Now these are the records of the descendants of Terah. Terah was the father of Abram (Abraham), Nahor, and Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot.

Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went out together to go from Ur of the Chaldeans into the land of Canaan; but when they came to Haran [about five hundred and fifty miles northwest of Ur], they settled there.

So Abram departed [in faithful obedience] as the Lord had directed him; and Lot [his nephew] left with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.

Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had acquired, and the people (servants) which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,

So Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot [his nephew] with him, into the Negev (the South country of Judah).

But Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents.

And there was strife and quarreling between the herdsmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdsmen of Lot’s cattle. Now the Canaanite and the Perizzite were living in the land at that same time [making grazing of the livestock difficult].

So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife and disagreement between you and me, nor between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, because we are relatives.

So Lot looked and saw that the valley of the Jordan was well watered everywhere—this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah; [it was all] like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as you go to Zoar [at the south end of the Dead Sea].

Then Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and he traveled east. So they separated from each other.

Abram settled in the land of Canaan, and Lot settled in the cities of the valley and camped as far as Sodom and lived there.

The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had left him, “Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are standing, northward and southward and eastward and westward;

And they also took [captive] Lot, Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and left, for he was living in Sodom.

And he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, and also the women, and the people.

It was evening when the two angels came to Sodom. Lot was sitting at Sodom’s [city] gate. Seeing them, Lot got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.

However, Lot strongly urged them, so they turned aside and entered his house; and he prepared a feast for them [with wine], and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

and they called out to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we may know them [intimately].”

But Lot went out of the doorway to the men, and shut the door after him,

But they said, “Get out of the way!” And they said, “This man (Lot) came [as an outsider] to live here temporarily, and now he is acting like a judge. Now we will treat you worse than your visitors!” So they rushed forward and pressed violently against Lot and came close to breaking down the door [of his house].

But the men (angels) reached out with their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door [after him].

And the [two] men (angels) asked Lot, “Have you any others here [in Sodom]—a son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters? Whomever you have in the city, take them out of here;

So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were [betrothed, and legally promised] to marry his daughters, and said, “Get up, get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy this city!” But to his sons-in-law he appeared to be joking.

When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot [to hurry], saying, “Get up! Take your wife and two daughters who are here [and go], or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.”

But Lot said to them, “Oh no, [not that place] my lords!

The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar.

But Lot’s wife, from behind him, [foolishly, longingly] looked [back toward Sodom in an act of disobedience], and she became a pillar of salt.

Now when God ravaged and destroyed the cities of the plain [of Siddim], He remembered Abraham [and for that reason], and He sent [Abraham’s nephew] Lot out of the midst of the destruction, when He destroyed the cities in which Lot had lived.

Now Lot went up from Zoar, and lived in the mountain together with his two daughters, for he was afraid to stay [any longer] in Zoar; and he lived in a cave with his two daughters.

Thus both the daughters of Lot conceived by their father.

This was my situation: by day the heat consumed me and by night the cold, and I could not sleep.

Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats—one lot for the Lord, the other lot for the scapegoat.

Then Aaron shall bring the goat on which the Lord’s lot fell and offer it as a sin offering.

But the goat on which the lot fell for the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement on it; it shall be sent into the wilderness as the scapegoat.

But the land shall be divided by lot. They shall receive their inheritance according to the names of the tribes of their fathers (tribal ancestors).

According to the [location selected by] lot, their inheritance shall be divided between the larger and the smaller [groups].”

You shall inherit the land by lot according to your families; to the large tribe you shall give a larger inheritance, and to the small tribe you shall give a smaller inheritance. Wherever the lot falls to any man, that shall be [the location of] his [inheritance]. According to the tribes of your fathers (ancestors) you shall inherit.

So Moses commanded the Israelites, saying, “This is the land you are to inherit by lot, which the Lord has commanded to be given to the nine tribes and the half-tribe [of Manasseh],

and they said, “The Lord commanded my lord [Moses] to give the land by lot to the sons of Israel as an inheritance, and my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters.

