before they lay down, ^(DL)the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people ^[cd]from every quarter; ⁵ and they called to Lot and said to him, “^(DM)Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may ^[ce]have relations with them.” ⁶ But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him, ⁷ and said, “Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly. ⁸ Now behold, ^(DN)I have two daughters who have not ^[cf]had relations with man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them ^[cg]whatever you like; only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the ^[ch]shelter of my roof.” ⁹ But they said, “Stand aside.” Furthermore, they said, “This one came in ^[ci]as an alien, and already ^(DO)he is acting like a judge; now we will treat you worse than them.” So they pressed hard against ^[cj]Lot and came near to break the door. ¹⁰ But ^(DP)the men reached out their ^[ck]hands and brought Lot into the house ^[cl]with them, and shut the door. ^11 (DQ)They ^[cm]struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway.

¹² Then the two men said to Lot, “Whom else have you here? A son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of the place; ¹³ for we are about to destroy this place, because ^(DR)their outcry has become so great before the Lord that ^(DS)the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” ¹⁴ Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who ^[cn]were to marry his daughters, and said, “Up, ^(DT)get out of this place, for the Lord will destroy the city.” ^(DU)But he appeared to his sons-in-law ^[co]to be jesting.

¹⁵ When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the ^[cp]punishment of the city.” ¹⁶ But he hesitated. So the men ^(DV)seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the ^[cq]hands of his two daughters, for ^(DW)the compassion of the Lord was upon him; and they brought him out, and put him outside the city. ¹⁷ When they had brought them outside, ^[cr]one said, “^(DX)Escape for your life! ^(DY)Do not look behind you, and do not stay ^[cs]anywhere in the ^(DZ)valley; escape to ^(EA)the ^[ct]mountains, or you will be swept away.” ¹⁸ But Lot said to them, “Oh no, my lords! ¹⁹ Now behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your lovingkindness, which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the ^[cu]mountains, for the disaster will overtake me and I will die; ²⁰ now behold, this town is near enough to flee to, and it is small. Please, let me escape there (is it not small?) ^[cv]that my life may be saved.” ²¹ He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this ^[cw]request also, not to overthrow the town of which you have spoken. ²² Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the town was called ^[cx](EB)Zoar.

²³ The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar. ²⁴ Then the Lord ^(EC)rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven, ²⁵ and ^(ED)He overthrew those cities, and all the ^[cy]valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. ²⁶ But his wife, from behind him, ^(EE)looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

²⁷ Now Abraham arose early in the morning and went to ^(EF)the place where he had stood before the Lord; ²⁸ and he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the ^[cz]valley, and he saw, and behold, ^(EG)the smoke of the land ascended like the smoke of a ^[da]furnace.

²⁹ Thus it came about, when God destroyed the cities of the ^[db]valley, that ^(EH)God remembered Abraham, and ^(EI)sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.

Lot Is Debased

³⁰ Lot went up from Zoar, and ^[dc](EJ)stayed in the ^[dd]mountains, and his two daughters with him; for he was afraid to ^[de]stay in Zoar; and he ^[df]stayed in a cave, he and his two daughters. ³¹ Then the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man ^[dg]on earth to ^(EK)come in to us after the manner of the earth. ³² Come, ^(EL)let us make our father drink wine, and let us lie with him that we may preserve ^[dh]our family through our father.” ³³ So they made their father drink wine that night, and the firstborn went in and lay with her father; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. ³⁴ On the following day, the firstborn said to the younger, “Behold, I lay last night with my father; let us make him drink wine tonight also; then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve ^[di]our family through our father.” ³⁵ So they made their father drink wine that night also, and the younger arose and lay with him; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. ³⁶ Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. ³⁷ The firstborn bore a son, and called his name ^(EM)Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. ³⁸ As for the younger, she also bore a son, and called his name Ben-ammi; he is the father of the ^[dj]sons of ^(EN)Ammon to this day.

