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9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.

19 And the beginning of his Kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

11 Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveb, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,

12 And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city.

13 And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,

11 And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim.

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And Canaan begat Sidon his first-born, and Heth,

16 Aud the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,

17 And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,

18 And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.

19 And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thon comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, evea unto Lasha.

20 These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.

21 Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.

22 The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.

Ver. 5. The isles of the Grecian ses were, probably, chiefly intended by this expression; but it was common among the Hebrews to call all those countries islands which lay beyond the sea.- Ver. 22. Elam: that is, Persia. Asshur: Assyria. Arphaxad, Lud, Aram, were respectively, Chaldea, Lydia, and

23 And the children of Aram; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.

24 And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber.

25 And unto Ebei were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan.

26 And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,

27 And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah,

28 And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba,

29 And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan.

30 And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar, a mount of the east.

31 These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.

32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.

CHAPTER XI.

AND the whole earth was of one

language, and of one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.

3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar.

4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city, and a tower whose top muy reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all

Armenia. Ver. 25. Peleg from a word signifying to divide. - Ver. 30. Mesha: a part of Arabia.

Ver. 2. The families sprung from the sons of Noah were now so increased, that a separation became necessary. As they were most of them shepherds, they required very wide tracts of ground, and the region of Armenia could no longer furnish them with that exuberance of rich pasture for their flocks, to which they had been accustomed when they were fewer in number. Driven by necessity on the one hand, and tempted on the other by the bright prospects which the wide extending earth presented, a large detachment of the children of the patriarch began their journey towards the land of Shinar, or Chaldea, where they made a permanent settlement; but in the course of a short period were guilty of that gross offence against the majesty of God which led to a second separation and dispersion.-Ver. 4. This is simply intended to express the visitation of Divine anger on the builders of the tower. The cause of that anger may be found in their presumptuous endeavour to resist the dispensations of God's providence, and in their iden that they could protect themselves, by such contrivances, against his anger.

one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand oue another's speech.

8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.

9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth and from thence did the LORD Scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

10 These are the generations of Shem; Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood.

11 And Shem lived, after he begat Arphaxad, five hundred years, and begat sons and daugh

ters.

12 And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah.

13 And Arphaxad lived, after he begat Salah, four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.

14 And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber.

15 And Salah lived, after he begat Eber, four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daugh

ters.

16 And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg.

17 And Eber lived, after he begat Peleg, four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters.

18 And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu.

19 And Peleg lived, after he begat Reu, two hundred and nine. years, and begat sons and daugh

ters.

20 And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug.

21 And Reu lived, after he begat Serug, two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters.

22 And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor.

23 And Serug lived, after he begat Nahor, two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.

24 And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah.

25 And Nahor lived, after he begat Terah, an hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.

26 And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

27 Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.

28 And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.

29 And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.

30 But Sarai was barren; she had no child.

31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughterin-law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan: and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.

22 And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.

CHAPTER XII

NOW the LORD had said unto

Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

3 And 1 will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.

5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

6 And Abrani passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the place of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.

7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.

8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.

9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.

10 And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.

11 And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon :

12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife; and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.

13 Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.

14 And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman, that she was very fair.

15 The princes also of Pharaoh

Ver. 1. That a general defection from the worship of God was rapidly taking place, had been sufficiently proved by the building of the tower of Babel. The judgment of the Almighty on that occasion was remembered but a little while, and idolatry began to spread its baneful cloud over the souls and intellects of mankind. At this juncture, and before the tide of wickedness had carried away whatever was worthy of his regard or mercy, God called Abram from the midst of his darkened and corrupt race, and saved him, like another Noah, to be the root of a new and peculiar people. -Ver. 12. She was the daughter of his father, but not of his mother. See chap. xx. 12.

saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.

16 And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he-asses, and menservants, and maid-servants, and she-asses, and camels.

17 And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife.

18 And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?

19 Why saidst thou, She is my sister so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.

20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

CHAPTER XIII.

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

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

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

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

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

6 And 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.

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

8 And 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.

9 Is not the whole land before thee? Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me if thou will 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.

10 Aud 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.

Ver. 1. Into the south: this is not spoken in respect to the situation of Judea and Egypt, but with reference to the part of Canaan towards which Abram journeyed. -Ver. 9. It is worthy of observation, that Abram, with the most generous spirit, gave the choice of the district to Lot; but that Divine Providence ordered it so, that neither the land intended for his inheritance should be fixed upon by his relative, nor be brought into connection with a people worse than those even from among whom he had been called. Ver. 10. As the garden of the Lord: that is,

11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan: and Lot journeyed cast: and they separated them selves the one from the other.

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

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

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

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

16 And 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.

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

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

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CHAPTER XIV.

ND it came to pass, in the days of Amraphel king of Shiuar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedior laomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations;

2 That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.

3 All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea.

4 Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

5 And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim.

6 And the Horites in their mount Seir, unto El-paran, which is by the wilderness.

7 And they returned, and came to En-mishpat, which Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites that dwelt in Hazezon-tamar.

8 And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, (the same is Zoar ;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim;

9 With Chedoriaomer the king. Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five.

like paradise, or any region of extraordinary beauty.

