Genesis 14:1--16:16

The Blessing of Victory for God’s People

14:1 At that time Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations 14:2 went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 14:3 These last five kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). 14:4 For twelve years they had served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 14:5 In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings who were his allies came and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 14:6 and the Horites in their hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is near the desert. 14:7 Then they attacked En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh) again, and they conquered all the territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazazon Tamar.

14:8 Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and prepared for battle. In the Valley of Siddim they met 14:9 Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar. Four kings fought against five. 14:10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into them, but some survivors fled to the hills. 14:11 The four victorious kings took all the possessions and food of Sodom and Gomorrah and left. 14:12 They also took Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions when they left, for Lot was living in Sodom.

14:13 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.) 14:14 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. 14:15 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. 14:16 He retrieved all the stolen property. He also brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, as well as the women and the rest of the people.

14:17 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). 14:18 Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (Now he was the priest of the Most High God.) 14:19 He blessed Abram, saying,

“Blessed be Abram by the Most High God,

Creator of heaven and earth.

14:20 Worthy of praise is the Most High God,

who delivered your enemies into your hand.”

Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything.

14:21 Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and take the possessions for yourself.” 14:22 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 14:23 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.’ 14:24 I will take nothing except compensation for what the young men have eaten. As for the share of the men who went with me – Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre – let them take their share.”

The Cutting of the Covenant

15:1 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.”

15:2 But Abram said, “O sovereign Lord, what will you give me since I continue to be childless, and my heir is Eliezer of Damascus?” 15:3 Abram added, “Since you have not given me a descendant, then look, one born in my house will be my heir!”

15:4 But look, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but instead a son who comes from your own body will be your heir.” 15:5 The Lord took him outside and said, “Gaze into the sky and count the stars – if you are able to count them!” Then he said to him, “So will your descendants be.”

15:6 Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord considered his response of faith as proof of genuine loyalty.

15:7 The Lord said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” 15:8 But Abram said, “O sovereign Lord, by what can I know that I am to possess it?”

15:9 The Lord said to him, “Take for me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” 15:10 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. 15:11 When birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

15:12 When the sun went down, Abram fell sound asleep, and great terror overwhelmed him. 15:13 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. 15:14 But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve. Afterward they will come out with many possessions. 15:15 But as for you, you will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. 15:16 In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.”

15:17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch passed between the animal parts. 15:18 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 – 15:19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 15:20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 15:21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”

The Birth of Ishmael

16:1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not given birth to any children, but she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar. 16:2 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.

16:3 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. 16:4 He had sexual relations with Hagar, and she became pregnant. Once Hagar realized she was pregnant, she despised Sarai. 16:5 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!”

16:6 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.

16:7 The Lord’s angel found Hagar near a spring of water in the desert – the spring that is along the road to Shur. 16:8 He said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She replied, “I’m running away from my mistress, Sarai.”

16:9 Then the Lord’s angel said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her authority. 16:10 I will greatly multiply your descendants,” the Lord’s angel added, “so that they will be too numerous to count.” 16:11 Then the Lord’s angel said to her,

“You are now pregnant

and are about to give birth to a son.

You are to name him Ishmael,

for the Lord has heard your painful groans.

16:12 He will be a wild donkey of a man.

He will be hostile to everyone,

and everyone will be hostile to him.

He will live away from his brothers.”

16:13 So Hagar named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “Here I have seen one who sees me!” 16:14 That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi. (It is located between Kadesh and Bered.)

16:15 So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, whom Abram named Ishmael. 16:16 (Now Abram was 86 years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.)

Genesis 2:4-12

The Creation of Man and Woman

2:4 This is the account of the heavens and

the earth when they were created – when the Lord God made the earth and heavens.

2:5 Now no shrub of the field had yet grown on the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. 2:6 Springs would well up from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground. 2:7 The Lord God formed the man from the soil of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

2:8 The Lord God planted an orchard in the east, in Eden; and there he placed the man he had formed. 2:9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow from the soil, every tree that was pleasing to look at and good for food. (Now the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil were in the middle of the orchard.)