Abraham’s Treachery

20 Now Abraham journeyed from ^(EO)there toward the land of ^(EP)the ^[dk]Negev, and ^[dl]settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in ^(EQ)Gerar. ² Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “^(ER)She is my sister.” So ^(ES)Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. ^3 (ET)But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, “Behold, ^(EU)you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is ^[dm]married.” ⁴ Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, ^(EV)will You slay a nation, even though ^[dn]blameless? ⁵ Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she ^(EW)herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In ^(EX)the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my ^[do]hands I have done this.” ⁶ Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also ^[dp](EY)kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. ⁷ Now therefore, restore the man’s wife, for ^(EZ)he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”

⁸ So Abimelech arose early in the morning and called all his servants and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were greatly frightened. ^9 (FA)Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And ^[dq]how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom ^(FB)a great sin? You have done to me ^[dr]things that ought not to be done.” ¹⁰ And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What have you ^[ds]encountered, that you have done this thing?” ¹¹ Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely there is no ^(FC)fear of God in this place, and ^(FD)they will kill me because of my wife. ¹² Besides, she actually is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife; ¹³ and it came about, when ^(FE)God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is ^[dt]the kindness which you will show to me: ^[du]everywhere we go, ^(FF)say of me, “He is my brother.”’” ^14 (FG)Abimelech then took sheep and oxen and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and restored his wife Sarah to him. ¹⁵ Abimelech said, “^(FH)Behold, my land is before you; ^[dv]settle wherever ^[dw]you please.” ¹⁶ To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your ^(FI)brother a thousand pieces of silver; behold, it is ^[dx]your vindication before all who are with you, and before all men you are cleared.” ^17 (FJ)Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maids, so that they bore children. ^18 (FK)For the Lord had closed fast all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

Isaac Is Born

21 ^(FL)Then the Lord took note of Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had ^[dy]promised. ^2 (FM)So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at ^(FN)the appointed time of which God had spoken to him. ³ Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, ^(FO)Isaac. ⁴ Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was ^(FP)eight days old, as God had commanded him. ⁵ Now Abraham was ^(FQ)one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. ⁶ Sarah said, “God has made ^(FR)laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh ^[dz]with me.” ⁷ And she said, “^(FS)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 was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.

Sarah Turns against Hagar

⁹ Now Sarah saw ^(FT)the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, ^[ea](FU)mocking. ¹⁰ Therefore she said to Abraham, “^(FV)Drive out this maid and her son, for the son of this maid shall not be an heir with my son ^[eb]Isaac.” ^11 (FW)The matter ^[ec]distressed Abraham greatly because of his son. ¹² But God said to Abraham, “^[ed]Do not be distressed because of the lad and your maid; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her, for ^(FX)through Isaac ^[ee]your descendants shall be named. ¹³ And of ^(FY)the son of the maid I will make a nation also, because he is your ^[ef]descendant.” ¹⁴ So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a ^[eg]skin of water and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder, and gave her the boy, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba.

¹⁵ When the water in the skin was used up, she ^[eh]left the boy under one of the bushes. ¹⁶ Then she went and sat down opposite him, about a bowshot away, for she said, “Do not let me ^[ei]see the boy die.” And she sat opposite him, and ^(FZ)lifted up her voice and wept. ¹⁷ God ^(GA)heard the lad crying; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter with you, Hagar? ^(GB)Do not fear, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. ¹⁸ Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him by ^[ej]the hand, ^(GC)for I will make a great nation of him.” ¹⁹ Then God ^(GD)opened her eyes and she saw ^(GE)a well of water; and she went and filled the ^[ek]skin with water and gave the lad a drink.

^20 (GF)God was with the lad, and he grew; and he ^[el]lived in the wilderness and became an archer. ^21 (GG)He ^[em]lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

Covenant with Abimelech

²² Now it came about at that time that ^(GH)Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, “^(GI)God is with you in all that you do; ²³ now therefore, ^(GJ)swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring or with my posterity, but according to the kindness that I have shown to you, you shall show to me and to the land in which you have sojourned.” ²⁴ Abraham said, “I swear it.” ²⁵ But Abraham ^[en]complained to Abimelech because of the well of water which the servants of Abimelech ^(GK)had seized. ²⁶ And Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor did I hear of it ^[eo]until today.”

