When Noah awoke from his drunken stupor he learned what his youngest son had done to him.

May God enlarge Japheth's territory and numbers! May he live in the tents of Shem and may Canaan be his slave!"

From these the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to its language, according to their families, by their nations.

Cush was the father of Nimrod; he began to be a valiant warrior on the earth.

The primary regions of his kingdom were Babel, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh in the land of Shinar.

Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg because in his days the earth was divided, and his brother's name was Joktan.

Their dwelling place was from Mesha all the way to Sephar in the eastern hills.

When the people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

Then they said to one another, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." (They had brick instead of stone and tar instead of mortar.)

Then they said, "Come, let's build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens so that we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise we will be scattered across the face of the entire earth."

And the Lord said, "If as one people all sharing a common language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be beyond them.

Come, let's go down and confuse their language so they won't be able to understand each other."

This is the account of Shem. Shem was 100 old when he became the father of Arphaxad, two years after the flood.

When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah.

When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber.

When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg.

When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu.

When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug.

When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor.

When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah.

When Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

Haran died in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans, while his father Terah was still alive.

Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (the son of Haran), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram's wife, and with them he set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. When they came to Haran, they settled there.

The lifetime of Terah was 205 years, and he died in Haran.

I will bless those who bless you, but the one who treats you lightly I must curse, and all the families of the earth will bless one another by your name."

So Abram left, just as the Lord had told him to do, and Lot went with him. (Now Abram was 75 years old when he departed from Haran.)

And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they left for the land of Canaan. They entered the land of Canaan.

Abram traveled through the land as far as the oak tree of Moreh at Shechem. (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.)

The Lord appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So Abram built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

Then he moved from there 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 the Lord.

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

When the Egyptians see you they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will keep you alive.

So tell them you are my sister so that it may go well for me because of you and my life will be spared on account of you."

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

When Pharaoh's officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. So Abram's wife was taken into the household of Pharaoh,

and he did treat Abram well on account of her. Abram received sheep and cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

(Now Abram was very wealthy in livestock, silver, and gold.)

But the land could not support them while they were living side by side. Because their possessions were so great, they were not able to live alongside one another.

So there were quarrels between Abram's herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen. (Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at that time.)

Abram settled in the land of Canaan, but Lot settled among the cities of the Jordan plain and pitched his tents next to Sodom.

So Abram moved his tents and went to live by the oaks of Mamre in Hebron, and he built an altar to the Lord there.

These last five kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea).

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

In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings who were his allies came and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim,

and the Horites in their hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is near the desert.

Then they attacked En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh) again, and they conquered all the territory of the Amalekites, as well as 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 prepared for battle. In the Valley of Siddim they met

Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into them, but some survivors fled to the hills.

They also took Abram's nephew Lot and his possessions when they left, for Lot was living in Sodom.

When Abram heard that his nephew had been taken captive, he mobilized his 318 trained men who had been born in his household, and he pursued the invaders as far as Dan.

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

Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (Now he was the priest of the Most High God.)

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: "Fear not, Abram! I am your shield and the one who will reward you in great abundance."

Abram added, "Since you have not given me a descendant, then look, one born in my house will be my heir!"

But look, the word of the Lord came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but instead a son who comes from your own body will be your heir."

So Abram took all these for him and then cut them in two and placed each half opposite the other, but he did not cut the birds in half.

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

When the sun went down, Abram fell sound asleep, and great terror overwhelmed him.

Then the Lord said to Abram, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign country. They will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.

But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve. Afterward they will come out with many possessions.

But as for you, you will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age.

In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit."

When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch passed between the animal parts.

Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had not given birth to any children, but she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar.

So after Abram had lived in Canaan for ten years, Sarai, Abram's wife, gave Hagar, her Egyptian servant, to her husband to be his wife.

Then Sarai said to Abram, "You have brought this wrong on me! I allowed my servant to have sexual relations with you, but when she realized that she was pregnant, she despised me. May the Lord judge between you and me!"

The Lord's angel found Hagar near a spring of water in the desert -- the spring that is along the road to Shur.

So Hagar named the Lord who spoke to her, "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "Here I have seen one who sees me!"

(Now Abram was 86 years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.)

When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, "I am the sovereign God. Walk before me and be blameless.

Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep the covenantal requirement I am imposing on you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.

Throughout your generations every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, whether born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not one of your descendants.

They must indeed be circumcised, whether born in your house or bought with money. The sign of my covenant will be visible in your flesh as a permanent reminder.

Any uncircumcised male who has not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off from his people -- he has failed to carry out my requirement."

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

Abraham took his son Ishmael and every male in his household (whether born in his house or bought with money) and circumcised them on that very same day, just as God had told him to do.

Now Abraham was 99 years old when he was circumcised;

his son Ishmael was thirteen years old when he was circumcised.

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

All the men of his household, whether born in his household or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

Abraham looked up and saw three men standing across from him. When he saw them he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.

He said, "My lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by and leave your servant.

And let me get a bit of food so that you may refresh yourselves since you have passed by your servant's home. After that you may be on your way." "All right," they replied, "you may do as you say."

Then they asked him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" He replied, "There, in the tent."

One of them said, "I will surely return to you when the season comes round again, and your wife Sarah will have a son!" (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him.

Abraham and Sarah were old and advancing in years; Sarah had long since passed menopause.)

So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, "After I am worn out will I have pleasure, especially when my husband is old too?"

The Lord said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really have a child when I am old?'

Is anything impossible for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son."

When the men got up to leave, they looked out over Sodom. (Now Abraham was walking with them to see them on their way.)

After all, Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using his name.

What if there are fifty godly people in the city? Will you really wipe it out and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty godly people who are in it?

So the Lord replied, "If I find in the city of Sodom fifty godly people, I will spare the whole place for their sake."

The Lord went on his way when he had finished speaking to Abraham. Then Abraham returned home.

The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while Lot was sitting in the city's gateway. When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground.

He said, "Here, my lords, please turn aside to your servant's house. Stay the night and wash your feet. Then you can be on your way early in the morning." "No," they replied, "we'll spend the night in the town square."

"Out of our way!" they cried, and "This man came to live here as a foreigner, and now he dares to judge us! We'll do more harm to you than to them!" They kept pressing in on Lot until they were close enough to break down the door.

Then the two visitors said to Lot, "Who else do you have here? Do you have any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or other relatives in the city? Get them out of this place

Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were going to marry his daughters. He said, "Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy the city!" But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them.

At dawn the angels hurried Lot along, saying, "Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or else you will be destroyed when the city is judged!"