But if the daughters marry any of the men from any of the other tribes of Israel, then their inheritance will be taken away from that of our fathers (tribal ancestors) and will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they belong; so it will be taken away from our allotted inheritance.

And the Lord said to me, ‘Do not harass [the descendants of] Moab, nor provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession, because I have given Ar to the sons (Moab and Ammon) of Lot as a possession.’

When you come opposite the territory of the sons of Ammon, do not harass them nor provoke them, for I will not give you any of the land of the sons of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to the sons of Lot as a possession.’

“For the Lord’s portion and chosen share is His people;
Jacob (Israel) is the allotment of His inheritance.

by the lot of their inheritance, as the Lord had commanded through Moses, for the nine tribes and the half-tribe.

Now the lot (allotment) for the tribe of the sons of Judah according to their families reached [southward to] the border of Edom, southward to the wilderness of Zin at its most southern part.

The sons of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given us only one lot and one portion as an inheritance, when we are a numerous people whom the Lord has so far blessed?”

Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and to Manasseh, “You are a numerous people and have great power; you shall not have only one lot,

You shall describe the land in seven divisions, and bring the description here to me. I will cast lots for you here before the Lord our God.

So the men arose and went [on their way], and Joshua commanded those who went to describe the land, saying, “Go and walk throughout the land and describe it, and return to me; and I will cast lots for you here before the Lord in Shiloh.”

Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord, and there Joshua divided the land to the sons of Israel, [to each tribe] according to their portions.

Now the lot (allotment) of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin came up according to their families, and the territory of their lot fell between [the tribes of] the sons of Judah and the sons of Joseph.

Then the second lot fell to Simeon, to the tribe of the sons of Simeon according to their families (clans), and their inheritance was within the inheritance of the sons of Judah.

The third lot came up for [the tribe of] the sons of Zebulun according to their families. The territory of their inheritance extended to Sarid.

The fourth lot fell to [the tribe of] Issachar, to the sons of Issachar according to their families.

The fifth lot fell to the tribe of the sons of Asher according to their families.

The sixth lot fell to [the tribe of] the sons of Naphtali according to their families.

The seventh lot fell to the tribe of the sons of Dan according to their families.

These are the inheritances which Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the households of the tribes of the sons of Israel distributed by lot in Shiloh before the Lord at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting. So they finished dividing the land.

The [first] lot (allotment) came out for the families of the Kohathites. So those Levites who were sons (descendants) of Aaron the priest received thirteen cities by lot from the tribe of Judah and from the tribe of Simeon and from the tribe of Benjamin.

The rest of the sons of Kohath received ten cities by lot from the families of the tribe of Ephraim and from the tribe of Dan and from the half-tribe of Manasseh.

The sons of Gershon received thirteen cities by lot from the families of the tribe of Issachar and from the tribe of Asher and from the tribe of Naphtali and from the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.

The sons of Israel gave by lot to the Levites these cities with their pasture lands, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.

and they were for the sons of Aaron, one of the families of the Kohathites, of the sons of Levi, because the lot fell to them first.

But now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up by lot against it,

And when Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen by lot.

Therefore, Saul said to the Lord, the God of Israel, “Give a perfect lot [identifying the transgressor].” Then Saul and Jonathan were selected [by lot], but the other men went free.

Saul said, “Cast [lots] between me and my son Jonathan.” And Jonathan was selected.

Now these are their settlements according to their camps within their borders: to the sons of Aaron of the families of the Kohathites (for theirs was the first allocation by lot)

Then to the rest of the sons of Kohath were given ten cities by lot from the family of the tribe [of Ephraim and of Dan and], from the half-tribe, the half of Manasseh.

To the sons of Merari were given twelve cities by lot, according to their families, from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

They gave by lot from the tribes of the sons of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin these cities which are mentioned by name.