²⁷ Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and ^(GL)the two of them made a covenant. ²⁸ Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. ²⁹ Abimelech said to Abraham, “What do these seven ewe lambs mean, which you have set by themselves?” ³⁰ He said, “You shall take these seven ewe lambs from my hand so that it may be a ^(GM)witness to me, that I dug this well.” ³¹ Therefore he called that place ^(GN)Beersheba, because there the two of them took an oath. ³² So they made a covenant at Beersheba; and Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, arose and returned to the land of the Philistines. ³³ Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there ^(GO)he called on the name of the Lord, the ^(GP)Everlasting God. ³⁴ And Abraham sojourned ^(GQ)in the land of the Philistines for many days.

The Offering of Isaac

22 Now it came about after these things, that ^(GR)God tested Abraham, and said to him, “^(GS)Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” ² He said, “Take now ^(GT)your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of ^(GU)Moriah, and offer him there as a ^(GV)burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.” ³ So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. ⁴ On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance. ⁵ Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.” ⁶ Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and ^(GW)laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. ⁷ Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the ^(GX)lamb for the burnt offering?” ⁸ Abraham said, “God will ^[ep]provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.

⁹ Then they came to ^(GY)the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built ^(GZ)the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and ^(HA)laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. ¹¹ But ^(HB)the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” ¹² He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now ^(HC)I know that you ^[eq]fear God, since you have not withheld ^(HD)your son, your only son, from Me.” ¹³ Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. ¹⁴ Abraham called the name of that place ^[er]The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the Lord ^(HE)it will ^[es]be provided.”

¹⁵ Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, ¹⁶ and said, “^(HF)By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷ indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly ^(HG)multiply your ^[et]seed as the stars of the heavens and as ^(HH)the sand which is on the seashore; and ^(HI)your ^[eu]seed shall possess the gate of ^[ev]their enemies. ^18 (HJ)In your ^[ew]seed all the nations of the earth shall ^[ex]be blessed, because you have ^(HK)obeyed My voice.” ^19 (HL)So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham lived at Beersheba.

²⁰ Now it came about after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, “Behold, ^(HM)Milcah ^[ey]also has borne children to your brother Nahor: ²¹ Uz his firstborn and Buz his brother and Kemuel the father of Aram ²² and Chesed and Hazo and Pildash and Jidlaph and Bethuel.” ²³ Bethuel ^[ez]became the father of ^(HN)Rebekah; these eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. ²⁴ His concubine, whose name was Reumah, ^[fa]also bore Tebah and Gaham and Tahash and Maacah.

Death and Burial of Sarah

23 Now ^[fb]Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. ² Sarah died in ^(HO)Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham ^[fc]went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. ³ Then Abraham rose from before his dead, and spoke to the ^(HP)sons of Heth, saying, ⁴ “I am ^(HQ)a stranger and a sojourner among you; ^(HR)give me ^[fd]a ^(HS)burial site among you that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” ⁵ The sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, ⁶ “Hear us, my lord, you are a ^[fe](HT)mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our graves; none of us will refuse you his grave for burying your dead.” ⁷ So Abraham rose and bowed to the people of the land, the sons of Heth. ⁸ And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your ^[ff]wish for me to bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and approach ^(HU)Ephron the son of Zohar for me, ⁹ that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he owns, which is at the end of his field; for the full price let him give it to me in ^[fg]your presence for ^[fh]a burial site.” ¹⁰ Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the sons of Heth; even ^(HV)of all who went in at the gate of his city, saying, ¹¹ “No, my lord, hear me; ^(HW)I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the presence of the sons of my people I give it to you; bury your dead.” ¹² And Abraham bowed before the people of the land. ¹³ He spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If you will only please listen to me; I will give the price of the field, accept it from me that I may bury my dead there.” ¹⁴ Then Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, ¹⁵ “My lord, listen to me; a piece of land worth four hundred ^(HX)shekels of silver, what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.” ¹⁶ Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham ^(HY)weighed out for Ephron the silver which he had named in the ^[fi]hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, ^[fj]commercial standard.

