Genesis 14:21   (Read all of Genesis 14)

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

Genesis 14:22   (Read all of Genesis 14)

But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,

Genesis 14:23   (Read all of Genesis 14)

that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.'

Genesis 14:24   (Read all of Genesis 14)

I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me-to Aner, Eshkol and Mamre. Let them have their share."

Genesis 15:1   (Read all of Genesis 15)

After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield,your very great reward. "

Genesis 15:2   (Read all of Genesis 15)

But Abram said, "Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?"

Genesis 15:3   (Read all of Genesis 15)

And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir."

Genesis 15:4   (Read all of Genesis 15)

Then the word of the Lord came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir."

Genesis 15:5   (Read all of Genesis 15)

He took him outside and said, "Look up at the sky and count the stars-if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."

Genesis 15:7   (Read all of Genesis 15)

He also said to him, "I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it."

Genesis 15:8   (Read all of Genesis 15)

But Abram said, "Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?"

Genesis 15:9   (Read all of Genesis 15)

So the Lord said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon."

Genesis 15:12   (Read all of Genesis 15)

As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him.

Genesis 15:13   (Read all of Genesis 15)

Then the Lord said to him, "Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there.

Genesis 15:14   (Read all of Genesis 15)

But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.

Genesis 15:16   (Read all of Genesis 15)

In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."

Genesis 15:17   (Read all of Genesis 15)

When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.

Genesis 15:18   (Read all of Genesis 15)

On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates-

Genesis 16:1   (Read all of Genesis 16)

Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar;

Genesis 16:2   (Read all of Genesis 16)

so she said to Abram, "The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her." Abram agreed to what Sarai said.

Genesis 16:3   (Read all of Genesis 16)

So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife.

Genesis 16:4   (Read all of Genesis 16)

He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.

Genesis 16:5   (Read all of Genesis 16)

Then Sarai said to Abram, "You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me."

Genesis 16:6   (Read all of Genesis 16)

"Your slave is in your hands," Abram said. "Do with her whatever you think best." Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.