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5 Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. 6 But the land was not able to support them both dwelling together because their possessions were so great. 7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites dwelled in the land at that time.
8 So Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife, I ask you, between me and you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are close relatives. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you will go to the left, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right, then I will go to the left.”
10 Lot lifted up his eyes, and looked at all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar. This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. 11 Then Lot chose for himself the entire valley of the Jordan and journeyed east, and the two of them separated from each other. 12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the valley and pitched his tent as far as Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinners against the Lord.
14 After Lot had departed from him, the Lord said to Abram, “Lift up now your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward. 15 All the land that you see I will give to you and to your descendants forever. 16 I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth, so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants could also be numbered. 17 Arise, and walk throughout the land across its length and its width, for I will give it to you.”
18 So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar to the Lord there.
Abram Rescues Lot
14 In the days that Amraphel was king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goyim, 2 they made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 3 All these were joined together in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Dead Sea). 4 For twelve years they had served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
5 In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, and the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 6 and the Horites in their hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is by the wilderness. 7 Then they turned back and came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh) and conquered all the country of the Amalekites and also the Amorites who lived 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) came out, and they joined together in battle in the Valley of Siddim 9 against Kedorlaomer, the king of Elam, Tidal king of Goyim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell in them, and the rest fled to the hill country. 11 Then they took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and departed. 12 They also took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who lived in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way.
13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living near the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshkol and Aner, and these were allies with Abram. 14 When Abram heard that his relative was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants born in his own house, and pursued them as far as Dan. 15 During the night he divided his men to attack them and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. 16 He brought back all the possessions, along with his relative Lot and his possessions, and also the women and the people.
Melchizedek Blesses Abram
17 After his return from the defeat of Kedorlaomer and the kings who had joined 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 the priest of God Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said,
“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Creator[a] of heaven and earth;
20 and blessed be God Most High,
who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”
Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and take the goods for yourself.”
22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted up my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that I will take nothing that is yours, not a thread or a sandal strap; lest you say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ 24 I will accept only that which my men have eaten and the portion that belongs to the men who went with me, Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre. Let them take their portion.”
The Abrahamic Covenant
15 After this the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying,
“Do not fear, Abram.
I am your shield,
your exceedingly great reward.[b]”
2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 Abram said, “Since You have not given me any children, my heir is a servant born in my house.”
4 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir, but a son that is from your own body will be your heir.” 5 He brought him outside and said, “Look up toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So will your descendants be.”
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 out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess[c] it.”
8 But Abram said, “Lord God, how may I know that I will possess it?”
9 So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
10 Then Abram brought all of these to Him and cut them in two and laid each piece opposite the other, but he did not cut the birds in half. 11 When the birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram, and terror and a great darkness fell on him. 13 Then He said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will live as strangers in a land that is not theirs, and they will be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years. 14 But I will judge the nation that they serve, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 As for you, you will go to your fathers in peace and you will be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation, your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
17 When the sun went down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot with a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18 On that same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great Euphrates River— 19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaites, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”
Teaching About Adultery
27 “You have heard that it was said by the ancients, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’[a] 28 But I say to you that whoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. 29 And if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away. For it is profitable that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is profitable for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body be thrown into hell.
Teaching About Divorce(A)
31 “It was said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’[b] 32 But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to commit adultery. And whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.
Teaching About Oaths
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said by the ancients, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall fulfill your oaths to the Lord.’[c] 34 But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these comes from the evil one.
Teaching About Revenge(B)
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’[d] 39 But I say to you, do not resist an evil person. But whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other as well. 40 And if anyone sues you in a court of law and takes away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41 And whoever compels you to go a mile,[e] go with him two. 42 Give to him who asks you, and from him who would borrow from you do not turn away.
Love for Enemies(C)
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor[f] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brothers only, what are you doing more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore be perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect.
Psalm 6
For the Music Director. With stringed instruments. According to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
1 O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger,
nor discipline me in the heat of Your anger.
2 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am weak;
O Lord, heal me, for my bones are terrified.
3 My soul is greatly troubled,
but You, O Lord, how long?
4 Return, O Lord, rescue my soul.
Save me for the sake of Your lovingkindness.
5 For in death there is no remembrance of You;
in Sheol who will give You thanks?
6 I am weary with my groaning;
all night I flood my bed with weeping;
I drench my couch with my tears.
7 My eye wastes away from grief;
it grows weak because of all those hostile to me.
8 Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity;
for the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my supplication;
the Lord accepts my prayer.
10 May all my enemies be ashamed and greatly terrified;
may they turn back and be suddenly ashamed.
29 Because they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the Lord,
30 they would have none of my counsel
and despised all my reproof.
31 Therefore they will eat of the fruit of their own way,
and be filled with their own devices.
32 For the turning away of the simple will slay them,
and the prosperity of fools will destroy them.
33 But whoever listens to me will dwell safely,
and will be secure from fear of evil.”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.