And Cush fathered Nimrod. {He was the first on earth to be a mighty warrior}.

Now, the beginning of his kingdom [was] Babel, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

And the territory of the Canaanites [was] from Sidon {in the direction of} Gerar as far as Gaza, and {in the direction of} Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.

These [are] the descendants of Ham, according to their families and their languages, in their lands, and in their nations.

And to Eber two sons were born. The name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided, and the name of his brother [was] Joktan.

And their dwelling [place] {extended from} Mesha {in the direction of} Sephar [to] the hill country of the east.

These [are] the sons of Shem, according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands, and according to their nations.

These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their generations [and] in their nations. And from these the nations spread abroad on the earth after the flood.

Now the whole earth [had] one language and the same words.

And as people migrated from the east they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.

And Yahweh said, "Behold, {they are one people with one language}, and {this is only the beginning of what they will do}. So now nothing that they intend to do will be impossible for them.

These are the generations of Shem. When Shem {was one hundred years old}, he fathered Arphaxad, two years after the flood.

When Arphaxad had lived thirty-five years, he fathered Shelah.

When Shelah had lived thirty years, he fathered Eber.

When Eber had lived thirty-four years, he fathered Peleg.

When Peleg had lived thirty years, he fathered Reu.

When Reu had lived thirty-two years, he fathered Serug.

When Serug had lived thirty years, he fathered Nahor.

When Nahor had lived twenty-nine years, he fathered Terah.

And Nahor lived one hundred and nineteen years after he fathered Terah, and he fathered [other] sons and daughters.

When Terah had lived seventy years, he fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

And Haran died in the presence of Terah his father in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans.

And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot, the son of Haran, {his grandson}, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, the wife of Abram his son, and went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan. And they went to Haran, and they settled there.

And the days of Terah [were] two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran.

And I will bless those who bless you, and those who curse you I will curse. And all families of the earth will be blessed in you."

And Abram went [out] as Yahweh had told him, and Lot went with him. Now Abram {was seventy-five years old} when he went out from Haran.

And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot {his nephew}, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and all the persons that they had acquired in Haran, and they went out to go to the land of Canaan. And they went to the land of Canaan.

And Abram traveled through the land up to the place of Shechem, to the Oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanites [were] in the land at that time.

And Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." And he built an altar there to Yahweh, who had appeared to him.

And he moved on from there to the hill country, east of Bethel. And he pitched his tent at Bethel on the west, and at Ai on the east. And he built an altar there to Yahweh. And he called on the name of Yahweh.

{And Abram kept moving on}, toward the Negev.

And there was a famine in the land. And Abram went down to Egypt to dwell as an alien there, for the famine was severe in the land.

Please say you are my sister so that it will go well for me on your account. {Then I will live} on account of you."

And he dealt well with Abram on account of her, and he had sheep, cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

Then Yahweh afflicted Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues on account of the matter of Sarai the wife of Abram.

Now Abram [was] very wealthy in livestock, in silver, and in gold.

to the place where he had made an altar at the beginning. And Abram called on the name of Yahweh there.

And there was a quarrel between the herdsmen of the livestock of Abram and the herdsmen of the livestock of Lot. Now at that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land.

Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If [you want what is on] the left, then I will go right; if [you want what is on] the right, I will go left."

And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw the whole plain of the Jordan, that all of it [was] well-watered land--[this was] before Yahweh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah--like the garden of Yahweh, like the land of Egypt {in the direction of} Zoar.

Abram settled in the land of Canaan, and Lot settled in the cities of the plain. And he pitched his tent toward Sodom.

So Abram pitched his tent, and he came and settled at the oaks of Mamre, which [were] at Hebron. And there he built an altar to Yahweh.

And it happened [that] in the days of Amraphel, the king of Shinar, Arioch, the king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer, the king of Elam, and Tidal, the king of Goiim,

Twelve years they had served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

In the fourteenth year Kedorlaomer and the kings who [were] with him came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-Karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh-Kiriathaim,

And the Horites in their hill country of Seir, as far as El-Paran, which is at the wilderness.

Then they turned back and came to En-Mishpat (that [is], Kadesh). And they defeated the whole territory of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who were living in Hazazon-Tamar.

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 {they took up battle position} in the Valley of Siddim

And they took Lot, the son of the brother of Abram, and his possessions, and left. (Now he had been living in Sodom.)

Then one who escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew. And he was living at the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner. {They were allies with Abram}.

When Abram heard that his {relative} was taken captive, he summoned his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen [of them], and he went in pursuit up to Dan.

And Melchizedek, the king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. (He was the priest of God Most High).

After these things the word of Yahweh came to Abram in a vision, saying: "Do not be afraid, Abram; I [am] your shield, [and] your reward [shall be] very great."

And behold, the word of Yahweh [came] to him saying, "This [person] will not {be your heir}, but {your own son will be your heir}."

And he believed in Yahweh, and he reckoned it to him [as] righteousness.

And he took for him all these and cut them in pieces down the middle. And he put each piece opposite {the other}, but the birds he did not cut.

