Genesis 13
13
Abram and Lot Separate
1Abram and Sarai took everything they owned and went to the Southern Desert. Lot went with them.
2Abram was very rich. He owned many cattle, sheep, and goats, and had a lot of silver and gold. 3Abram moved from place to place in the Southern Desert. And finally, he went north and set up his tents between Bethel and Ai, 4where he had earlier camped and built an altar. There he worshiped the Lord.
5Lot, who was traveling with him, also had sheep, goats, and cattle, as well as his own family and slaves. 6-7At this time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were still living in the same area, and so there wasn't enough pastureland left for Abram and Lot with all of their animals. Besides this, the men who took care of Abram's animals and the ones who took care of Lot's animals started quarreling.
8Abram said to Lot, “We are close relatives. We shouldn't argue, and our men shouldn't be fighting one another. 9There is plenty of land for you to choose from. Let's separate. If you go north, I'll go south; if you go south, I'll go north.”
10 #
Gn 2.10. This happened before the Lord had destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. And when Lot looked around, he saw there was plenty of water in the Jordan Valley. All the way to Zoar the valley was as green as the garden of the Lord or the land of Egypt. 11So Lot chose the whole Jordan Valley for himself, and as he started out toward the east, he and Abram separated. 12Abram stayed in the land of Canaan. But Lot settled near the cities of the valley and put up his tents not far from Sodom, 13where the people were evil and sinned terribly against the Lord.
Abram Moves to Hebron
14After Abram and Lot had gone their separate ways, the Lord said to Abram:
Look around to the north, south, east, and west. 15#Ac 7.5. I will give you and your family all the land you can see. It will be theirs forever! 16I will give you more descendants than there are specks of dust on the earth, and someday it will be easier to count those specks of dust than to count your descendants. 17Now walk back and forth across the land, because I am going to give it to you.
18Abram took down his tents and went to live near the sacred trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar in honor of the Lord.
Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Genesis 13
13
Chapter 13
Abram and Lot go different ways
1Abram left Egypt and he travelled north to the Negev. He took his wife and everything that belonged to him. Lot also went with him. 2Abram had many valuable things. He had many cows, and much silver and gold.
3Then Abram left the Negev and he went to different places. He arrived at Bethel. He returned to the place where he had put up his tent before. That place was between Bethel and Ai. 4It was where Abram had first built an altar to worship the Lord.
5Lot was travelling with Abram. Lot also had many cows, sheep and tents. 6But the land could not grow enough food for all of them to eat. They could not all live together in the same place, because they had so many animals and people with them. 7Abram's shepherds and Lot's shepherds began to quarrel with each other. (At that time, Canaanites and Perizzites also lived in the land.) #13:7 The Canaanites and Perizzites did not worship God. It was not good for them to see people who worship God quarrelling with each other.
8Abram said to Lot, ‘We must not quarrel with each other. Your shepherds and my shepherds must not quarrel with each other. Remember that we belong to the same family. 9Look everywhere! There is enough land for all of us. We must go different ways. If you go to the left, I will go to the right. If you go to the right, I will go to the left.’
10Lot looked up and he saw the flat land of Jordan, as far as Zoar. He saw that it had lots of water, like the garden of the Lord. It was good land, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed the cities there called Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11So Lot chose for himself the valley of the Jordan River. He travelled towards the east. #13:11 Lot chose the land that he thought was the best.
12Abram stayed in the land of Canaan and he lived there. But Lot lived near the cities that were in the Jordan Valley. He put up his tents near the city of Sodom. 13The people of Sodom were very wicked. They did not obey the Lord at all.
14After Lot had gone away, the Lord said to Abram, ‘Stand where you are and look all around! Look to the north, the south, the east and the west. 15I will give you all the land that you can see. I will give it to you and your descendants. It will belong to them for ever. 16I will make your descendants become very many. Like the dust of the ground, people will not be able to count them all. 17Go and travel round all this land. Look at it, because I am giving it to you!’
18So Abram moved his tents. He went to live near the special oak trees of Mamre. That place is at Hebron. Abram built an altar to worship the Lord there.
MissionAssist 2018