¹⁷ So ^(HZ)Ephron’s field, which was in Machpelah, which faced Mamre, the field and cave which was in it, and all the trees which were in the field, that were ^[fk]within all the confines of its border, ^[fl]were deeded over ¹⁸ to Abraham for a possession ^(IA)in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city. ¹⁹ After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field at Machpelah facing Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. ²⁰ So the field and the cave that is in it, ^[fm]were ^(IB)deeded over to Abraham for ^[fn]a burial site by the sons of Heth.

A Bride for Isaac

24 Now ^(IC)Abraham was old, advanced in age; and the Lord had ^(ID)blessed Abraham in every way. ² Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had ^(IE)charge of all that he owned, “^(IF)Please place your hand under my thigh, ³ and I will make you swear by the Lord, ^(IG)the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you ^(IH)shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of ^(II)the Canaanites, among whom I live, ⁴ but you will go to ^(IJ)my country and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” ⁵ The servant said to him, “Suppose the woman is not willing to follow me to this land; should I take your son back to the land from where you came?” ⁶ Then Abraham said to him, “^(IK)Beware that you do not take my son back there! ^7 (IL)The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying, ‘^(IM)To your ^[fo]descendants I will give this land,’ He will send ^(IN)His angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there. ⁸ But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will ^(IO)be free from this my oath; ^(IP)only do not take my son back there.” ⁹ So the servant ^(IQ)placed his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.

¹⁰ Then the servant took ten camels from the camels of his master, and set out with a variety of ^(IR)good things of his master’s in his hand; and he arose and went to ^[fp]Mesopotamia, to ^(IS)the city of Nahor. ¹¹ He made the camels kneel down outside the city by ^(IT)the well of water at evening time, ^(IU)the time when women go out to draw water. ¹² He said, “^(IV)O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, please ^[fq](IW)grant me success today, and show lovingkindness to my master Abraham. ¹³ Behold, ^(IX)I am standing by the ^[fr]spring, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water; ¹⁴ now may it be that the girl to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar so that I may drink,’ and ^[fs]who answers, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels also’—may she be the one whom You have appointed for Your servant Isaac; and by this I will know that You have shown lovingkindness to my master.”

Rebekah Is Chosen

^15 (IY)Before he had finished speaking, behold, ^(IZ)Rebekah who was born to Bethuel the son of ^(JA)Milcah, the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor, came out with her jar on her shoulder. ¹⁶ The girl was ^(JB)very beautiful, a virgin, and no man had ^[ft]had relations with her; and she went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. ¹⁷ Then the servant ran to meet her, and said, “^(JC)Please let me drink a little water from your jar.” ^18 (JD)She said, “Drink, my lord”; and she quickly lowered her jar to her hand, and gave him a drink. ¹⁹ Now when she had finished giving him a drink, ^(JE)she said, “I will draw also for your camels until they have finished drinking.” ²⁰ So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, and ran back to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels. ^21 (JF)Meanwhile, the man was gazing at her ^[fu]in silence, to know whether the Lord had made his journey successful or not.

²² When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a ^(JG)gold ring weighing a half-shekel and two bracelets for her ^[fv]wrists weighing ten shekels in gold, ²³ and said, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room for us to lodge in your father’s house?” ²⁴ She said to him, “^(JH)I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” ²⁵ Again she said to him, “We have plenty of both straw and feed, and room to lodge in.” ²⁶ Then the man ^(JI)bowed low and worshiped the Lord. ²⁷ He said, “^(JJ)Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken ^(JK)His lovingkindness and His truth toward my master; as for me, ^(JL)the Lord has guided me in the way to the house of my master’s brothers.”

