1:20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross – through him, ¹  whether things on earth or things in heaven.

2:1 The heavens and the earth ¹  were completed with everything that was in them. ²  2:2 By ³  the seventh day God finished the work that he had been doing, ⁴  and he ceased ⁵  on the seventh day all the work that he had been doing. 2:3 God blessed the seventh day and made it holy ⁶  because on it he ceased all the work that he ⁷  had been doing in creation. ⁸ 

2:4 This is the account ⁹  of the heavens and the earth ¹⁰  when they were created – when the Lord God ¹¹  made the earth and heavens. ¹² 

2:5 Now ¹³  no shrub of the field had yet grown on the earth, and no plant of the field ¹⁴  had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. ¹⁵  2:6 Springs ¹⁶  would well up ¹⁷  from the earth and water ¹⁸  the whole surface of the ground. ¹⁹  2:7 The Lord God formed ²⁰  the man from the soil of the ground ²¹  and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, ²²  and the man became a living being. ²³ 

2:8 The Lord God planted an orchard ²⁴  in the east, ²⁵  in Eden; ²⁶  and there he placed the man he had formed. ²⁷  2:9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow from the soil, ²⁸  every tree that was pleasing to look at ²⁹  and good for food. (Now ³⁰  the tree of life ³¹  and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil ³²  were in the middle of the orchard.)

2:10 Now ³³  a river flows ³⁴  from Eden ³⁵  to water the orchard, and from there it divides ³⁶  into four headstreams. ³⁷  2:11 The name of the first is Pishon; it runs through ³⁸  the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 2:12 (The gold of that land is pure; ³⁹  pearls ⁴⁰  and lapis lazuli ⁴¹  are also there). 2:13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it runs through ⁴²  the entire land of Cush. ⁴³  2:14 The name of the third river is Tigris; it runs along the east side of Assyria. ⁴⁴  The fourth river is the Euphrates.

2:15 The Lord God took the man and placed ⁴⁵  him in the orchard in ⁴⁶  Eden to care for it and to maintain it. ⁴⁷  2:16 Then the Lord God commanded ⁴⁸  the man, “You may freely eat ⁴⁹  fruit ⁵⁰  from every tree of the orchard, 2:17 but ⁵¹  you must not eat ⁵²  from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when ⁵³  you eat from it you will surely die.” ⁵⁴ 

2:18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. ⁵⁵  I will make a companion ⁵⁶  for him who corresponds to him.” ⁵⁷  2:19 The Lord God formed ⁵⁸  out of the ground every living animal of the field and every bird of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would ⁵⁹  name them, and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 2:20 So the man named all the animals, the birds of the air, and the living creatures of the field, but for Adam ⁶⁰  no companion who corresponded to him was found. ⁶¹  2:21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, ⁶²  and while he was asleep, ⁶³  he took part of the man’s side ⁶⁴  and closed up the place with flesh. ⁶⁵  2:22 Then the Lord God made ⁶⁶  a woman from the part he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 2:23 Then the man said,

“This one at last ⁶⁷  is bone of my bones

and flesh of my flesh;

this one will be called ⁶⁸  ‘woman,’

for she was taken out of ⁶⁹  man.” ⁷⁰ 

2:24 That is why ⁷¹  a man leaves ⁷²  his father and mother and unites with ⁷³  his wife, and they become a new family. ⁷⁴  2:25 The man and his wife were both naked, ⁷⁵  but they were not ashamed. ⁷⁶ 

14:1 At that time ¹  Amraphel king of Shinar, ²  Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations ³  14:2 went to war ⁴  against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). ⁵  14:3 These last five kings ⁶  joined forces ⁷  in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). ⁸  14:4 For twelve years ⁹  they had served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year ¹⁰  they rebelled. ¹¹  14:5 In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings who were his allies came and defeated ¹²  the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 14:6 and the Horites in their hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is near the desert. ¹³  14:7 Then they attacked En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh) again, ¹⁴  and they conquered all the territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazazon Tamar.

14:8 Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and prepared for battle. In the Valley of Siddim they met ¹⁵  14:9 Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, ¹⁶  Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar. Four kings fought against ¹⁷  five. 14:10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. ¹⁸  When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into them, ¹⁹  but some survivors ²⁰  fled to the hills. ²¹  14:11 The four victorious kings ²²  took all the possessions and food of Sodom and Gomorrah and left. 14:12 They also took Abram’s nephew ²³  Lot and his possessions when ²⁴  they left, for Lot ²⁵  was living in Sodom. ²⁶ 

14:13 A fugitive ²⁷  came and told Abram the Hebrew. ²⁸  Now Abram was living by the oaks ²⁹  of Mamre the Amorite, the brother ³⁰  of Eshcol and Aner. (All these were allied by treaty ³¹  with Abram.) ³²  14:14 When Abram heard that his nephew ³³  had been taken captive, he mobilized ³⁴  his 318 trained men who had been born in his household, and he pursued the invaders ³⁵  as far as Dan. ³⁶  14:15 Then, during the night, ³⁷  Abram ³⁸  divided his forces ³⁹  against them and defeated them. He chased them as far as Hobah, which is north ⁴⁰  of Damascus. 14:16 He retrieved all the stolen property. ⁴¹  He also brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, as well as the women and the rest of ⁴²  the people.

14:17 After Abram ⁴³  returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet Abram ⁴⁴  in the Valley of Shaveh (known as the King’s Valley). ⁴⁵  14:18 Melchizedek king of Salem ⁴⁶  brought out bread and wine. (Now he was the priest of the Most High God.) ⁴⁷  14:19 He blessed Abram, saying,

“Blessed be Abram by ⁴⁸  the Most High God,

Creator ⁴⁹  of heaven and earth. ⁵⁰ 

14:20 Worthy of praise is ⁵¹  the Most High God,

who delivered ⁵²  your enemies into your hand.”

Abram gave Melchizedek ⁵³  a tenth of everything.

14:21 Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and take the possessions for yourself.” 14:22 But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I raise my hand ⁵⁴  to the Lord, the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth, and vow ⁵⁵  14:23 that I will take nothing ⁵⁶  belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal. That way you can never say, ‘It is I ⁵⁷  who made Abram rich.’ 14:24 I will take nothing ⁵⁸  except compensation for what the young men have eaten. ⁵⁹  As for the share of the men who went with me – Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre – let them take their share.”