A fugitive came and told Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, the brother of Eshcol and Aner. (All these were allied by treaty with Abram.)

And Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah.

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.

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.)

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.

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.

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).

He blessed Abram, saying, "Blessed be Abram by the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth.

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."

So Sarai said to Abram, "Since the Lord has prevented me from having children, have sexual relations with my servant. Perhaps I can have a family by her." Abram did what Sarai told him.

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.

So Hagar gave birth to Abram's son, whom Abram named Ishmael.

Abram (that is, Abraham).

"You are the LORD God who chose Abram and brought him forth from Ur of the Chaldeans. You changed his name to Abraham.

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

This is the account of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot.

Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go out from your country, your relatives, and your father's household to the land that I will show you.

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.)

Abram continually journeyed by stages down to the Negev.

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

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,

But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his household with severe diseases because of Sarai, Abram's wife.

So Pharaoh summoned Abram and said, "What is this you have done to me? Why didn't you tell me that she was your wife?

Pharaoh gave his men orders about Abram, and so they expelled him, along with his wife and all his possessions.

So Abram went up from Egypt into the Negev. He took his wife and all his possessions with him, as well as Lot.

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

This was the place where he had first built the altar, and there Abram worshiped the Lord.

Now Lot, who was traveling with Abram, also had flocks, herds, and tents.

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 said to Lot, "Let there be no quarreling between me and you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are close relatives.

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

After Lot had departed, the Lord said to Abram, "Look from the place where you stand to the north, south, east, and west.

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.

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.

Then, during the night, Abram divided his forces against them and defeated them. He chased them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus.

Worthy of praise is the Most High God, who delivered your enemies into your hand." Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything.

Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people and take the possessions for yourself."

But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, "I raise my hand to the Lord, the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth, and vow

that I will take nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal. That way you can never say, 'It is I who made Abram rich.'

But Abram said, "O sovereign Lord, what will you give me since I continue to be childless, and my heir is Eliezer of Damascus?"

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

Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord considered his response of faith as proof of genuine loyalty.

But Abram said, "O sovereign Lord, by what can I know that I am to possess it?"

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.

That day the Lord made a covenant with Abram: "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River --

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

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!"

Abram said to Sarai, "Since your servant is under your authority, do to her whatever you think best." Then Sarai treated Hagar harshly, so she ran away from Sarai.

(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.

Abram bowed down with his face to the ground, and God said to him,

No longer will your name be Abram. Instead, your name will be Abraham because I will make you the father of a multitude of nations.