²⁸ Then ^(JM)the girl ran and told her mother’s household about these things. ²⁹ Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was ^(JN)Laban; and Laban ran outside to the man at the spring. ³⁰ When he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s ^[fw]wrists, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, “^[fx]This is what the man said to me,” he went to the man; and behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring. ³¹ And he said, “^(JO)Come in, ^(JP)blessed of the Lord! Why do you stand outside since ^(JQ)I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels?” ³² So the man entered the house. Then ^[fy](JR)Laban unloaded the camels, and he gave straw and feed to the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. ³³ But when food was set before him to eat, he said, “I will not eat until I have told my business.” And he said, “Speak on.” ³⁴ So he said, “I am ^(JS)Abraham’s servant. ³⁵ The Lord has greatly ^(JT)blessed my master, so that he has become ^[fz]rich; and He has given him ^(JU)flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and servants and maids, and camels and donkeys. ³⁶ Now ^(JV)Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master ^[ga]in her old age, and ^(JW)he has given him all that he has. ^37 (JX)My master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I ^[gb]live; ³⁸ but you shall go to my father’s house and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son.’ ^39 (JY)I said to my master, ‘Suppose the woman does not follow me.’ ⁴⁰ He said to me, ‘^(JZ)The Lord, before whom I have ^(KA)walked, will send ^(KB)His angel with you to make your journey successful, and you will take a wife for my son from my relatives and from my father’s house; ^41 (KC)then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my relatives; and if they do not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.’

⁴² “So ^(KD)I came today to the spring, and said, ‘O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, if now You will make my journey on which I go ^(KE)successful; ⁴³ behold, ^(KF)I am standing by the ^[gc]spring, and may it be that the maiden who comes out to draw, and to whom I say, “^(KG)Please let me drink a little water from your jar”; ⁴⁴ and she will say to me, “You drink, and I will draw for your camels also”; let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.’

⁴⁵ “Before I had finished ^(KH)speaking in my heart, behold, ^(KI)Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder, and went down to the spring and drew, and ^(KJ)I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ ⁴⁶ She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder, and said, ‘^(KK)Drink, and I will water your camels also’; so I drank, and she watered the camels also. ^47 (KL)Then I asked her, and said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him’; and I put the ^(KM)ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her ^[gd]wrists. ⁴⁸ And I ^(KN)bowed low and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, ^(KO)who had guided me in the right way to take the daughter of my master’s ^[ge]kinsman for his son. ⁴⁹ So now if you are going to ^[gf](KP)deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, let me know, that I may turn to the right hand or the left.”

⁵⁰ Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “^(KQ)The matter comes from the Lord; ^(KR)so we cannot speak to you bad or good. ⁵¹ Here is Rebekah before you, take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has spoken.”

⁵² When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he ^(KS)bowed himself to the ground ^[gg]before the Lord. ⁵³ The servant brought out ^(KT)articles of silver and articles of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother. ⁵⁴ Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night. When they arose in the morning, he said, “^(KU)Send me away to my master.” ⁵⁵ But her brother and her mother said, “^(KV)Let the girl stay with us a few days, say ten; afterward she may go.” ⁵⁶ He said to them, “Do not delay me, since ^(KW)the Lord has prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master.” ⁵⁷ And they said, “We will call the girl and ^[gh]consult her wishes.” ⁵⁸ Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.” ⁵⁹ Thus they sent away their sister Rebekah and ^(KX)her nurse with Abraham’s servant and his men. ⁶⁰ They blessed Rebekah and said to her,

⁶¹ Then Rebekah arose with her maids, and they mounted the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and departed.

Isaac Marries Rebekah

⁶² Now Isaac had come from going to ^(LA)Beer-lahai-roi; for he ^[gj]was living in ^(LB)the ^[gk]Negev. ⁶³ Isaac went out ^(LC)to ^[gl]meditate in the field toward evening; and ^(LD)he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, camels were coming. ⁶⁴ Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she dismounted from the camel. ⁶⁵ She said to the servant, “Who is that man walking in the field to meet us?” And the servant said, “He is my master.” Then she took her ^[gm]veil and covered herself. ⁶⁶ The servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. ⁶⁷ Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and ^(LE)he took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and ^(LF)he loved her; thus Isaac was comforted after ^(LG)his mother’s death.

