Genesis 11; Genesis 12; Genesis 13; Genesis 14; Genesis 15; Genesis 16; Genesis 17; Genesis 18; Genesis 19; Genesis 20; Genesis 21; Genesis 22; Genesis 23; Genesis 24; Genesis 25

Genesis 11

1 At one time the whole earth had the same language and vocabulary.

2 As people migrated from the east, they found a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there.

3 They said to each other, "Come, let us make oven-fired bricks." They had brick for stone and asphalt for mortar.

4 And they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky. Let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth."

5 Then the Lord came down to look over the city and the tower that the men were building.

6 The Lord said, "If, as one people all having the same language, they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.

7 Come, let Us go down there and confuse their language so that they will not understand one another's speech."

8 So the Lord scattered them from there over the face of the whole earth, and they stopped building the city.

9 Therefore its name is called Babylon, for there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth, and from there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

10 These are the family records of Shem. Shem lived 100 years and fathered Arpachshad two years after the deluge.

11 After he fathered Arpachshad, Shem lived 500 years and fathered [other] sons and daughters.

12 Arpachshad lived 35 years and fathered Shelah.

13 After he fathered Shelah, Arpachshad lived 403 years and fathered [other] sons and daughters.

14 Shelah lived 30 years and fathered Eber.

15 After he fathered Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and fathered [other] sons and daughters.

16 Eber lived 34 years and fathered Peleg.

17 After he fathered Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and fathered [other] sons and daughters.

18 Peleg lived 30 years and fathered Reu.

19 After he fathered Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and fathered [other] sons and daughters.

20 Reu lived 32 years and fathered Serug.

21 After he fathered Serug, Reu lived 207 years and fathered [other] sons and daughters.

22 Serug lived 30 years and fathered Nahor.

23 After he fathered Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and fathered [other] sons and daughters.

24 Nahor lived 29 years and fathered Terah.

25 After he fathered Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and fathered [other] sons and daughters.

26 Terah lived 70 years and fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

27 These are the family records of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran, and Haran fathered Lot.

28 Haran died in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans, during his father Terah's lifetime.

29 Abram and Nahor took wives: Abram's wife was named Sarai, and Nahor's wife was named Milcah. She was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah.

30 Sarai was barren; she had no child.

31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (Haran's son), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram's wife, and they set out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there.

32 Terah lived 205 years and died in Haran.

Genesis 12

1 The Lord said to Abram: Go out from your land, your relatives, and your father's house to the land that I will show you.

2 I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

3 I will bless those who bless you, I will curse those who treat you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran.

5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated, and the people he had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,

6 Abram passed through the land to the site of Shechem, at the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.

7 But the Lord appeared to Abram and said, "I will give this land to your offspring." So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.

8 From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and worshiped Him.

9 Then Abram journeyed by stages to the Negev.

10 There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine in the land was severe.

11 When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "Look, I know what a beautiful woman you are.

12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' They will kill me but let you live.

13 Please say you're my sister so it will go well for me because of you, and my life will be spared on your account."

14 When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.

15 Pharaoh's officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh, so the woman was taken to Pharaoh's house.

16 He treated Abram well because of her, and Abram acquired flocks and herds, male and female donkeys, male and female slaves, and camels.

17 But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his house with severe plagues because of Abram's wife Sarai.

18 So Pharaoh sent for Abram and said, "What have you done to me? Why didn't you tell me she was your wife?

19 Why did you say, 'She's my sister,' so that I took her as my wife? Now, here's your wife. Take her and go!"

20 Then Pharaoh gave [his] men orders about him, and they sent him away, with his wife and all he had.

Genesis 13

1 Then Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev-he, his wife, and all he had, and Lot with him.

2 Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold.

3 He went by stages from the Negev to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had formerly been,

4 to the site where he had built the altar. And Abram worshiped the Lord there.

5 Now Lot, who was traveling with Abram, also had flocks, herds, and tents.

6 But the land was unable to support them as long as they stayed together, for they had so many possessions that they could not stay together,

7 and there was quarreling between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land.

8 Then Abram said to Lot, "Please, let's not have quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, since we are relatives.

9 Isn't the whole land before you? Separate from me: if [you go] to the left, I will go to the right; if [you go] to the right, I will go to the left."