2:10 Now a river flows from Eden to

water the orchard, and from there it divides into four headstreams. 2:11 The name of the first is Pishon; it runs through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 2:12 (The gold of that land is pure; pearls and lapis lazuli are also there).

Genesis 8:2-8

8:2 The fountains of the deep and the floodgates of heaven were closed, and the rain stopped falling from the sky. 8:3 The waters kept receding steadily from the earth, so that they had gone down by the end of the 150 days. 8:4 On the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the ark came to rest on one of the mountains of Ararat. 8:5 The waters kept on receding until the tenth month. On the first day of the tenth month, the tops of the mountains became visible.

8:6 At the end of forty days, Noah opened the window he had made in the ark 8:7 and sent out a raven; it kept flying back and forth until the waters had dried up on the earth.

8:8 Then Noah sent out a dove to see if the waters had receded from the surface of the ground.

Genesis 8:19

8:19 Every living creature, every creeping thing, every bird, and everything that moves on the earth went out of the ark in their groups.

Isaiah 40:1-2

The Lord Returns to Jerusalem

40:1 “Comfort, comfort my people,”

says your God.

40:2 “Speak kindly to Jerusalem, and tell her

that her time of warfare is over,

that her punishment is completed.

For the Lord has made her pay double for all her sins.”

Jeremiah 29:10

29:10 “For the Lord says, ‘Only when the seventy years of Babylonian rule are over will I again take up consideration for you. Then I will fulfill my gracious promise to you and restore you to your homeland.

Jeremiah 30:10-22

30:10 So I, the Lord, tell you not to be afraid,

you descendants of Jacob, my servants.

Do not be terrified, people of Israel.

For I will rescue you and your descendants

from a faraway land where you are captives.

The descendants of Jacob will return to their land and enjoy peace.

They will be secure and no one will terrify them.

30:11 For I, the Lord, affirm that

I will be with you and will rescue you.

I will completely destroy all the nations where I scattered you.

But I will not completely destroy you.

I will indeed discipline you, but only in due measure.

I will not allow you to go entirely unpunished.”

The Lord Will Heal the Wounds of Judah

30:12 Moreover, the Lord says to the people of Zion,

“Your injuries are incurable;

your wounds are severe.

30:13 There is no one to plead your cause.

There are no remedies for your wounds.

There is no healing for you.

30:14 All your allies have abandoned you.

They no longer have any concern for you.

For I have attacked you like an enemy would.

I have chastened you cruelly.

For your wickedness is so great

and your sin is so much.

30:15 Why do you complain about your injuries,

that your pain is incurable?

I have done all this to you

because your wickedness is so great

and your sin is so much.

30:16 But all who destroyed you will be destroyed.

All your enemies will go into exile.

Those who plundered you will be plundered.

I will cause those who pillaged you to be pillaged.

30:17 Yes, I will restore you to health.

I will heal your wounds.

I, the Lord, affirm it!

For you have been called an outcast,

Zion, whom no one cares for.”

The Lord Will Restore Israel and Judah

30:18 The Lord says,

“I will restore the ruined houses of the descendants of Jacob.

I will show compassion on their ruined homes.

Every city will be rebuilt on its former ruins.

Every fortified dwelling will occupy its traditional site.

30:19 Out of those places you will hear songs of thanksgiving

and the sounds of laughter and merriment.

I will increase their number and they will not dwindle away.

I will bring them honor and they will no longer be despised.

30:20 The descendants of Jacob will enjoy their former privileges.

Their community will be reestablished in my favor

and I will punish all who try to oppress them.

30:21 One of their own people will be their leader.

Their ruler will come from their own number.

I will invite him to approach me, and he will do so.

For no one would dare approach me on his own.

I, the Lord, affirm it!

30:22 Then you will again be my people

and I will be your God.

Jeremiah 31:3-14

31:3 In a far-off land the Lord will manifest himself to them.