Abraham’s Death

25 Now Abraham took another wife, ^[gn]whose name was Keturah. ^2 (LH)She bore to him Zimran and Jokshan and Medan and Midian and Ishbak and Shuah. ³ Jokshan ^[go]became the father of Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim and Letushim and Leummim. ⁴ The sons of Midian were Ephah and Epher and Hanoch and Abida and Eldaah. All these were the sons of Keturah. ^5 (LI)Now Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac; ⁶ but to the sons of ^[gp]his concubines, Abraham gave gifts while he was still living, and ^(LJ)sent them away from his son Isaac eastward, to the land of the east.

⁷ These are ^[gq]all the years of Abraham’s life that he lived, ^(LK)one hundred and seventy-five years. ⁸ Abraham breathed his last and died ^(LL)in a ^[gr]ripe old age, an old man and satisfied with life; and he was ^(LM)gathered to his people. ⁹ Then his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in ^(LN)the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, facing Mamre, ^10 (LO)the field which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth; there Abraham was buried with Sarah his wife. ¹¹ It came about after the death of Abraham, that ^(LP)God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac ^[gs]lived by ^(LQ)Beer-lahai-roi.

Descendants of Ishmael

¹² Now these are the records of the generations of ^(LR)Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maid, bore to Abraham; ¹³ and these are the names of ^(LS)the sons of Ishmael, by their names, ^[gt]in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael, and Kedar and Adbeel and Mibsam ¹⁴ and Mishma and Dumah and Massa, ¹⁵ Hadad and Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. ¹⁶ These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages, and by their camps; ^(LT)twelve princes according to their ^[gu]tribes. ¹⁷ These are the years of the life of Ishmael, ^(LU)one hundred and thirty-seven years; and he breathed his last and died, and was ^(LV)gathered to his people. ¹⁸ They ^[gv]settled from ^(LW)Havilah to ^(LX)Shur which is ^[gw]east of Egypt ^[gx]as one goes toward Assyria; ^(LY)he ^[gy]settled in defiance of all his ^[gz]relatives.

Isaac’s Sons

¹⁹ Now these are the records of ^(LZ)the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham ^[ha]became the father of Isaac; ²⁰ and Isaac was forty years old when he took ^(MA)Rebekah, the ^(MB)daughter of Bethuel the ^[hb]Aramean of Paddan-aram, the ^(MC)sister of Laban the ^[hc]Aramean, to be his wife. ²¹ Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and ^(MD)the Lord ^[hd]answered him and Rebekah his wife ^(ME)conceived. ²² But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is so, why then am I this way?” So she went to ^(MF)inquire of the Lord. ²³ The Lord said to her,

²⁴ When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. ²⁵ Now the first came forth red, ^(MJ)all over like a hairy garment; and they named him Esau. ²⁶ Afterward his brother came forth with ^(MK)his hand holding on to Esau’s heel, so ^(ML)his name was called ^[he]Jacob; and Isaac was ^(MM)sixty years old when she gave birth to them.

²⁷ When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, but Jacob was a ^[hf]peaceful man, ^[hg](MN)living in tents. ²⁸ Now Isaac loved Esau, because ^[hh]he had ^(MO)a taste for game, ^(MP)but Rebekah loved Jacob. ²⁹ When Jacob had cooked ^(MQ)stew, Esau came in from the field and he was ^[hi]famished; ³⁰ and Esau said to Jacob, “Please let me have a swallow of ^[hj]that red stuff there, for I am ^[hk]famished.” Therefore his name was called ^[hl]Edom. ³¹ But Jacob said, “^[hm]First sell me your ^(MR)birthright.” ³² Esau said, “Behold, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?” ³³ And Jacob said, “^[hn]First swear to me”; so he swore to him, and ^(MS)sold his birthright to Jacob. ³⁴ Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and rose and went on his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.