10 Lot looked out and saw that the entire Jordan Valley as far as Zoar was well-watered everywhere like the Lord's garden and the land of Egypt. This was before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.

11 So Lot chose the entire Jordan Valley for himself. Then Lot journeyed eastward, and they separated from each other.

12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, but Lot lived in the cities of the valley and set up his tent near Sodom.

13 Now the men of Sodom were evil, sinning greatly against the Lord.

14 After Lot had separated from him, the Lord said to Abram, "Look from the place where you are. Look north and south, east and west,

15 for I will give you and your offspring forever all the land that you see.

16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if one could count the dust of the earth, then your offspring could be counted.

17 Get up and walk from one end of the land to the other, for I will give it to you."

18 So Abram moved his tent and went to live beside the oaks of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the Lord.

Genesis 14

1 In those days Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim

2 waged war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, as well as the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).

3 All of these came as allies to the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Dead Sea).

4 They were subject to Chedorlaomer for 12 years, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

5 In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim,

6 and the Horites in the mountains of Seir, as far as El-paran by the wilderness.

7 Then they came back to invade En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they defeated all the territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-tamar.

8 Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and lined up for battle in the Valley of Siddim

9 against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar-four kings against five.

10 Now the Valley of Siddim contained many asphalt pits, and [as] the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, [some] fell into them, but the rest fled to the mountains.

11 The [four kings] took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food and went on.

12 They also took Abram's nephew Lot and his possessions, for he was living in Sodom, and they went on.

13 One of the survivors came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was at the oaks belonging to Mamre the Amorite, the brother of Eshcol and the brother of Aner. They were bound by a treaty with Abram.

14 When Abram heard that his relative had been taken prisoner, he assembled his 318 trained men, born in his household, and they went in pursuit as far as Dan.

15 And he and his servants deployed against them by night, attacked them, and pursued them as far as Hobah to the north of Damascus.

16 He brought back all the goods and also his relative Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the [other] people.

17 After Abram returned from defeating Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley).

18 Then Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine; he was a priest to God Most High.

19 He blessed him and said: Abram is blessed by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,

20 and give praise to God Most High who has handed over your enemies to you. And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

21 Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people, but take the possessions for yourself."

22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand in an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,

23 that I will not take a thread or sandal strap or anything that belongs to you, so you can never say, 'I made Abram rich.'

24 I will take nothing except what the servants have eaten. But as for the share of the men who came with me-Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre-they can take their share."

Genesis 15

1 After these events, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield; your reward will be very great.

2 But Abram said, "Lord God , what can You give me, since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?"

3 Abram continued, "Look, You have given me no offspring, so a slave born in my house will be my heir."

4 Now the word of the Lord came to him: "This one will not be your heir; instead, one who comes from your own body will be your heir."

5 He took him outside and said, "Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them." Then He said to him, "Your offspring will be that [numerous]."

6 Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.

7 He also said to him, "I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess."

8 But he said, "Lord God , how can I know that I will possess it?"

9 He said to him, "Bring Me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon."

10 So he brought all these to Him, split them down the middle, and laid the pieces opposite each other, but he did not cut up the birds.

11 Birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

12 As the sun was setting, a deep sleep fell on Abram, and suddenly a terror and great darkness descended on him.

13 Then the Lord said to Abram, "Know this for certain: Your offspring will be strangers in a land that does not belong to them; they will be enslaved and oppressed 400 years.

14 However, I will judge the nation they serve, and afterwards they will go out with many possessions.

15 But you will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.

16 In the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."

17 When the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the divided [animals].

18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, "I give this land to your offspring, from the brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River:

19 [the land of] the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,

20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaim,

21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites."

Genesis 16

1 Abram's wife Sarai had not borne him children. She owned an Egyptian slave named Hagar.

2 Sarai said to Abram, "Since the Lord has prevented me from bearing children, go to my slave; perhaps I can have children by her." And Abram agreed to what Sarai said.

3 So Abram's wife Sarai took Hagar, her Egyptian slave, and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife for him. [This happened] after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan 10 years.

4 He slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she realized that she was pregnant, she looked down on her mistress.

5 Then Sarai said to Abram, "You are responsible for my suffering! I put my slave in your arms, and ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has looked down on me. May the Lord judge between me and you."

