Genesis 13

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

1Abram left Egypt and went up into the dry land in the south. His wife went with him, and so did Lot. They took everything they owned.

Note"The south" in the King James wording means the Negev. That is a dry desert area in the south of the land.

2And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

2Abram was very rich. He had many animals, and much silver and gold.

Note"Cattle" in the King James wording means all kinds of farm animals, not just cows.

3And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai;

3He traveled from place to place until he came near Bethel. It was the same spot where he had camped before. It lay between Bethel and Ai.

NoteThe King James spells this town "Hai." Most Bibles today spell it "Ai."

4Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.

4That was where he had built an altar, a stone place for giving gifts to God. There Abram prayed to the LORD.

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

5Lot traveled with Abram. He also had sheep, goats, cows, and tents.

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

6The land could not feed both of them in one place. They owned too many animals. So they could not stay together.

7And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.

7Abram's herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen began to fight. Herdsmen are the workers who take care of the animals. Other people, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, lived in that land then too.

8And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.

8Abram said to Lot, "Please, let there be no fighting between you and me. Our workers should not fight either. We are family."

9Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.

9"The whole land is right here in front of you. Please move away from me. If you go one way, I will go the other way."

10And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.

10Lot looked out and saw the flat land by the Jordan River. It had water everywhere, all the way to a town called Zoar. It looked like God's own garden, or like the land of Egypt. This was before the LORD destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

11Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.

11So Lot chose all the flat land by the Jordan for himself. He traveled east. The two men went their separate ways.

12Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

12Abram lived in the land of Canaan. Lot lived among the towns on the flat land. He set up his tent near the city of Sodom.

13But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.

13But the men of Sodom were very bad. They did many wrong things against the LORD.

14And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:

14After Lot left, the LORD spoke to Abram. "Look around from the place where you stand. Look north and south, east and west."

15For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.

15"All the land you see, I will give to you. I will give it to your family after you, for always."

16And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.

16"Your family will grow to be like the dust on the ground. No one can count the dust. No one will be able to count them."

17Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.

17"Get up and walk through the land. Go the long way across it and the wide way. I am giving it to you."

18Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.

18So Abram moved his tent. He went to live by the big oak trees at Mamre, near the town of Hebron. There he built an altar to the LORD.