And the birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

And he said to Abram, "{You must surely know} that your descendants shall be [as] aliens in a land {not their own}. And they shall serve them and they shall oppress them four hundred years.

And [as for] you, you shall go to your ancestors in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.

On that day Yahweh {made} a covenant with Abram saying, "To your offspring I will give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates river,

And Sarai said to Abram, "Look, please, Yahweh has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my servant; perhaps {I will have children by her}." And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

Then Sarai, the wife of Abram, took Hagar, her Egyptian servant, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to Abram her husband as his wife.

And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And [when] she saw that she had conceived, then her mistress grew small in her eyes.

And Sarai said to Abram, "may my harm [be] upon you. {I had my servant sleep with you}, and [when] she saw that she had conceived, {she no longer respected me}. May Yahweh judge between me and you!"

And Abram said to Sarai, "Look, your servant [is] {under your authority}. Do to her that which [is] good in your eyes." And Sarai mistreated her, and she fled from her presence.

And the angel of Yahweh found her at a spring of water in the wilderness, at the spring by the road of Shur.

And he shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand [will be] against everyone, and the hand of everyone [will be] against him, and he will live {in hostility with all his brothers}."

And Abram [was] eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

When Abram [was] ninety-nine years old Yahweh appeared to Abram. And he said to him, "I [am] El-Shaddai; walk before me and be blameless

And I will establish my covenant between me and you, and between your offspring after you, throughout their generations as an everlasting covenant to be as God for you and to your offspring after you.

And I will give to you and to your offspring after you {the land in which you are living as an alien}, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting property. And I will be to them as God."

And {at eight days of age} you shall yourselves circumcise every male [belonging] to your generations [and] {the servant born in your house and the one bought from any foreigner} who is not from your offspring.

{You must certainly circumcise} {the servant born in your house and the one bought from any foreigner}. And my covenant shall be with your flesh as an everlasting covenant.

And Abraham fell upon his face and laughed. And he said in his heart, "{Can a child be born to a man a hundred years old}, or {can Sarah bear a child at ninety}?"

And God said, "No, but Sarah your wife shall bear a son for you, and you shall call his name Isaac. And I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant to his offspring after him.

When he finished speaking with him, God went up from Abraham.

And Abraham took Ishmael his son and all who were born of his house, and all [those] acquired by his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin on the same day that God spoke with him.

Abraham [was] ninety-nine years old when he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin.

And Ishmael his son [was] thirteen years old when he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin.

Abraham and his son Ishmael [were] circumcised on the same day.

And all the men of his house, {those born in the house, and those acquired by money from a foreigner}, were circumcised with him.

And Yahweh appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre. And he was sitting in the doorway of the tent at the heat of the day.

And he said, "My lord, if I have found favor in your eyes do not pass by your servant.

And let me bring a piece of bread, then refresh {yourselves}. Afterward you can pass on, {once} you have passed by with your servant." Then they said, "Do so as you have said."

And they said to him, "Where [is] Sarah your wife?" And he said, "Here, in the tent."

And he said, "I will certainly return to you {in the spring}, and look, Sarah your wife [will have] a son." Now Sarah [was] listening at the doorway of the tent, and which [was] behind him.

Now Abraham and Sarah [were] old, {advanced in age}; {the way of women} had ceased to be for Sarah.

Is anything too difficult for Yahweh? At the appointed time I will return to you {in the spring} and Sarah [shall have] a son."

Then the men set out from there, and they looked down upon Sodom. And Abraham went with them {to send them on their way}.

Abraham will surely become a great and strong nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed on account of him.

If perhaps there are fifty righteous in the midst of the city, will you also sweep [them] away and not forgive the place on account of the fifty righteous in her midst?

And Yahweh said, "If I find fifty righteous in Sodom, in the midst of the city, then I will forgive the whole place for their sake."

Perhaps the fifty righteous are lacking five--will you destroy the whole city on account of the five?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] if I find forty-five there."

And {once again he spoke} to him and said, "What if forty are found there?" And he answered, "I will not do [it] on account of the forty."

And the two angels came to Sodom in the evening. And Lot was sitting in the gateway of Sodom. Then Lot saw [them] and stood up to meet them. And he bowed down [with his] face to the ground.

And he said, "Behold, my lords, please turn aside into the house of your servant and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you can rise early and go on your way." And they said, "No, but we will spend the night in the square."

Behold, I have two daughters who have not known a man. Please, let me bring them out to you; then do to them as [it seems] good in your eyes. Only to these men do not do [this] thing, since they came under{ my roof} for protection."

Then the men reached out [with] their hands and brought Lot in to them, into the house, and they shut the door.

Then the men said to Lot, "Who [is] here with you? Bring out from the place [your] sons-in-law, and your sons and your daughters, and all who [are] with you in the city.

Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law [who were] taking his daughters and said, "Get up! Go out from this place, because Yahweh [is going] to destroy the city!" But {it seemed like a joke} in the eyes of his sons-in-law.