6 Abram replied to Sarai, "Here, your slave is in your hands; do whatever you want with her." Then Sarai mistreated her so much that she ran away from her.

7 The Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur.

8 He said, "Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?" She replied, "I'm running away from my mistress Sarai."

9 Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, "You must go back to your mistress and submit to her mistreatment."

10 The Angel of the Lord also said to her, "I will greatly multiply your offspring, and they will be too many to count."

11 Then the Angel of the Lord said to her: You have conceived and will have a son. You will name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard your [cry of] affliction.

12 This man will be [like] a wild ass. His hand will be against everyone, and everyone's hand will be against him; he will live at odds with all his brothers.

13 So she named the Lord who spoke to her: The God Who Sees, for she said, "Have I really seen here the One who sees me?"

14 That is why she named the spring, "A Well of the Living One Who Sees Me." It is located between Kadesh and Bered.

15 So Hagar gave birth to Abram's son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son Hagar had.

16 Abram was 86 years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him.

Genesis 17

1 When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him, saying, "I am God Almighty. Live in My presence and be devout.

2 I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you greatly."

3 Then Abram fell to the ground, and God spoke with him:

4 "As for Me, My covenant is with you, and you will become the father of many nations.

5 Your name will no longer be Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I will make you the father of many nations.

6 I will make you extremely fruitful and will make nations and kings come from you.

7 I will keep My covenant between Me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, as an everlasting covenant to be your God and the [God] of your offspring after you.

8 And to you and your offspring after you I will give the land where you are residing-all the land of Canaan-as an eternal possession, and I will be their God."

9 God also said to Abraham, "As for you, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations are to keep My covenant.

10 This is My covenant, which you are to keep, between Me and you and your offspring after you: Every one of your males must be circumcised.

11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskin to serve as a sign of the covenant between Me and you.

12 Throughout your generations, every male among you at eight days old is to be circumcised. This includes a slave born in your house and one purchased with money from any foreigner. The one who is not your offspring,

13 a slave born in your house, as well as one purchased with money, must be circumcised. My covenant will be in your flesh as an everlasting covenant.

14 If any male is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that man will be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant."

15 God said to Abraham, "As for your wife Sarai, do not call her Sarai, for Sarah will be her name.

16 I will bless her; indeed, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will produce nations; kings of peoples will come from her."

17 Abraham fell to the ground, laughed, and thought in his heart, "Can a child be born to a hundred-year-old man? Can Sarah, a ninety-year-old woman, give birth?"

18 So Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael could live in Your presence!"

19 But God said, "No. Your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. I will confirm My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.

20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. I will certainly bless him; I will make him fruitful and will multiply him greatly. He will father 12 tribal leaders, and I will make him into a great nation.

21 But I will confirm My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year."

22 When He finished talking with him, God withdrew from Abraham.

23 Then Abraham took his son Ishmael and all the slaves born in his house or purchased with his money-every male among the members of Abraham's household-and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin on that very day, just as God had said to him.

24 Abraham was 99 years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised,

25 and his son Ishmael was 13 years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised.

26 On that same day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised.

27 And all the men of his household-both slaves born in his house and those purchased with money from a foreigner-were circumcised with him.

Genesis 18

1 Then the Lord appeared to Abraham at the oaks of Mamre while he was sitting in the entrance of his tent during the heat of the day.

2 He looked up, and he saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed to the ground.

3 Then he said, "My lord, if I have found favor in your sight, please do not go on past your servant.

4 Let a little water be brought, that you may wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree.

5 I will bring a bit of bread so that you may strengthen yourselves. This is why you have passed your servant's [way]. Later, you can continue on." "Yes," they replied, "do as you have said."

6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, "Quick! Knead three measures of fine flour and make bread."

7 Meanwhile, Abraham ran to the herd and got a tender, choice calf. He gave it to a young man, who hurried to prepare it.

8 Then Abraham took curds and milk, and the calf that he had prepared, and set [them] before the men. He served them as they ate under the tree.

9 "Where is your wife Sarah?" they asked him. "There, in the tent," he answered.

10 The Lord said, "I will certainly come back to you in about a year's time, and your wife Sarah will have a son!" Now Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent behind him.

