3And he goeth on his journeyings from the south, even unto Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the commencement, between Bethel and Hai —

4unto the place of the altar which he made there at the first, and there doth Abram preach in the name of Jehovah.

5And also to Lot, who is going with Abram, there hath been sheep and oxen and tents;

6and the land hath not suffered them to dwell together, for their substance hath been much, and they have not been able to dwell together;

7and there is a strife between those feeding Abram's cattle and those feeding Lot's cattle; and the Canaanite and the Perizzite [are] then dwelling in the land.

8And Abram saith unto Lot, ‘Let there not, I pray thee, be strife between me and thee, and between my shepherds and thy shepherds, for we [are] men — brethren.

9Is not all the land before thee? be parted, I pray thee, from me; if to the left, then I to the right; and if to the right, then I to the left.’

10And Lot lifteth up his eyes, and seeth the whole circuit of the Jordan that it [is] all a watered country (before Jehovah's destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, as Jehovah's garden, as the land of Egypt,) in thy coming toward Zoar,

11and Lot chooseth for himself the whole circuit of the Jordan; and Lot journeyeth from the east, and they are parted — a man from his companion;

12Abram hath dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot hath dwelt in the cities of the circuit, and tenteth unto Sodom;

13and the men of Sodom [are] evil, and sinners before Jehovah exceedingly.

14And Jehovah said unto Abram, after Lot's being parted from him, ‘Lift up, I pray thee, thine eyes, and look from the place where thou [art], northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward;

15for the whole of the land which thou are seeing, to thee I give it, and to thy seed — to the age.

16And I have set thy seed as dust of the earth, so that, if one is able to number the dust of the earth, even thy seed is numbered;

17rise, go up and down through the land, to its length, and to its breadth, for to thee I give it.’

18And Abram tenteth, and cometh, and dwelleth among the oaks of Mamre, which [are] in Hebron, and buildeth there an altar to Jehovah.

maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society

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Genesis 13

Abram and Lot Part Ways

1So Abram went up out of Egypt into the Negev—he and his wife and all his possessions—and Lot was with him. 2And Abram had become extremely wealthy in livestock and silver and gold.

3From the Negev he journeyed from place to place toward Bethel, until he came to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had formerly been pitched, 4to the site where he had built the altar. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord.

5Now Lot, who was traveling with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. 6But the land was unable to support both of them while they stayed together, for they had so many possessions that they were unable to coexist. 7And there was discord between the herdsmen of Abram and the herdsmen of Lot. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were also living in the land.

8So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no contention between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen. After all, we are brothers. 9Is not the whole land before you? Now separate yourself from me. If you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left.”

Lot Proceeds toward Sodom

10And Lot looked out and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan, all the way to Zoar, was well watered like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11So Lot chose the whole plain of the Jordan for himself and set out toward the east. And Abram and Lot parted company.

12Abram lived in the land of Canaan, but Lot settled in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent toward Sodom. 13But the men of Sodom were wicked, sinning greatly against the Lord.

God Renews the Promise to Abram

14After Lot had departed, the Lord said to Abram, “Now lift up your eyes from the place where you are, and look to the north and south and east and west, 15for all the land that you see, I will give to you and your offspring forever.#13:15 Cited in Galatians 3:16

16I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if one could count the dust of the earth, then your offspring could be counted. 17Get up and walk around the land, through its length and breadth, for I will give it to you.”

18So Abram moved his tent and went to live near the Oaks #13:18 Or Terebinths or Great Trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the Lord.

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Genesis 13

Genesis 13