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And he believed in Yahweh; and he counted it to him for righteousness. And he said unto him, "I am Yahweh that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it." And he said, "O Yahweh, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?" And he said unto him, "Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon."

And he took him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each half over against the other: but the birds divided he not. And the birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away. And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.

And he said unto Abram, "Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge; and afterward shall they come out with great substance. But thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. And in the fourth generation they shall come hither again; for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full."

And it came to pass that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a flaming torch that passed between these pieces. In that day, Yahweh made a covenant with Abram, saying, "Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: the Kenite, and the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Rephaim and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Girgashite, and the Jebusite."

And Sarai had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said unto Abram, "Behold now, Yahweh hath restrained me from bearing; go in, I pray thee, unto my handmaid; it may be that I shall obtain children by her." And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes. And Sarai said unto Abram, "My wrong be upon thee: I gave my handmaid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: Yahweh judge between me and thee." But Abram said unto Sarai, "Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her that which is good in thine eyes." And Sarai dealt hardly with her, and she fled from her face.

And the angel of Yahweh found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. And he said, "Hagar, Sarai's handmaid, whence camest thou? and whither goest thou?" And she said, "I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai." And the angel of Yahweh said unto her, "Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son; and thou shalt call his name Ishmael, because Yahweh hath heard thy affliction. And he shall be as a wild-ass among men; his hand shall be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren." And she called the name of Yahweh that spake unto her, "Thou art a God that seeth: for," she said, "Have I even here looked after him that seeth me?"

Wherefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

And Yahweh appeared unto Abram by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; and he lift up his eyes and looked, and lo, three men stood over against him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to the earth, and said, "My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: let now a little water be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: and I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your heart; after that ye shall pass on: forasmuch as ye are come to your servant."

And they said, "So do, as thou hast said." And Abram hastened into the tent unto Sarai, and said, "Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes." And Abram ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it unto the servant; and he hastened to dress it. And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.

And they said unto him, "Where is Sarai thy wife?" And he said, "Behold, in the tent." And he said, "I will certainly return unto thee when the season cometh round; and, lo, Sarai thy wife shall have a son." And Sarai heard in the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abram and Sarai were old, and well stricken in age; it had ceased to be with Sarai after the manner of women. And Sarai laughed within herself, saying, "After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?" And Yahweh said unto Abram, "Wherefore did Sarai laugh, saying, 'Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?' Is anything too hard for Yahweh? At the set time I will return unto thee, when the season cometh round, and Sarai shall have a son." Then Sarai denied, saying, " I laughed not"; for she was afraid. And he said, "Nay; but thou didst laugh." And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom; and Abram went with them to bring them on the way. Yahweh said, "Shall I hide from Abram that which I do; seeing that Abram shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of Yahweh, to do justice and judgment; to the end that Yahweh may bring upon Abram, that which he hath spoken of him."

And Yahweh said, "Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know." And the men turned from thence and went toward Sodom; but Abram stood yet before Yahweh.

And Abram drew near, and said “Wilt thou consume the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city; wilt thou consume and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that so the righteous should be as the wicked; that be far from thee: shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"

And Yahweh said, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sake."

And Abram answered and said, "Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto Yahweh, which am but dust and ashes: peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous; wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? "

And he said, "I will not destroy it, if I find there forty and five."

And he spake unto him yet again, and said, "Peradventure there shall be forty found there."

And he said, "I will not do it for the forty's sake."

And he said, "O, let not Yahweh be angry, and I will speak: peradventure there shall thirty be found there."

And he said, "I will not do it, if I find thirty there." And he said, "Behold, now I have taken upon me to speak unto Yahweh: peradventure there shall be twenty found there." And he said, "I will not destroy it for the twenty's sake." And he said, "O, let not Yahweh be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: peradventure ten shall be found there." And he said, "I will not destroy it for the ten's sake." And Yahweh went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abram: and Abram returned unto his place.

And two angels came to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom; and Lot saw them, and rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face to the earth; and he said, "Behold now, my lords, turn aside, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your way." And they said, "Nay; but we will abide in the street all night." And he urged them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.

But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both young and old, all the people from every quarter; and they called unto Lot, and said unto him, "Where are the men which came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them."

And Lot went out unto them to the door, and shut the door after him. And he said, "I pray you, my brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; forasmuch as they are come under the shadow of my roof."

And they said, "Stand back." And they said, "This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge; now will we deal worse with thee, than with them."

And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and drew near to break the door. But the men put forth their hand, and brought Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great; so that they wearied themselves to find the door.

And the men said unto Lot, "Hast thou here any besides? Son-in-law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whomsoever thou hast in the city; bring them out of the place; for we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before Yahweh; and Yahweh hath sent us to destroy it."

And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons-in-law, which married his daughters, and said, "Up, get you out of this place; for Yahweh will destroy the city." But he seemed unto his sons-in-law as one that mocked. And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, "Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city."

But he lingered; and the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; Yahweh being merciful unto him; and they brought him forth, and set him without the city. And it came to pass, when they brought them forth abroad, that he said, "Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the Plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed."

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And Lot said unto them, O not so, my lord; behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest evil overtake

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