NLT One Year Bible - Flipbook - Page 24
J A N U A R Y
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herdsmen ofAbram and Lot. (At that time
Canaanites and Perizzites were also living
in the land.)
8Finally Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not
allow this conflict to come between us or
our herdsmen. After all, we are close relatives! 9 The whole countryside is open to
you. Take your choice of any section of
the land you want, and we will separate.
If you want the land to the left, then I’ll
take the land on the right. If you prefer
the land on the right, then I’ll go to the
left.”
10Lot took a long look at the fertile
plains of the Jordan Valley in the direction of Zoar. The whole area was well
watered everywhere, like the garden of
the Lord or the beautiful land of Egypt.
(This was before the Lord destroyed
Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11Lot chose for
himself the whole Jordan Valley to the
east of them. He went there with his
flocks and servants and parted company with his uncle Abram. 12 So Abram
settled in the land of Canaan, and Lot
moved his tents to a place near Sodom
and settled among the cities of the
plain. 13But the people of this area were
extremely wicked and constantly
sinned against the Lord.
14After Lot had gone, the Lord said to
Abram, “Look as far as you can see in
every direction—north and south, east
and west. 15 I am giving all this land, as
far as you can see, to you and your descendants* as a permanent possession.
16And I will give you so many descendants that, like the dust of the earth,
they cannot be counted! 17 Go and walk
through the land in every direction, for I
am giving it to you.”
18So Abram moved his camp to Hebron and settled near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. There he built another
altar to the Lord.
14:1About
this time war broke out in the
region. King Amraphel of Babylonia,*
King Arioch of Ellasar, King Kedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim
2 fought against King Bera of Sodom,
King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab
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of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim,
and the king of Bela (also called Zoar).
3 This second group of kings joined
forces in Siddim Valley (that is, the valley
of the Dead Sea*). 4For twelve years they
had been subject to King Kedorlaomer,
but in the thirteenth year they rebelled
against him.
5One year later Kedorlaomer and his
allies arrived and defeated the Rephaites
at Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzites at
Ham, the Emites at Shaveh-kiriathaim,
6 and the Horites at Mount Seir, as far as
El-paran at the edge of the wilderness.
7 Then they turned back and came to Enmishpat (now called Kadesh) and conquered all the territory of the Amalekites,
and also the Amorites living in Hazazontamar.
8Then the rebel kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (also
called Zoar) prepared for battle in the valley of the Dead Sea.* 9 They fought
against King Kedorlaomer of Elam, King
Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel of Babylonia, and King Arioch of Ellasar—four
kings against five. 10As it happened, the
valley of the Dead Sea was filled with tar
pits. And as the army of the kings of
Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into
the tar pits, while the rest escaped into
the mountains. 11The victorious invaders
then plundered Sodom and Gomorrah
and headed for home, taking with them
all the spoils ofwar and the food supplies.
12 They also captured Lot— Abram’s
nephew who lived in Sodom—and carried
off everything he owned.
13But one of Lot’s men escaped and reported everything to Abram the Hebrew,
who was living near the oak grove belonging to Mamre the Amorite. Mamre
and his relatives, Eshcol and Aner, were
Abram’s allies.
14When Abram heard that his nephew
Lot had been captured, he mobilized the
318 trained men who had been born
into his household. Then he pursued
Kedorlaomer’s army until he caught up
with them at Dan. 15 There he divided
his men and attacked during the night.
Kedorlaomer’s army fled, but Abram
