Old/New Testament
Abram’s Solution to the Strife
13 So Abram went up from Egypt into the Negev.[a] He took his wife and all his possessions with him, as well as Lot.[b] 2 (Now Abram was very wealthy[c] in livestock, silver, and gold.)[d]
3 And he journeyed from place to place[e] from the Negev as far as Bethel. He returned[f] to the place where he had pitched his tent[g] at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai. 4 This was the place where he had first built the altar,[h] and there Abram worshiped the Lord.[i]
5 Now Lot, who was traveling[j] with Abram, also had[k] flocks, herds, and tents. 6 But the land could[l] not support them while they were living side by side.[m] Because their possessions were so great, they were not able to live[n] alongside one another. 7 So there were quarrels[o] between Abram’s herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen.[p] (Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at that time.)[q]
8 Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no quarreling between me and you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are close relatives.[r] 9 Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself now from me. If you go[s] to the left, then I’ll go to the right, but if you go to the right, then I’ll go to the left.”
10 Lot looked up and saw[t] the whole region[u] of the Jordan. He noticed[v] that all of it was well watered (this was before the Lord obliterated[w] Sodom and Gomorrah)[x] like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt,[y] all the way to Zoar. 11 Lot chose for himself the whole region of the Jordan and traveled[z] toward the east.
So the relatives separated from each other.[aa] 12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, but Lot settled among the cities of the Jordan plain[ab] and pitched his tents next to Sodom. 13 (Now[ac] the people[ad] of Sodom were extremely wicked rebels against the Lord.)[ae]
14 After Lot had departed, the Lord said to Abram,[af] “Look[ag] from the place where you stand to the north, south, east, and west. 15 I will give all the land that you see to you and your descendants[ah] forever. 16 And I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone is able to count the dust of the earth, then your descendants also can be counted.[ai] 17 Get up and[aj] walk[ak] throughout the land,[al] for I will give it to you.”
18 So Abram moved his tents and went to live[am] by the oaks[an] of Mamre in Hebron, and he built an altar to the Lord there.
The Blessing of Victory for God’s People
14 At that time[ao] Amraphel king of Shinar,[ap] Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations[aq] 2 went to war[ar] against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).[as] 3 These last five kings[at] joined forces[au] in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea).[av] 4 For twelve years[aw] they had served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year[ax] they rebelled.[ay] 5 In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings who were his allies came and defeated[az] the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 6 and the Horites in their hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is near the desert.[ba] 7 Then they attacked En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh) again,[bb] and they conquered all the territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazezon Tamar.
8 Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and prepared for battle. In the Valley of Siddim they met[bc] 9 Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations,[bd] Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar. Four kings fought against[be] five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits.[bf] When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into them,[bg] but some survivors[bh] fled to the hills.[bi] 11 The four victorious kings[bj] took all the possessions and food of Sodom and Gomorrah and left. 12 They also took Abram’s nephew[bk] Lot and his possessions when[bl] they left, for Lot[bm] was living in Sodom.[bn]
13 A fugitive[bo] came and told Abram the Hebrew.[bp] Now Abram was living by the oaks[bq] of Mamre the Amorite, the brother[br] of Eshcol and Aner. (All these were allied by treaty[bs] with Abram.)[bt] 14 When Abram heard that his nephew[bu] had been taken captive, he mobilized[bv] his 318 trained men who had been born in his household, and he pursued the invaders[bw] as far as Dan.[bx] 15 Then, during the night,[by] Abram[bz] divided his forces[ca] against them and defeated them. He chased them as far as Hobah, which is north[cb] of Damascus. 16 He retrieved all the stolen property.[cc] He also brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, as well as the women and the rest of[cd] the people.
17 After Abram[ce] returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet Abram[cf] in the Valley of Shaveh (known as the King’s Valley).[cg] 18 Melchizedek king of Salem[ch] brought out bread and wine. (Now he was the priest of the Most High God.)[ci] 19 He blessed Abram, saying,
“Blessed be Abram by[cj] the Most High God,
Creator[ck] of heaven and earth.[cl]
20 Worthy of praise is[cm] the Most High God,
who delivered[cn] your enemies into your hand.”