11 Abraham and Sarah were old and getting on in years. Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.

12 So she laughed to herself: "After I have become shriveled up and my lord is old, will I have delight?"

13 But the Lord asked Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Can I really have a baby when I'm old?'

14 Is anything impossible for the Lord? At the appointed time I will come back to you, and in about a year she will have a son."

15 Sarah denied it. "I did not laugh," she said, because she was afraid. But He replied, "No, you did laugh."

16 The men got up from there and looked out over Sodom, and Abraham was walking with them to see them off.

17 Then the Lord said, "Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?

18 Abraham is to become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him.

19 For I have chosen him so that he will command his children and his house after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. This is how the Lord will fulfill to Abraham what He promised him."

20 Then the Lord said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is immense, and their sin is extremely serious.

21 I will go down to see if what they have done justifies the cry that has come up to Me. If not, I will find out."

22 The men turned from there and went toward Sodom while Abraham remained standing before the Lord.

23 Abraham stepped forward and said, "Will You really sweep away the righteous with the wicked?

24 What if there are 50 righteous people in the city? Will You really sweep it away instead of sparing the place for the sake of the 50 righteous people who are in it?

25 You could not possibly do such a thing: to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. You could not possibly do that! Won't the Judge of all the earth do what is just?"

26 The Lord said, "If at Sodom I find 50 righteous people in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake."

27 Then Abraham answered, "Since I have ventured to speak to the Lord-even though I am dust and ashes-

28 suppose the 50 righteous lack five. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?" He replied, "I will not destroy [it] if I find 45 there."

29 Then he spoke to Him again, "Suppose 40 are found there?" He answered, "I will not do [it] on account of 40."

30 Then he said, "Let the Lord not be angry, and I will speak further. Suppose 30 are found there?" He answered, "I will not do [it] if I find 30 there."

31 Then he said, "Since I have ventured to speak to the Lord, suppose 20 are found there?" He replied, "I will not destroy [it] on account of 20."

32 Then he said, "Let the Lord not be angry, and I will speak one more time. Suppose 10 are found there?" He answered, "I will not destroy [it] on account of 10."

33 When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, He departed, and Abraham returned to his place.

Genesis 19

1 The two angels entered Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting at Sodom's gate. When Lot saw [them], he got up to meet them. He bowed [with his] face to the ground

2 and said, "My lords, turn aside to your servant's house, wash your feet, and spend the night. Then you can get up early and go on your way." "No," they said. "We would rather spend the night in the square."

3 But he urged them so strongly that they followed him and went into his house. He prepared a feast and baked unleavened bread for them, and they ate.

4 Before they went to bed, the men of the city of Sodom, both young and old, the whole population, surrounded the house.

5 They called out to Lot and said, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Send them out to us so we can have sex with them!"

6 Lot went out to them at the entrance and shut the door behind him.

7 He said, "Don't do [this] evil, my brothers.

8 Look, I've got two daughters who haven't had sexual relations with a man. I'll bring them out to you, and you can do whatever you want to them. However, don't do anything to these men, because they have come under the protection of my roof."

9 "Get out of the way!" they said, adding, "This one came here as a foreigner, but he's acting like a judge! Now we'll do more harm to you than to them." They put pressure on Lot and came up to break down the door.

10 But the angels reached out, brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door.

11 They struck the men who were at the door of the house, both young and old, with a blinding light so that they were unable to find the door.

12 Then the angels said to Lot, "Do you have anyone else here: a son-in-law, your sons and daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of this place,

13 for we are about to destroy this place because the outcry against its people is great before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it."

14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were going to marry his daughters. "Get up," he said. "Get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city!" But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.

15 At the crack of dawn the angels urged Lot on: "Get up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city."

16 But he hesitated, so because of the Lord's compassion for him, the men grabbed his hand, his wife's hand, and the hands of his two daughters. And they brought him out and left him outside the city.

17 As soon as the angels got them outside, one of them said, "Run for your lives! Don't look back and don't stop anywhere on the plain! Run to the mountains, or you will be swept away!"

18 But Lot said to them, "No, Lord -please.

19 Your servant has indeed found favor in Your sight, and You have shown me great kindness by saving my life. But I can't run to the mountains; the disaster will overtake me, and I will die.

