About Abram and Lot separating

1Abram and his family went back from Egypt north to Canaan. Abram took his wife and family, his servants and everything they owned. Lot went with them too.

2Abram was a very rich man. He had many sheep, goats and cattle and lots of silver and gold. Lot was also a rich man. He too had many sheep, goats and cattle. And he took all of them and his family and his servants with him. So they went from place to place. They went towards Bethel until they reached a place between Bethel and Ai. They camped there, in the same place where they had camped a long time ago, and where Abram had made the altar. And then Abram worshipped Yahweh there.

6Other people who owned that country were still living there. They were the Canaanite people and the Perizzite people. Abram and his family stayed there. But after a while there was not enough grass and land for both Abram and Lot, because there were so many sheep and cattle and other animals. So Abram's men who looked after the sheep and cattle and Lot's men argued over water and grass for the animals.

8Then Abram said to Lot, “We come from one family. Your men and my men shouldn't be arguing, they shouldn't hate each other.

9So let us go different ways. You say the place you want, so you can go there, and I will go to a different place so that we can live away from each other.”

10So Lot looked round and saw a big river valley called the Jordan, and it was very good land. The river went all the way to a place called Zoar. There was plenty of water and trees and other plants, just like the place that Yahweh made called Eden, and also like the land of Egypt. Lot wanted the land with the big Jordan valley for himself, so he went off to the east and the two men separated. Abram stayed in the land of Canaan, but Lot made his camp near the city of Sodom. The people of Sodom were wicked. They didn't obey Yahweh; they were always doing evil things. But Lot and his family stayed there, before Yahweh destroyed the two cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

About Abram going to Hebron

14After Lot had gone, Yahweh said to Abram, “From where you are standing, look around you,

15because I will give this country to you and to your children. All this land that you can see will be yours forever.

16And I will give you many descendants. They will be so many that no one will be able to count them. It would be just like trying to count all the bits of dirt in the ground!

17Now, go and look over the whole land, because I will give it all to you,” Yahweh said to Abram.

18So Abram moved and went and made a new camp at Hebron. He stayed near the special trees belonging to a man called Mamre, and there Abram made an altar with stones to pray to Yahweh, and then he worshipped him.