Ver. 1. Shinar: Babylon, or Chaldea. Ellasar: perhaps Syria, or a part of Arabia. Elam: Persia. King of nations: that is, of Gojim, a district, of which the name here given means, Nations. The kings mentioned in this narrative are supposed to have been only petty governors of the provinces, under the monarchs of the nations above

10 And the vale of Siddim was full of slime-pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain.

11 And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way.

12 And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, (who dwelt in Sodom,) and his goods, and departed.

13 And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.

14 And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born In his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.

15 And be divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them uto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.

16 And he brought back all the gools, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.

17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him, (after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him,) at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale.

18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.

19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:

20 And blessed be the most high God which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

21 And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the perOs, and take the goods to thyself.

22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,

23 That I will not take from a thread even to a shoe-latchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:

24 Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with ine, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre ; let them take their portion.

CHAPTER XV. FTER these things the word of the Load came unto Abram

alluded to.-Ver. 14. Unto Dan: that is, unto that part of the country which was subsequently given to the tribe of that name. It was originally called Lais; but the latter appellation was substituted in the Mosaic history as that by which it was now known.-Ver. 18. See Heb. vit. 1. Several of the most learned commentators suppose that Melchizedek was Shem, the son of Noah. But he is described, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, as without father, without mother, without descent; that is, of obscure or unknown origin: which could scarcely have been said, it would seem, of the son of so great a patriarch as Noah Salem was the ancient name of Jerusalem.

Ver. 1. God was ever watching over the chosen vessel of his grace;

in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

2 And Abram said, LORD God, what wilt thou give me, seeing 1 go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus ? 3 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 the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.

5 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.

6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him. for righteousness.

7And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.

8 And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?

9 And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon.

10 And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another, but the birds divided he not.

11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.

12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.

13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall aflict them four hundred years:

14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge; and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.

16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

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and when fear might have oppressed his mind, from the ravages of neighbouring enemies, he mercifully deigned to visit him in a vision, and repeat his assurances of favour. To the children of Abraham by faith, his true and spiritual children, pertain both the promises and the blessings he received. am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward, are the words of God to every believer after the example of the patriarch; and as Abraham was protected and abundantly comforted by the gifts of Divine grace, and then blessed with the enjoyment of all the wealth and glory of the promised land, so are his children first endowed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the manifold comforts ministered by Almighty Providence, and then exalted to an everlasting inheritance in the heavens.-Ver. 6. See Rom. iv. 8-22 Gal. iii. 6; James, ii. 23. The important doctrine of justification by faith was now first explicitly established. God, in his

17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.

18 In that same day the LORD 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:

19 The Kenites, and the Kenizziter, and the Kadmonites,

20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,

21 And the Amorites, and the, Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

CHAPTER XVI.

NOW Sarai, Abram's wife, hare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.

2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

3 And Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, after Abrain had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.

4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.

5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom ; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.

6 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.

7 And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.

8 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.

infinite goodness, was pleased to declare his acceptance of faith as the best offering which man could give.

For this he consented to pardon his neglects, his imperfections, his sins: for this he was ready to view him as righteous being; to enter into communion with him; and at last receive him into glory. Nor was faith established as the principle of justification, without respect to its particular nature. It is the highest virtue which man can exercise; and, while it must precede the acquisition of all other religious graces, it alone gives them life and permanency when acquired. He who in heart and spirit believes in God, must acknowledge his power, his goodness, his wisdom; and the near contemplation of infinite excellence, persisted in with the constancy of faith, will produce a change in the soul that can be effected by no other means. - Ver. 18. The Almighty thus confirmed. the value of Abraham's faith.

Ver. 7. Shur was a city situated in the desert on the way to Egypt.

9 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.

10 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.

11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy ffliction.

12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him: and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

13 And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?

11 Wherefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi: behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

15 And Hagar bare Abram a son and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.

16 And Abram was fourscore and six years old when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.

CHAPTER XVII.

10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you, and thy seed after thee; Every man-child among you shall be circumcised.

11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.

12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man-child in your generations; he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.

13 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

14 And the uncircumcised manchild, whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be,

16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.

17 Then Abraham fell upon his AND when Abram was ninety face, and laughed, and said in his years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God: walk before me, and be thou perfect.

2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.

3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,

4 As for me, behold, my covenaut is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.

5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram; but thy name shall be Abraham: for a father of many nations have I made thee,

6 And I will make thee exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

7 And I will establish my cove naut between me and thee, and thy seed after thee, in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee, in their generations.

Exod. xv. 22.-Ver. 11. Ishmael: the meaning of this name is "God shall hear."- Ver. 12. The descendants of Ishmael, the Arabs, still retain the character of their father thus described by the angel.

An

Ver. 5, Abraham the plural termination given to Abram converts it into Abraham. The text explains what this change was intended to signify.-Ver. 8. everlasting possession: that is, if the conditions of the covenant were fulfilled, which his posterity neglected to do, and were therefore driveu from the land; but as Canaan was a type of heaven, the promise is established in the spiritual seed

heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?

18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before

thee!