20 Look, this town is close enough for me to run to. It is a small place. Please let me go there-it's only a small place, isn't it?-so that I can survive."

21 And he said to him, "All right, I'll grant your request about this matter too, and will not overthrow the town you mentioned.

22 Hurry up! Run there, for I cannot do anything until you get there." Therefore the name of the city is Zoar.

23 The sun had risen over the land when Lot reached Zoar.

24 Then the Lord rained burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord out of the sky.

25 He overthrew these cities, the entire plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and whatever grew on the ground.

26 But his wife looked back and became a pillar of salt.

27 Early in the morning Abraham went to the place where he had stood before the Lord.

28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of the plain, and he saw that smoke was going up from the land like the smoke of a furnace.

29 So it was, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, He remembered Abraham and brought Lot out of the middle of the upheaval when He overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.

30 Lot departed from Zoar and lived in the mountains along with his two daughters, because he was afraid to live in Zoar. Instead, he and his two daughters lived in a cave.

31 Then the firstborn said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is no man in the land to sleep with us [as is] the custom of all the land.

32 Come, let's get our father to drink wine so that we can sleep with him and preserve our father's line."

33 So they got their father to drink wine that night, and the firstborn came and slept with her father; he did not know when she lay down or when she got up.

34 The next day the firstborn said to the younger, "Look, I slept with my father last night. Let's get him to drink wine again tonight so you can go sleep with him and we can preserve our father's line."

35 That night they again got their father to drink wine, and the younger went and slept with him; he did not know when she lay down or when she got up.

36 So both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father.

37 The firstborn gave birth to a son and named him Moab. He is the father of the Moabites of today.

38 The younger also gave birth to a son, and she named him Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites of today.

Genesis 20

1 From there Abraham traveled to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived in Gerar,

2 Abraham said about his wife Sarah, "She is my sister." So Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.

3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, "You are about to die because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman."

4 Now Abimelech had not approached her, so he said, "Lord, would you destroy a nation even though it is innocent?

5 Didn't he himself say to me, 'She is my sister'? And she herself said, 'He is my brother.' I did this with a clear conscience and clean hands."

6 Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience. I have also kept you from sinning against Me. Therefore I have not let you touch her.

7 Now return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, know that you will certainly die, you and all who are yours."

8 Early in the morning Abimelech got up, called all his servants together, and personally told them all these things; and the men were terrified.

9 Then Abimelech called Abraham in and said to him, "What have you done to us? How did I sin against you that you have brought such enormous guilt on me and on my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done."

10 Abimelech also said to Abraham, "What did you intend when you did this thing?"

11 Abraham replied, "I thought, 'There is absolutely no fear of God in this place. They will kill me because of my wife.'

12 Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife.

13 So when God had me wander from my father's house, I said to her: Show your loyalty to me wherever we go, and say about me: 'He's my brother.' "

14 Then Abimelech took sheep and cattle and male and female slaves, gave them to Abraham, and returned his wife Sarah to him.

15 Abimelech said, "Look, my land is before you. Settle wherever you want."

16 And to Sarah he said, "Look, I am giving your brother 1,000 pieces of silver. It is a verification of your honor to all who are with you. You are fully vindicated."

17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female slaves so that they could bear children,

18 for the Lord had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech's household on account of Sarah, Abraham's wife.

Genesis 21

1 The Lord came to Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what He had promised.

2 Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time God had told him.

3 Abraham named his son who was born to him-the one Sarah bore to him-Isaac.

4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded him.

5 Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

6 Sarah said, "God has made me laugh, and everyone who hears will laugh with me."

7 She also said, "Who would have told 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 held a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned.

9 But Sarah saw the son mocking-the one Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham.

10 So she said to Abraham, "Drive out this slave with her son, for the son of this slave will not be a co-heir with my son Isaac!"

11 Now this was a very difficult thing for Abraham because of his son.

12 But God said to Abraham, "Do not be concerned about the boy and your slave. Whatever Sarah says to you, listen to her, because your offspring will be traced through Isaac.

13 But I will also make a nation of the slave's son because he is your offspring."

14 Early in the morning Abraham got up, took bread and a waterskin, [put them] on Hagar's shoulders, and sent her and the boy away. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beer-sheba.

