Genesis 13

Abram and his nephew Lot split up

1So Abram, Sarai, and Lot left Egypt and went back to the dry desert country. They took everything they owned, and all their workers. 2Abram was a very rich man. He had a lot of silver and gold, and a big mob of animals.

3They were in that dry desert country for a while, then they went north from place to place until they got back to the town called Bethel. They camped in the same place that they camped at before. It was between Bethel and the town called Ayi. 4That was the place where Abram built a special stone table to burn animals, to show respect to God. After Abram got back there, he prayed to God, and he called God by his special name Yahweh.

5Abram and his nephew Lot were still together. And Lot also had a big mob of sheep, and goats, and cows, and bulls. And he had a lot of tents for all his workers too. 6-7But there was a problem. There were other people already living in that country. They were called the Canaan mob, and the Periz mob. And they had animals too, and all those animals needed grass and water, as well as Abram’s animals, and Lot’s animals too. But there wasn’t enough grass and water in that place for all those animals. So Abram’s work-men and Lot’s work-men started to argue and fight with each other about whose animals got the grass and water. 8Then Abram said to Lot, “I don’t like this trouble. You and me, we are family, and I don’t want trouble between us. And I don’t want our work-men to argue and fight with each other. 9Look, there is a lot of country here. Just look around, and you will see that there’s plenty of country for both of us. So I reckon we have to split up. I want you to pick the part of the country you want, and then I will go somewhere else. If you pick the country to the east, then I will go to the country to the west, but if you pick the west country, then I will go to the east country.”

10Lot looked to the east, towards a town called Zoar, in the flat country around the Jordan River. He saw that the flat country had plenty of grass and water. It looked just like God’s garden, and like the country in Egypt. (That was before God burned up the towns in the flat country called Sodom and Gomorrah.#Genesis 19:24) 11-12So Lot picked the flat country around the Jordan River, to the east.

Then Abram did what he promised, and he went to the country called Canaan. In that way, Lot’s mob and Abram’s mob went to different places, and there was no more trouble between their work-men.

Lot went to the flat country around the Jordan River. There were some towns there, and Lot camped near the town called Sodom. 13The people that lived in Sodom were very bad. They were always going against God, and they did bad things all the time.

God made a promise to Abram

14Then, after Lot left, God said to Abram, “Look at all the country around you. Look to the north, and to the south, and to the east, and to the west. 15I will give you all the country that you can see. Later on, you will have a son and lots of people will be born into his family, and they will own all this country, for ever.#Acts 7:5 16Look at the ground you are standing on, it has lots of little bits of dirt. Nobody can count all those little bits of dirt on the ground, and just like that, nobody will be able to count all the people that will be in your family later on. 17All right, Abram, I want you to get up and walk all around the country that I’m giving you, and look at it all properly.”

18So Abram went to the big trees that belonged to a man called Mamreh, near a town called Hebron, and he camped there. He piled up stones there and made another special table with a flat top, so that he could burn animals to show respect to God.

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Genesis 13

Abram and Lot separate

1Abram went up from Egypt toward the arid southern plain with his wife, with everything he had, and with Lot. 2Abram was very wealthy in livestock, silver, and gold. 3Abram traveled, making and breaking camp, from the arid southern plain to Bethel and to the sacred place there, where he had first pitched his tent between Bethel and Ai, 4that is, to the place at which he had earlier built the altar. There he worshipped in the LORD’s name. 5Now Lot, who traveled with Abram, also had flocks, cattle, and tents. 6They had so many possessions between them that the land couldn’t support both of them. They could no longer live together. 7Conflicts broke out between those herding Abram’s livestock and those herding Lot’s livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites lived in the land.

8Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have disputes between me and you and between our herders since we are relatives. 9Isn’t the whole land in front of you? Let’s separate. If you go north, I will go south; and if you go south, I will go north.” 10Lot looked up and saw the entire Jordan Valley. All of it was well irrigated, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as far as Zoar (this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah). 11So Lot chose for himself the entire Jordan Valley. Lot set out toward the east, and they separated from each other. 12Abram settled in the land of Canaan, and Lot settled near the cities of the valley and pitched his tent close to Sodom. 13The citizens of Sodom were very evil and sinful against the LORD.

14After Lot separated from him, the LORD said to Abram, “From the place where you are standing, look up and gaze to the north, south, east, and west, 15because all the land that you see I give you and your descendants forever. 16I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth. If someone could count the bits of dust on the earth, then they could also count your descendants. 17Stand up and walk around through the length and breadth of the land because I am giving it to you.” 18So Abram packed his tent and went and settled by the oaks of Mamre in Hebron. There he built an altar to the LORD.

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