He will say to them, ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love.

That is why I have continued to be faithful to you.

31:4 I will rebuild you, my dear children Israel,

so that you will once again be built up.

Once again you will take up the tambourine

and join in the happy throng of dancers.

31:5 Once again you will plant vineyards

on the hills of Samaria.

Those who plant them

will once again enjoy their fruit.

31:6 Yes, a time is coming

when watchmen will call out on the mountains of Ephraim,

“Come! Let us go to Zion

to worship the Lord our God!”’”

31:7 Moreover, the Lord says,

“Sing for joy for the descendants of Jacob.

Utter glad shouts for that foremost of the nations.

Make your praises heard.

Then say, ‘Lord, rescue your people.

Deliver those of Israel who remain alive.’

31:8 Then I will reply, ‘I will bring them back from the land of the north.

I will gather them in from the distant parts of the earth.

Blind and lame people will come with them,

so will pregnant women and women about to give birth.

A vast throng of people will come back here.

31:9 They will come back shedding tears of contrition.

I will bring them back praying prayers of repentance.

I will lead them besides streams of water,

along smooth paths where they will never stumble.

I will do this because I am Israel’s father;

Ephraim is my firstborn son.’”

31:10 Hear what the Lord has to say, O nations.

Proclaim it in the faraway lands along the sea.

Say, “The one who scattered Israel will regather them.

He will watch over his people like a shepherd watches over his flock.”

31:11 For the Lord will rescue the descendants of Jacob.

He will secure their release from those who had overpowered them.

31:12 They will come and shout for joy on Mount Zion.

They will be radiant with joy over the good things the Lord provides,

the grain, the fresh wine, the olive oil,

the young sheep and calves he has given to them.

They will be like a well-watered garden

and will not grow faint or weary any more.

31:13 The Lord says, “At that time young women will dance and be glad.

Young men and old men will rejoice.

I will turn their grief into gladness.

I will give them comfort and joy in place of their sorrow.

31:14 I will provide the priests with abundant provisions.

My people will be filled to the full with the good things I provide.”

Amos 9:11-15

The Restoration of the Davidic Dynasty

9:11 “In that day I will rebuild the collapsing hut of David.

I will seal its gaps,

repair its ruins,

and restore it to what it was like in days gone by.

9:12 As a result they will conquer those left in Edom

and all the nations subject to my rule.”

The Lord, who is about to do this, is speaking!

9:13 “Be sure of this, the time is coming,” says the Lord,

“when the plowman will catch up to the reaper

and the one who stomps the grapes will overtake the planter.

Juice will run down the slopes,

it will flow down all the hillsides.

9:14 I will bring back my people, Israel;

they will rebuild the cities lying in rubble and settle down.

They will plant vineyards and drink the wine they produce;

they will grow orchards and eat the fruit they produce.

9:15 I will plant them on their land

and they will never again be uprooted from the land I have given them,”

says the Lord your God.

Zephaniah 3:14-20

3:14 Shout for joy, Daughter Zion!

Shout out, Israel!

Be happy and boast with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem!

3:15 The Lord has removed the judgment against you;

he has turned back your enemy.

Israel’s king, the Lord, is in your midst!

You no longer need to fear disaster.

3:16 On that day they will say to Jerusalem,

“Don’t be afraid, Zion!

Your hands must not be paralyzed from panic!

3:17 The Lord your God is in your midst;

he is a warrior who can deliver.

He takes great delight in you;

he renews you by his love;

he shouts for joy over you.”

3:18 “As for those who grieve because they cannot attend the festivals –

I took them away from you;

they became tribute and were a source of shame to you.

3:19 Look, at that time I will deal with those who mistreated you.

I will rescue the lame sheep

and gather together the scattered sheep.

I will take away their humiliation

and make the whole earth admire and respect them.

3:20 At that time I will lead you –

at the time I gather you together.

Be sure of this! I will make all the nations of the earth respect and admire you

when you see me restore you,” says the Lord.