15 When the water in the skin was gone, she left the boy under one of the bushes.

16 Then she went and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she said, "I can't [bear to] watch the boy die!" So as she sat nearby, she wept loudly.

17 God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What's wrong, Hagar? Don't be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy from the place where he is.

18 Get up, help the boy up, and sustain him, for I will make him a great nation."

19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the waterskin and gave the boy a drink.

20 God was with the boy, and he grew; he settled in the wilderness and became an archer.

21 He settled in the Wilderness of Paran, and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

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

23 Now swear to me here by God that you will not break an agreement with me or with my children and descendants. As I have kept faith with you, so you will keep faith with me and with the country where you are a resident alien."

24 And Abraham said, "I swear [it]."

25 But Abraham complained to Abimelech because of the water well that Abimelech's servants had seized.

26 Abimelech replied, "I don't know who did this thing. You didn't report anything to me, so I hadn't heard about it until today."

27 Then Abraham took sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.

28 But Abraham had set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock.

29 And Abimelech said to Abraham, "Why have you set apart these seven ewe lambs?"

30 He replied, "You are to accept the seven ewe lambs from my hand so that this act will serve as my witness that I dug this well."

31 Therefore that place was called Beer-sheba because it was there that the two of them swore an oath.

32 After they had made a covenant at Beer-sheba, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, left and returned to the land of the Philistines.

33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and there he worshiped the Lord, the Everlasting God.

34 And Abraham lived as a foreigner in the land of the Philistines for many days.

Genesis 22

1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he answered.

2 "Take your son," He said, "your only [son] Isaac, whom you love, go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."

3 So early in the morning Abraham got up, saddled his donkey, and took with him two of his young men and his son Isaac. He split wood for a burnt offering and set out to go to the place God had told him about.

4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.

5 Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there to worship; then we'll come back to you."

6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac. In his hand he took the fire and the sacrificial knife, and the two of them walked on together.

7 Then Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, "My father." And he replied, "Here I am, my son." Isaac said, "The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"

8 Abraham answered, "God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." Then the two of them walked on together.

9 When they arrived at the place that God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac and placed him on the altar, on top of the wood.

10 Then Abraham reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.

11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" He replied, "Here I am."

12 Then He said, "Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from Me."

13 Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in the thicket. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.

14 And Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide, so today it is said: "It will be provided on the Lord's mountain."

15 Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven

16 and said, "By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord: Because you have done this thing and have not withheld your only son,

17 I will indeed bless you and make your offspring as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your offspring will possess the gates of their enemies.

18 And all the nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring because you have obeyed My command."

19 Abraham went back to his young men, and they got up and went together to Beer-sheba. And Abraham settled in Beer-sheba.

20 Now after these things Abraham was told, "Milcah also has borne sons to your brother Nahor:

21 Uz his firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel the father of Aram,

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

23 And Bethuel fathered Rebekah. Milcah bore these eight to Nahor, Abraham's brother.

24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

Genesis 23

1 Now Sarah lived 127 years; [these were all] the years of her life.

2 Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.

3 Then Abraham got up from beside his dead [wife] and spoke to the Hittites:

4 "I am a resident alien among you. Give me a burial site among you so that I can bury my dead."

5 The Hittites replied to Abraham,

6 "Listen to us, lord. You are God's chosen one among us. Bury your dead in our finest burial place. None of us will withhold from you his burial place for burying your dead."

7 Then Abraham rose and bowed down to the Hittites, the people of the land.

8 He said to them, "If you are willing [for me] to bury my dead, listen to me and ask Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf

9 to give me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me in your presence, for the full price, as a burial place."

10 Ephron was present with the Hittites. So in the presence of all the Hittites who came to the gate of his city, Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham:

11 "No, my lord. Listen to me. I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead."

12 Abraham bowed down to the people of the land

13 and said to Ephron in the presence of the people of the land, "Please listen to me. Let me pay the price of the field. Accept it from me, and let me bury my dead there."

14 Ephron answered Abraham and said to him

15 "My lord, listen to me. Land worth 400 shekels of silver-what is that between you and me? Bury your dead."

16 Abraham agreed with Ephron, and Abraham weighed out to Ephron the silver that he had agreed to in the hearing of the Hittites: 400 shekels of silver at the current commercial rate.

