Day 7 of 730

¹Abram went up out of Egypt: he, his wife, all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negev.

²Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.

³He went on his journeys from the Negev even to Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,

⁴to the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first. There Abram called on the name of the Lord.

⁵Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.

⁶The land was not able to bear them, that they might live together: for their substance was great, so that they could not live together.

⁷There was a strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite lived in the land at that time.

⁸Abram said to Lot, "Please, let there be no strife between me and you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are relatives.

⁹Isn't the whole land before you? Please separate yourself from me. If you go to the left hand, then I will go to the right. Or if you go to the right hand, then I will go to the left."

¹⁰Lot lifted up his eyes, and saw all the plain of the Jordan, that it was well-watered everywhere, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as you go to Zoar.

¹¹So Lot chose the Plain of the Jordan for himself. Lot traveled east, and they separated themselves the one from the other.

¹²Abram lived in the land of Canaan, and Lot lived in the cities of the plain, and moved his tent as far as Sodom.

¹³Now the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinners against the Lord.

¹⁴The Lord said to Abram, after Lot was separated from him, "Now, lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward,

¹⁵for all the land which you see, I will give to you, and to your offspring forever.

¹⁶I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then your seed may also be numbered.

¹⁷Arise, walk through the land in its length and in its breadth; for I will give it to you."

¹⁸Abram moved his tent, and came and lived by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the Lord.

¹It happened in the days of Amraphel, king of Shinar, Arioch, king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, and Tidal, king of Goiim,

²that they made war with Bera, king of Sodom, and with Birsha, king of Gomorrah, Shinab, king of Admah, and Shemeber, king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar).

³All these joined together in the valley of Siddim (the same is the Salt Sea).

⁴Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year, they rebelled.

⁵In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer came, and the kings who were with him, and struck the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim,

⁶and the Horites in their Mount Seir, to Elparan, which is by the wilderness.

⁷They returned, and came to En Mishpat (the same is Kadesh), and struck all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that lived in Hazazon Tamar.

⁸The king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar) went out; and they set the battle in array against them in the valley of Siddim;

⁹against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings against the five.

¹⁰Now the valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell there, and those who remained fled to the hills.

¹¹They took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their food, and went their way.

¹²They took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who lived in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

¹³One who had escaped came and told Abram, the Hebrew. Now he lived by the oaks of Mamre, the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner; and these were allies of Abram.

¹⁴When Abram heard that his relative was taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued as far as Dan.

¹⁵He divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and struck them, and pursued them to Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.

¹⁶He brought back all the goods, and also brought back his relative, Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.

¹⁷The king of Sodom went out to meet him, after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, at the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley).

¹⁸Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine: and he was priest of God Most High.

¹⁹He blessed him, and said, "Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth:

²⁰and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand." Abram gave him a tenth of all.

²¹The king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people, and take the goods to yourself."

²²Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have lifted up my hand to the Lord, God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth,

²³that I will not take a thread nor a sandal strap nor anything that is yours, lest you should say, 'I have made Abram rich.'

²⁴I will accept nothing from you except that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. Let them take their portion."

¹Lord, my God, I take refuge in you. Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me,

²lest they tear apart my soul like a lion, ripping it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.

³Lord, my God, if I have done this, if there is iniquity in my hands,

⁴if I have rewarded evil to him who was at peace with me (yes, if I have delivered him who without cause was my adversary),

⁵let the enemy pursue my soul, and overtake it; yes, let him tread my life down to the earth, and lay my glory in the dust. Selah.

⁶Arise, Lord, in your anger. Lift up yourself against the rage of my adversaries. Awake for me. You have commanded judgment.

⁷Let the congregation of the peoples surround you. Rule over them on high.

⁸The Lord administers judgment to the peoples. Judge me, Lord, according to my righteousness, and to my integrity that is in me.

⁹Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous; their minds and hearts are searched by the righteous God.

¹⁰My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart.

¹¹God is a righteous judge, yes, a God who has indignation every day.

¹²If a man doesn't relent, he will sharpen his sword; he has bent and strung his bow.

¹³He has also prepared for himself the instruments of death. He makes ready his flaming arrows.

¹⁴Behold, he travails with iniquity. Yes, he has conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood.

¹⁵He has dug a hole, and has fallen into the pit which he made.

¹⁶The trouble he causes shall return to his own head. His violence shall come down on the crown of his own head.

¹⁷I will give thanks to the Lord according to his righteousness, and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

¹My son, keep my words. Lay up my commandments within you.

²Keep my commandments and live! Guard my teaching as the apple of your eye.

³Bind them on your fingers. Write them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴Tell wisdom, "You are my sister." Call understanding your relative,

⁵that they may keep you from the strange woman, from the foreigner who flatters with her words.

⁶For at the window of my house, I looked out through my lattice.

⁷I saw among the simple ones. I discerned among the youths a young man void of understanding,

⁸passing through the street near her corner, he went the way to her house,

⁹in the twilight, in the evening of the day, in the middle of the night and in the darkness.

¹⁰Behold, there a woman met him with the attire of a prostitute, and with crafty intent.

¹¹She is loud and defiant. Her feet do not stay in her house.

¹²Now she is in the streets, now in the squares, and lurking at every corner.

¹³So she caught him, and kissed him. With an impudent face she said to him:

¹⁴"Sacrifices of peace offerings are with me. This day I have paid my vows.

¹⁵Therefore I came out to meet you, to diligently seek your face, and I have found you.

¹⁶I have spread my couch with carpets of tapestry, with striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt.

¹⁷I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

¹⁸Come, let's take our fill of loving until the morning. Let's solace ourselves with loving.

¹⁹For my husband isn't at home. He has gone on a long journey.

²⁰He has taken a bag of money with him. He will come home at the full moon."

²¹With persuasive words, she led him astray. With the flattering of her lips, she seduced him.

²²He followed her immediately, as an ox goes to the slaughter, as a fool stepping into a noose.

²³Until an arrow strikes through his liver, as a bird hurries to the snare, and doesn't know that it will cost his life.

²⁴Now therefore, sons, listen to me. Pay attention to the words of my mouth.

²⁵Do not let your heart turn to her ways. Do not go astray in her paths,

²⁶for she has thrown down many wounded. Yes, all her slain are a mighty army.

²⁷Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death.