So they were divided by lot, one group with the other; for they were officers of the sanctuary and officers (high priests) of God, both from the descendants of Eleazar and from the descendants of Ithamar.

The lots fell, the first one to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah,

These also cast lots as did their relatives the sons of Aaron in the presence of David the king, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the fathers’ households of the priests and of the Levites—the head of father’s households as well as those of his younger brother.

The musicians cast lots for their duties, everyone alike, the small (younger) as well as the great (older), the teacher as well as the student.

The first lot for Asaph fell to Joseph; the second to Gedaliah, to him, his relatives and his sons, twelve;

They cast lots, the small (younger) and great (older) alike, in accordance with their fathers’ households, for every gate.

The lot for the east [gates] fell to Shelemiah. They cast lots also for his son Zechariah, a wise counselor, and his lot came out for the north [gates].

To Shuppim and Hosah [the lot fell] for the west [gates], by the gate of Shallecheth, on the ascending highway, division by division.

We have also cast lots—the priests, the Levites, and the people—for [contributing] the supply of wood, to bring it to the house of our God, according to our fathers’ households, at set times annually, to burn on the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the Law;

Now the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem; but the rest of the people cast lots to bring one [person] out of ten to live in Jerusalem, the holy city, while nine-tenths remained in the other cities.

In the first month, the month of Nisan (Mar-Apr), in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, Haman cast Pur, that is, the lot, cast before him day after day [to find a lucky day to approach the king], month after month, until the twelfth month, the month of Adar (Feb-Mar).

For Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, [to find the right time] to disturb and destroy them.

Therefore they called these days Purim after the name Pur (lot). And because of all the instructions in this letter, and what they had faced in this regard and what had happened to them,

“You would cast lots (gamble) over the fatherless
And bargain away your friend.

The Lord is the portion of my inheritance, my cup [He is all I need];
You support my lot.

They divide my clothing among them
And cast lots for my garment.

And I said, “This is my grief,
That the right hand of the Most High has changed [and His lovingkindness is withheld].”

Assyria also has joined with them;
They have helped the children of Lot [the Ammonites and the Moabites] and have been an arm [of strength] to them. Selah.

Throw in your lot with us [they insist];
We will all have one money bag [in common],”

The lot is cast into the lap,
But its every decision is from the Lord.

To cast lots puts an end to quarrels
And decides between powerful contenders.

Also, every man to whom God has given riches and possessions, He has also given the power and ability to enjoy them and to receive [this as] his [allotted] portion and to rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God [to him].

At evening time, now look, sudden terror!
Before morning the Assyrians are no more.
This is the portion (fate) of those who plunder us,
And the lot of those who pillage us.

The Lord has cast the lot for them,
And His hand has divided and apportioned Edom to the wild beasts by measuring-line.
They will possess it forever;
From generation to generation they will dwell in it.

Why, O Jacob, do you say, and declare, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God”?

“Among the smooth stones of the ravine
Is your portion, they (the idols) are your lot;
Even to them you have poured out a drink offering,
You have offered a grain offering.
Should I be quiet concerning these things [leaving them unpunished—bearing them with patience]?

“This is your destiny, the portion [of judgment] measured to you
From Me,” says the Lord,
“Because you have forgotten Me
And trusted in [pagan] lies [the counterfeit gods, and the pretense of alliance].”

In his right hand is the lot marked for Jerusalem: to set battering rams, to open the mouth calling for destruction, to lift up the voice with a war cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to put up assault ramps, and to build siege walls.

“Moreover, when you divide the land by lot for inheritance, you shall [set apart and] offer an allotment (contribution) to the Lord, a holy portion of the land [to be used for sacred purposes]. The length shall be 25,000 cubits, and the width shall be 20,000 cubits. It shall be holy (set apart for sacred use) within its every area.

“Nevertheless leave the stump with its roots in the ground,
Bound with a band of iron and bronze
In the new grass of the field;
And let him be wet with the dew of heaven,
And let him feed with the animals in the grass of the earth.