Genesis 13

GOD’S WORD Translation

Abram and Lot Separate

13 Abram left Egypt with his wife and everything he had and went to the Negev. Lot was with him. ² Abram was very rich because he had livestock, silver, and gold. ³ He traveled from place to place. He went from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the area between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been originally, ⁴ where he had first made an altar. There Abram worshiped the Lord.

⁵ Lot, who had been traveling with Abram, also had his own sheep, cattle, and tents. ⁶ There wasn’t enough pastureland for both of them. They had so many possessions that they were unable to remain together. ⁷ Quarrels broke out between Abram’s herders and Lot’s herders. (Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in that area.)

⁸ Abram said to Lot, “Please, let’s not have any more quarrels between us or between our herders. After all, we’re relatives. ⁹ Isn’t all this land yours also? Let’s separate. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right, and if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.” ¹⁰ Then Lot looked in the direction of Zoar as far as he could see. He saw that the whole Jordan Plain was well-watered like the Lord’s garden or like Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)

¹¹ Lot chose the whole Jordan Plain for himself. He moved toward the east. They each went their own way. ¹² Abram lived in Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain, moving his tents as far as Sodom. ¹³ (The people who lived in Sodom were very wicked. They committed terrible sins against the Lord.)

The Lord’s Third Promise to Abram

¹⁴ After Lot left, the Lord said to Abram, “Look north, south, east, and west of where you are. ¹⁵ I will give all the land you see to you and to your descendants for an indefinite period of time. ¹⁶ I will also give you as many descendants as the dust of the earth. If anyone could count the dust of the earth, then he could also count your descendants. ¹⁷ Go! Walk back and forth across the entire land because I will give it to you.” ¹⁸ So Abram moved his tents and went to live by the oak trees belonging to Mamre at Hebron. There he built an altar for the Lord.