Abram and Lot Separate

1 So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, ^ainto the Negeb.

2 ^bNow Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4 to ^cthe place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of the Lord. 5 And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, 6 so that ^dthe land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together, 7 ^eand there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. At that time ^fthe Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land.

8 Then Abram said to Lot, ^g“Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, ^hfor we are kinsmen.¹ 9 ⁱIs not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.” 10 And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the ^jJordan Valley was well watered everywhere like ^kthe garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of ^lZoar. (This was before the Lord ^mdestroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. 12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom ⁿwere wicked, great sinners against the Lord.

14 The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, ^onorthward and southward and eastward and westward, 15 for all the land that you see I will give ^pto you and ^qto your offspring forever. 16 ^rI will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. 17 Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” 18 So Abram moved his tent and came and ^ssettled by the ^toaks² of Mamre, which ^uare at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.

Jesus Heals a Man with a Demon

1 ^uThey came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes.¹ 2 And when Jesus² had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. 3 ^vHe lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, 4 for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. 6 And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and ^wfell down before him. 7 And ^xcrying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, ^ySon of ^zthe Most High God? ^aI adjure you by God, do not torment me.” 8 For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is ^bLegion, for we are many.” 10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, 12 and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” 13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.

14 The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed³ man, the one who had had ^cthe legion, sitting there, ^dclothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 16 And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. 17 And ^ethey began to beg Jesus⁴ to depart from their region. 18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. 19 And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and ^ftell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in ^gthe Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.