17 So Ephron's field at Machpelah near Mamre-the field with its cave and all the trees anywhere within the boundaries of the field-became

18 Abraham's possession in the presence of all the Hittites who came to the gate of his city.

19 After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field at Machpelah near Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan

20 The field with its cave passed from the Hittites to Abraham as a burial place.

Genesis 24

1 Abraham was now old, getting on in years, and the Lord had blessed him in everything.

2 Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his household who managed all he owned, "Place your hand under my thigh,

3 and I will have you swear by the Lord, God of heaven and God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I live,

4 but will go to my land and my family to take a wife for my son Isaac."

5 The servant said to him, "Suppose the woman is unwilling to follow me to this land? Should I have your son go back to the land you came from?"

6 Abraham answered him, "Make sure that you don't take my son back there.

7 The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from my native land, who spoke to me and swore to me, 'I will give this land to your offspring'-He will send His angel before you, and you can take a wife for my son from there.

8 If the woman is unwilling to follow you, then you are free from this oath to me, but don't let my son go back there."

9 So the servant placed his hand under his master Abraham's thigh and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.

10 The servant took 10 of his master's camels and departed with all kinds of his master's goods in hand. Then he set out for the town of Nahor, Aram-naharaim.

11 He made the camels kneel beside a well of water outside the town at evening. [This was] the time when the women went out to draw water.

12 "Lord, God of my master Abraham," he prayed, "grant me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.

13 I am standing here at the spring where the daughters of the men of the town are coming out to draw water.

14 Let the girl to whom I say, 'Please lower your water jug so that I may drink,' and who responds, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels also'-let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. By this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master."

15 Before he had finished speaking, there was Rebekah-daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor-coming with a jug on her shoulder.

16 Now the girl was very beautiful, a young woman who had not known a man intimately. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came up.

17 Then the servant ran to meet her and said, "Please let me have a little water from your jug."

18 She replied, "Drink, my lord." She quickly lowered her jug to her hand and gave him a drink.

19 When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, "I'll also draw water for your camels until they have had enough to drink."

20 She quickly emptied her jug into the trough and hurried to the well again to draw water. She drew water for all his camels

21 while the man silently watched her to see whether or not the Lord had made his journey a success.

22 After the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing half a shekel, and for her wrists two bracelets weighing 10 shekels of gold.

23 "Whose daughter are you?" he asked. "Please tell me, is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?"

24 She answered him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor."

25 She also said to him, "We have plenty of straw and feed, and a place to spend the night."

26 Then the man bowed down, worshiped the Lord,

27 and said, "Praise the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld His kindness and faithfulness from my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master's relatives."

28 The girl ran and told her mother's household about these things.

29 Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and Laban ran out to the man at the spring.

30 As soon as he had seen the ring, and the bracelets on his sister's wrists, and when he had heard his sister Rebekah's words-"The man said this to me!"-he went to the man. He was standing there by the camels at the spring.

31 Laban said, "Come, you who are blessed by the Lord. Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels."

32 So the man came to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw and feed were given to the camels, and water was brought to wash his feet and the feet of the men with him.

33 A meal was set before him, but he said, "I will not eat until I have said what I have to say." So Laban said, "Speak on."

34 "I am Abraham's servant," he said.

35 "The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become rich. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female slaves, and camels and donkeys.

36 Sarah, my master's wife, bore a son to my master in her old age, and he has given him everything he owns.

37 My master put me under this oath: 'You will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I live

38 but will go to my father's household and to my family to take a wife for my son.'

39 But I said to my master, 'Suppose the woman will not come back with me?'

40 He said to me, 'The Lord before whom I have walked will send His angel with you and make your journey a success, and you will take a wife for my son from my family and from my father's household.

41 Then you will be free from my oath if you go to my family and they do not give [her] to you-you will be free from my oath.'

42 "Today when I came to the spring, I prayed: Lord, God of my master Abraham, if only You will make my journey successful!

43 I am standing here at a spring. Let the virgin who comes out to draw water, and I say to her: Please let me drink a little water from your jug,

44 and who responds to me, 'Drink, and I'll draw water for your camels also'-let her be the woman the Lord has appointed for my master's son.

45 "Before I had finished praying in my heart, there was Rebekah coming with her jug on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her: Please let me have a drink.