Abram gave Melchizedek[co] a tenth of everything.
21 Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and take the possessions for yourself.” 22 But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I raise my hand[cp] to the Lord, the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth, and vow[cq] 23 that I will take nothing[cr] belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal. That way you can never say, ‘It is I[cs] who made Abram rich.’ 24 I will take nothing[ct] except compensation for what the young men have eaten.[cu] As for the share of the men who went with me—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre—let them take their share.”
The Cutting of the Covenant
15 After these things the Lord’s message came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield[cv] and the one who will reward you in great abundance.”[cw]
2 But Abram said, “O Sovereign Lord,[cx] what will you give me since[cy] I continue to be[cz] childless, and my heir[da] is[db] Eliezer of Damascus?”[dc] 3 Abram added,[dd] “Since[de] you have not given me a descendant, then look, one born in my house will be my heir!”[df]
4 But look,[dg] the Lord’s message came to him: “This man[dh] will not be your heir, but instead[di] a son[dj] who comes from your own body will be your heir.” 5 The Lord[dk] took him outside and said, “Gaze into the sky and count the stars—if you are able to count them!” Then he said to him, “So will your descendants be.”
6 Abram believed[dl] the Lord, and the Lord[dm] credited[dn] it[do] as righteousness[dp] to him.
7 The Lord said[dq] to him, “I am the Lord[dr] who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans[ds] to give you this land to possess.” 8 But[dt] Abram[du] said, “O Sovereign Lord,[dv] by what[dw] can I know that I am to possess it?”
9 The Lord[dx] said to him, “Take for me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” 10 So Abram[dy] took all these for him and then cut them in two[dz] and placed each half opposite the other,[ea] but he did not cut the birds in half. 11 When birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12 When the sun went down, Abram fell sound asleep,[eb] and great terror overwhelmed him.[ec] 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain[ed] that your descendants will be strangers[ee] in a foreign country.[ef] They will be enslaved and oppressed[eg] for 400 years. 14 But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve.[eh] Afterward they will come out with many possessions. 15 But as for you,[ei] you will go to your ancestors[ej] in peace and be buried at a good old age.[ek] 16 In the fourth generation[el] your descendants[em] will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.”[en]
17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch[eo] passed between the animal parts.[ep] 18 That day the Lord made a covenant[eq] with Abram: “To your descendants I give[er] this land, from the river of Egypt[es] to the great river, the Euphrates River— 19 the land[et] of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”[eu]
The Beatitudes
5 When[a] he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain.[b] After he sat down his disciples came to him. 2 Then[c] he began to teach[d] them by saying:
3 “Blessed[e] are the poor in spirit,[f] for the kingdom of heaven belongs[g] to them.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.[h]
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger[i] and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children[j] of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
11 “Blessed are you when people[k] insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things about you falsely[l] on account of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because your reward is great in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.
Salt and Light
13 “You are the salt[m] of the earth. But if salt loses its flavor,[n] how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled on by people! 14 You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 People[o] do not light a lamp and put it under a basket[p] but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds and give honor to your Father in heaven.
Fulfillment of the Law and Prophets
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish these things but to fulfill them.[q] 18 I[r] tell you the truth,[s] until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter[t] will pass from the law until everything takes place. 19 So anyone who breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others[u] to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever obeys them and teaches others to do so will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness goes beyond that of the experts in the law[v] and the Pharisees,[w] you will never enter the kingdom of heaven!
Anger and Murder
21 “You have heard that it was said to an older generation,[x] ‘Do not murder,’[y] and ‘whoever murders will be subjected to judgment.’[z] 22 But I say to you that anyone who is angry with a brother[aa] will be subjected to judgment. And whoever insults[ab] a brother will be brought before[ac] the council,[ad] and whoever says ‘Fool’[ae] will be sent[af] to fiery hell.[ag] 23 So then, if you bring your gift to the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother and then come and present your gift. 25 Reach agreement[ah] quickly with your accuser while on the way to court,[ai] or he[aj] may hand you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the warden, and you will be thrown into prison. 26 I tell you the truth,[ak] you will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny![al]
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