CEB Common English Bible with Apocrypha - eBook [ePub]. Common English Bible

CEB Common English Bible with Apocrypha - eBook [ePub]

entire Jordan Valley. All of it was well irrigated, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as far as Zoar (this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah). ¹¹So Lot chose for himself the entire Jordan Valley. Lot set out toward the east, and they separated from each other. ¹²Abram settled in the land of Canaan, and Lot settled near the cities of the valley and pitched his tent close to Sodom. ¹³The citizens of Sodom were very evil and sinful against the LORD.

¹⁴After Lot separated from him, the LORD said to Abram, "From the place where you are standing, look up and gaze to the north, south, east, and west,¹⁵because all the land that you see I give you and your descendants forever. ¹⁶I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth. If someone could count the bits of dust on the earth, then they could also count your descendants. ¹⁷Stand up and walk around through the length and breadth of the land because I am giving it to you."¹⁸So Abram packed his tent and went and settled by the oaks of Mamre in Hebron. There he built an altar to the LORD.

Abram rescues Lot

Genesis 14While Amraphel was king of Shinar, Ellasar's King Arioch, Elam's King Chedorlaomer, and Goiim's King Tidal ²declared war on Sodom's King Bera, Gomorrah's King Birsha, Admah's King Shinab, Zeboiim's King Shemeber, and the king of Bela, that is, Zoar. ³These latter kings formed an alliance in the Siddim Valley (that is, the Dead Sea^r ). ⁴For twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they revolted. ⁵In the fourteenth year, Chedorlaomer and the kings of his alliance came and attacked the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, ⁶and the Horites in the mountains of Seir as far as El-paran near the desert. ⁷Then they turned back, came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and attacked the territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-tamar.

⁸Then the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bera (that is, Zoar) took up battle positions in the Siddim Valley ⁹against King Chedorlaomer of Elam, King Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel of Shinar, and King Arioch of Ellasar, four kings against five.

¹⁰Now the Siddim Valley was filled with tar pits. When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah retreated, they fell into them; and the rest fled to the mountains. ¹¹They took everything from Sodom and Gomorrah, including its food supplies, and left. ¹²They also took Lot, Abram's nephew who lived in Sodom, and everything he owned, and took off. ¹³When a survivor arrived, he told Abram the Hebrew, who lived near the oaks of the Amorite Mamre, who was the brother of Eshcol and Aner, Abram's treaty partners.

¹⁴When Abram heard that his relative had been captured, he took all of the loyal men born in his household, three hundred eighteen, and went after them as far as Dan. ¹⁵During the night, he and his servants divided themselves up against them, attacked, and chased them to Hobah, north of Damascus. ¹⁶He brought back all of the looted property, together with his relative Lot and Lot's property, wives, and people.

Abram blessed by Melchizedek

¹⁷After Abram returned from his attack on Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom came out to the Shaveh Valley (that is, the King's Valley) to meet him. ¹⁸Now Melchizedek the king of Salem and the priest of El Elyon^s had brought bread and wine, ¹⁹and he blessed him,

"Bless Abram by El Elyon,

creator of heaven and earth;

²⁰bless El Elyon,

who gave you the victory over your enemies."

Abram gave Melchizedek one-tenth of everything. ²¹Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people and take the property for yourself."

²²But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I promised the LORD, El Elyon, creator of heaven and earth,²³that I wouldn't take even a thread or a sandal strap from anything that was yours so that you couldn't say, 'I'm the one who made Abram rich.'²⁴The only exception is that the young men may keep whatever they have taken to eat, and the men who went with me--Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre--may keep their share."

God's covenant with Abram

Genesis 15After these events, the LORD's word came to Abram in a vision, "Don't be afraid, Abram. I am your protector.^t Your reward will be very great."

²But Abram said, "LORD God, what can you possibly give me, since I still have no children? The head of my household is Eliezer, a man from Damascus."^u ³He continued, "Since you haven't given me any children, the head of my household will be my heir."

⁴The LORD's word came immediately to him, "This man will not be your heir. Your heir will definitely be your very own biological child."⁵Then he brought Abram outside and said, "Look up at the sky and count the stars if you think you can count them." He continued, "This is how many children you will have."⁶Abram trusted the LORD, and the LORD recognized Abram's high moral character.

⁷He said to Abram, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as your possession."

⁸But Abram said, "LORD God, how do I know that I will actually possess it?"

⁹He said, "Bring me a three-year-old female calf, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a dove, and a young pigeon."¹⁰He took all of these animals, split them in half, and laid the halves facing each other, but he didn't split the birds. ¹¹When vultures swooped down on the carcasses, Abram waved them off. ¹²After the sun set, Abram slept deeply. A terrifying and deep darkness settled over him.

¹³Then the LORD said to Abram, "Have no doubt that your descendants will live as immigrants in a land that isn't their own, where they will be oppressed slaves for four hundred years. ¹⁴But after I punish the nation they serve, they will leave it with great wealth. ¹⁵As for you, you will join your ancestors in peace and be buried after a good long life. ¹⁶The fourth generation will return here since the Amorites' wrongdoing won't have reached its peak until then."

¹⁷After the sun had set and darkness had deepened, a smoking vessel with a fiery flame passed between the split-open animals. ¹⁸That day the LORD cut a covenant with Abram: "To your descendants I give this land, from Egypt's river to the great Euphrates,¹⁹together with the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,²⁰the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,²¹the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites."

Hagar and the Ishmaelites' origins

Genesis 16Sarai, Abram's wife, had not been able to have children. Since she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar, ²Sarai said to Abram, "The LORD has kept me from giving birth, so go to my servant. Maybe she will provide me with children." Abram did just as Sarai said. ³After Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram's wife Sarai took her Egyptian servant Hagar and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. ⁴He slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant. But when she realized that she was pregnant, she no longer respected her mistress. ⁵Sarai said to Abram, "This harassment is your fault. I allowed you to embrace my servant, but when she realized she was pregnant, I lost her respect. Let the LORD decide who is right, you or me."

⁶Abram said to Sarai, "Since she's your servant, do whatever you wish to her." So Sarai treated her harshly, and she ran away from Sarai.

⁷The LORD's messenger found Hagar at a spring in the desert, the spring on the road to Shur, ⁸and said, "Hagar! Sarai's servant! Where did you come from and where are you going?"

She said, "From Sarai my mistress. I'm running away."

⁹The LORD's messenger said to her, "Go back to your

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