46 She quickly lowered her jug from her [shoulder] and said, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels also.' So I drank, and she also watered the camels.

47 Then I asked her: Whose daughter are you? She responded, 'The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.' So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists.

48 Then I bowed down, worshiped the Lord, and praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who guided me on the right way to take the daughter of my master's brother for his son.

49 Now, if you are going to show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; if not, tell me, and I will go elsewhere."

50 Laban and Bethuel answered, "This is from the Lord; we have no choice in the matter.

51 Rebekah is here in front of you. Take [her] and go, and let her be a wife for your master's son, just as the Lord has spoken."

52 When Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed to the ground before the Lord.

53 Then he brought out objects of silver and gold, and garments, and gave [them] to Rebekah. He also gave precious gifts to her brother and her mother.

54 Then he and the men with him ate and drank and spent the night. When they got up in the morning, he said, "Send me to my master."

55 But her brother and mother said, "Let the girl stay with us for about 10 days. Then she can go."

56 But he responded to them, "Do not delay me, since the Lord has made my journey a success. Send me away so that I may go to my master."

57 So they said, "Let's call the girl and ask her opinion."

58 They called Rebekah and said to her, "Will you go with this man?" She replied, "I will go."

59 So they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse, and Abraham's servant and his men.

60 They blessed Rebekah, saying to her: Our sister, may you become thousands upon ten thousands. May your offspring possess the gates of their enemies.

61 Then Rebekah and her young women got up, mounted the camels, and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.

62 Now Isaac was returning from Beer-lahai-roi, for he was living in the Negev region.

63 In the early evening, Isaac went out to walk in the field, and looking up, he saw camels coming.

64 Rebekah looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she got down from her camel

65 and asked the servant, "Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?" The servant answered, "It is my master." So she took her veil and covered herself.

66 Then the servant told Isaac everything he had done.

67 And Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah and took Rebekah to be his wife. Isaac loved her, and he was comforted after his mother's [death].

Genesis 25

1 Now Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah,

2 and she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.

3 Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. Dedan's sons were the Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim.

4 And Midian's sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were sons of Keturah.

5 Abraham gave everything he owned to Isaac.

6 And Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines, but while he was still alive he sent them eastward, away from his son Isaac, to the land of the East.

7 This is the length of Abraham's life: 175 years.

8 He took his last breath and died at a ripe old age, old and contented, and he was gathered to his people.

9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite.

10 This was the field that Abraham bought from the Hittites. Abraham was buried there with his wife Sarah.

11 After Abraham's death, God blessed his son Isaac, who lived near Beer-lahai-roi.

12 These are the family records of Abraham's son Ishmael, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's slave, bore to Abraham.

13 These are the names of Ishmael's sons; their names according to the family records are: Nebaioth, Ishmael's firstborn, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,

14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa,

15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.

16 These are Ishmael's sons, and these are their names by their villages and encampments: 12 leaders of their clans.

17 This is the length of Ishmael's life: 137 years. He took his last breath and died, and was gathered to his people.

18 And they settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt as you go toward Asshur. He lived in opposition to all his brothers.

19 These are the family records of Isaac son of Abraham. Abraham fathered Isaac.

20 Isaac was 40 years old when he took as his wife Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram, and sister of Laban the Aramean.

21 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was barren. The Lord heard his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived.

22 But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, "Why is this happening to me?" So she went to inquire of the Lord.

23 And the Lord said to her: Two nations are in your womb; two people will [come] from you and be separated. One people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.

24 When her time came to give birth, there were indeed twins in her womb.

25 The first one came out reddish, covered with hair like a fur coat, and they named him Esau.

26 After this, his brother came out grasping Esau's heel with his hand. So he was named Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when they were born.

27 When the boys grew up, Esau became an expert hunter, an outdoorsman, but Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home.

28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for wild game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

29 Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, exhausted.

30 He said to Jacob, "Let me eat some of that red stuff, because I'm exhausted." That is why he was [also] named Edom.

31 Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright."

32 "Look," said Esau, "I'm about to die, so what good is a birthright to me?"

33 Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore to Jacob and sold his birthright to him.

34 Then Jacob gave bread and lentil stew to Esau; he ate, drank, got up, and went away. So Esau despised his birthright.