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. And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, 35 that it was well watered every where, before Jehovah destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of Jehovah, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. But the men 40 of Sodom were wicked and sinners before Jehovah exceedingly. And Jehovah 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: for all the land which thou seest, 45 to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will

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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. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee. Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built there an altar unto Jehovah.

15.1. After these things the word of Jehovah came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, 55 and thy reward shall be exceeding great. And Abram said, Jehovah, what wilt thou give me, seeing I die childless, and the possessor of my house will be Eliezer? And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. And, behold, the word of Jehovah came 60 unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in Jehovah ; 65 and he counted it to him for righteousness. And he said unto him, I am Jehovah that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. And he said, Jehovah, 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 70 of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtle

dove, and a young pigeon. And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid the half of each against the other but the birds divided he not. And when the birds of prey came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away. And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon 75 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 their's, 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 80 shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a 85 smoking furnace, and a flaming torch that passed between those pieces. In the same day Jehovah 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 Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, and the go Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

16.2. And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, Jehovah hath denied me children: I pray thee, take my maid to 95 wife it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. And 2 Hagar 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 have given my maid into thy 100 bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: Jehovah judge between me and thee. But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face. And the angel of Jehovah found 105 her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. And the angel of Jehovah

2 The name Hagar means "Flight."

110 said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. And the angel of Jehovah said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. And the angel of Jehovah said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his 115 name 3 Ishmael; because Jehovah hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild ass among men; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell eastward of all his brethren. And she called the name of Jehovah that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: 120 for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me ? Wherefore the well was called 4 Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

LESSON IV

SODOM

GENESIS 18.1 to 19.28

18.1. And Jehovah appeared unto 1 him in the oaks of Mamre : and 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 by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and 5 bowed himself toward the ground, and said, O Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree and I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye Io shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf 15 tender and good, and gave it unto a young man ; and he hasted 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 Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. And he said, I will certainly return unto thee a year hence ; 20 and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. in the tent door, which was behind him.

And Sarah heard it
Now Abraham and

Sarah were old and well stricken in age; therefore Sarah laughed within herself. And Jehovah said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear 25 a child, which am old? Is any thing too hard for Jehovah ? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, a year hence, and Sarah shall have a son. Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.

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18.16. And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way, And Jehovah said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall bless them- 35 selves by him? For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him, and that they may keep the way of Jehovah, to do justice and judgment; that Jehovah may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. And Jehovah said, Because the cry of Sodom and 40 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 their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before Jehovah. 45 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy 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 50 wicked and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? And Jehovah said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon 55 me to speak unto the Lord, 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, If I

find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. And he spake 60 unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake. And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord 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, 65 Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord : Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake. And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not 70 destroy it for ten's sake. And Jehovah went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham and Abraham returned unto his place.

19.1. And there came the two 2 angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to 75 meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; and he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, 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 ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night. 80 And he pressed upon 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 old and young, all the people from 85 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. And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, and said, I pray you, brethren, do nothing unto these men; for therefore came they under the 90 shadow of my roof. And they said, Stand back. And they said again, 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 came near to break the door. But the men put forth their hand, and pulled 95 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,

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2 The two angels are two of the "three men" mentioned in the eighteenth chapter.