My Beautiful Princess Bible - Flipbook - Page 18
GENESIS 14
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the right. If you prefer the land on the right, then
I’ll go to the left.”
10 Lot took a long look at the fertile plains of the
Jordan Valley in the direction of Zoar. The whole
area was well watered everywhere, like the garden
of the Lord or the beautiful land of Egypt. (This
was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 Lot chose for himself the whole Jordan
Valley to the east of them. He went there with his
flocks and servants and parted company with his
uncle Abram. 12 So Abram settled in the land of
Canaan, and Lot moved his tents to a place near
Sodom and settled among the cities of the plain.
13But the people of this area were extremely wicked
and constantly sinned against the Lord.
14 After Lot had gone, the Lord said to Abram,
“Look as far as you can see in every direction—
north and south, east and west. 15 I am giving all
this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants* as a permanent possession. 16And I will
give you so many descendants that, like the dust of
the earth, they cannot be counted! 17 Go and walk
through the land in every direction, for I am giving
it to you.”
18 So Abram moved his camp to Hebron and settled near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. There
he built another altar to the Lord.
Abram Rescues Lot
About this time war broke out in the region.
King Amraphel of Babylonia,* King Arioch of
Ellasar, King Kedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal
of Goiim 2fought against King Bera of Sodom, King
Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King
Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (also
called Zoar).
3This second group of kings joined forces in Siddim Valley (that is, the valley of the Dead Sea*).
4 For twelve years they had been subject to King
Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled against him.
5 One year later Kedorlaomer and his allies arrived and defeated the Rephaites at Ashterothkarnaim, the Zuzites at Ham, the Emites at
Shaveh-kiriathaim, 6and the Horites at Mount Seir,
as far as El-paran at the edge of the wilderness.
7 Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat
(now called Kadesh) and conquered all the territory
of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites living in
Hazazon-tamar.
8 Then the rebel kings of Sodom, Gomorrah,
Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (also called Zoar) prepared for battle in the valley of the Dead Sea.*
9 They fought against King Kedorlaomer of Elam,
King Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel of Babylonia,
and King Arioch of Ellasar—four kings against five.
10 As it happened, the valley of the Dead Sea was
filled with tar pits. And as the army of the kings of
Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into the tar
pits, while the rest escaped into the mountains.
11 The victorious invaders then plundered Sodom
and Gomorrah and headed for home, taking with
them all the spoils of war and the food supplies.
12 They also captured Lot—Abram’s nephew who
lived in Sodom—and carried off everything he
owned.
13 But one of Lot’s men escaped and reported
everything to Abram the Hebrew, who was living
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near the oak grove belonging to Mamre the Amorite. Mamre and his relatives, Eshcol and Aner,
were Abram’s allies.
14 When Abram heard that his nephew Lot had
been captured, he mobilized the 318 trained men
who had been born into his household. Then he
pursued Kedorlaomer’s army until he caught up
with them at Dan. 15There he divided his men and
attacked during the night. Kedorlaomer’s army
fled, but Abram chased them as far as Hobah,
north of Damascus. 16 Abram recovered all the
goods that had been taken, and he brought back
his nephew Lot with his possessions and all the
women and other captives.
Melchizedek Blesses Abram
17 After Abram returned from his victory over Kedorlaomer and all his allies, the king of Sodom went
out to meet him in the valley of Shaveh (that is, the
King’s Valley).
18 And Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a
priest of God Most High,* brought Abram some
bread and wine. 19 Melchizedek blessed Abram
with this blessing:
“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Creator of heaven and earth.
20 And blessed be God Most High,
who has defeated your enemies for you.”
Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the
goods he had recovered.
21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give back
my people who were captured. But you may keep
for yourself all the goods you have recovered.”
22 Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I solemnly swear to the Lord, God Most High, Creator
of heaven and earth, 23that I will not take so much
as a single thread or sandal thong from what belongs to you. Otherwise you might say, ‘I am the
one who made Abram rich.’ 24 I will accept only
what my young warriors have already eaten, and I
request that you give a fair share of the goods to my
allies—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre.”
The Lord’s Covenant Promise to Abram
Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in
a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid,
Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will
be great.”
2 But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what
good are all your blessings when I don’t even have
a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of
Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit
all my wealth. 3You have given me no descendants
of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.”
4 Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant
will not be your heir, for you will have a son of
your own who will be your heir.” 5 Then the Lord
took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into
the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how
many descendants you will have!”
6 And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord
counted him as righteous because of his faith.
7 Then the Lord told him, “I am the Lord who
brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you
this land as your possession.”
8 But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, how
can I be sure that I will actually possess it?”
9 The Lord told him, “Bring me a three-year-old
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