19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget; and I will make him a great nation.

21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.

22 And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abra

ham.

23 And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the self-same day, as God had said unto him.

24 And Abraham was ninety years old and nine when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

26 In the self-same day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son:

27 And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.

of Abraham. Ver. 10. This was the formal, the sacramental confirmation of the covenant. Ver. 15. Sarah means a princess, and the change here made gives a more absolute force to the word. Ver. 20. See chap. xxv. 15-16,

CHAPTER XV111.

AND the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre and he sat in the tent-door in the heat of the day;

2 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 tentdoor, and bowed himself toward the ground,

3 And said, My Lord, if now ! have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy

servant.

4 Let a little w ter, I pray you. be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:

5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do as thou hast said.

6 Aud Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.

7 And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man ; and he hasted to dress it.

8 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.

9 And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.

10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent-door, which was behind him.

11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.

12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?

13 And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?

14 Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed 1 will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not: for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.

16. And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodour: and Abraham went with them, to bring them on the way.

17 And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;

18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?

19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do

Ver. 1. This does not mean that the Lord first appeared and then the angels, but is said merely to introduce the following narrative. It was by the angels whom he sent that the Lord appeared.-Ver. 10. According to the time of life, that

stice and judgment; that the

may bring upon Abraham at which he hath spoken of him. 29 And the LORD said, Because try of Sodom and Gomorrah is st, and because their sin is very

!! I will go down now, and see bether they have done altogether! cording to the cry of it, which is me unto me; and if not, I will

And the men turned their from thence, and went toward but Abraham stood yet dece the LORD.

Ant Abraham drew near, I said, Wilt thou also destroy enighteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty ratrous within the city: wilt also destroy and not spare the for the fifty righteous that •hereia?

That be far from thee to do this manner, to slay the theous with the wicked: and at the righteous should be as the ed, that be far from thee. all not the Judge of all the earth right?

And the LORD said, If I find Sodom fifty righteous within the then I will spare all the place their sakes. 17 And Abraham answered and Behold now, I have taken me to speak unto the LORD, ich am but dust and ashes: 25 Peradventure there shall lack e of the fifty righteous: wilt thou stroy all the city for lack of five? ad he said. If I find there forty 4 five, I will not destroy it. 19 And he spake unto him yet n, and said, Peradventure there a'l be forty found there. And he 4, I will not do it for forty's

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30 And he said unto Aim, Oh not the Load be angry, and I speak: Peradventure there all thirty be found there. And said, I will not do it if I find ty there.

31 And he said, Behold now, I e taken upon me to speak unto LORD: Peradventure there shall twenty found there. And he I will not destroy it for ty's sake.

And he said, Oh, let not the to be angry, and I will speak but this once: Peradventure shall be found there. And he I will not destroy it for ten's

And the LORD went his way, soon as he had left communing ith Abraham and Abraham rerued unto his place.

tions.

CHAPTER XIX.

AND there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot, seeing them, rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground:

2 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.

3 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.

4 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 every quarter.

5 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, that we may know them.

6 And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,

7 And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.

8 Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.

9 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.

10 But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.

11 And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great; so that they wearied themselves to find the door.

12 And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides sonin-law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:

13 For we will destroy this place, because the ery of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.

according to the time appointed. Ver. 23. Drew near: that is, proached nearer to God by the other is even crowned with blessmestness of his spirit and suppli-ings, the declared rule enables us at once to trace the event to its true origin. But had God punished or rewarded in the first ages of the world, and before the existence of a revealed system, without visible ministers, men would have very imperfectly learned to ascribe the effect of divine wrath or approbation

14 And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons-in-law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons-in-law.

15 And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.

16 And, while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.

17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain: escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.

18 And Lot said unto them, Oh! not so, my lord.

19 Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die.

20 Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh! let me escape thither, (is it not a little one ?) and my soul shall live.

21 And he said unto him, Sce, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken.

22 Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither: therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

23 The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.

24Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven:

25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

27 And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD:

28 And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.

29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham,

with man- they were accustomed to the operations of his power acting with miraculous influence on their condition they knew of the existence of various orders of

Ver. 1. The employment of ble divine agents in the great orks of Providence at this early riod of the world, ought not to tate surprise. There was then 1 general revelation- no disnsation established, through the tes and sacraments of which an to its right cause, and wickedness-Ver. 3. The bread was unleaven

minating, directing grace might would have found no warning in looked for, or an interpretation the punishment it brought down. and of the mysterious proceedings Nor is there any thing repulsive to the Almighty's justice. Revela- reason or nature in the frequent n has made known the laws by appearance of heavenly messengers hich God punishes the guilty and to the people of the old world. wards the righteous, and when They lived near the time when #lovertakes the one, and the God held uninterrupted converse

angels, and, when they visited the earth, would only feel that awe at their appearance which must fill the mind at the presence of beings. superior in nature as well as state.

ed because prepared in haste.Ver. 26. Lot's wife indicated, by looking back, some feeling of regard for the perishing cities, and a eontempt of the angel's warning. She was probably destroyed by a sulphureous fire, and converted into the state mentioned by the

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