So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no contention between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen. After all, we are brothers.
Parallel translations
- WEB Abram said to Lot, “Please, let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen; for we are relatives.
- KJV 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.
- NKJV So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren.
- NASB So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are relatives!
- NLT Finally Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not allow this conflict to come between us or our herdsmen. After all, we are close relatives!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Abram urged Lot to avoid strife since they were relatives. He seeks peace out of family love and faith.
Overview
Abram, though the elder and the one God called, humbly takes the initiative to prevent quarreling. He appeals to their kinship as grounds for harmony. His peacemaking reflects a faith that trusts God rather than grasping for advantage, anticipating Jesus' blessing on peacemakers (Matt 5:9).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 26
- 1 Cor 6:6–7Instead, one brother goes to law against another, and this in front of unbelievers!
- Acts 7:26The next day he came upon two Israelites who were fighting, and he tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why are you mistreating each other?’
- Ps 133:1A song of ascents. Of David. Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!
- 1 Jn 2:9–11If anyone claims to be in the light but hates his brother, he is still in the darkness.
- 2 Pet 1:7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
- 1 Jn 3:14–19We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death.
- Prov 20:3It is honorable for a man to resolve a dispute, but any fool will quarrel.
- 1 Pet 3:8Finally, all of you, be like-minded and sympathetic, love as brothers, be tenderhearted and humble.
- Prov 15:1A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
- Gen 45:24Then Joseph sent his brothers on their way, and as they were leaving, he said to them, “Do not quarrel on the way!”
- Gen 11:27–31This is the account of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot.
- 1 Jn 4:20–21If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.
- 1 Pet 4:8Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
- Rom 12:10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another.
- Eph 4:2–3with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
- Jas 3:17–18But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.
- 1 Pet 2:17Treat everyone with high regard: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
- Phil 2:14Do everything without complaining or arguing,
- Prov 15:18A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger calms dispute.
- Heb 12:14Pursue peace with everyone, as well as holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.
- 1 Jn 4:7Beloved, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
- Matt 5:9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
- Heb 13:1Continue in brotherly love.
- Exod 2:13The next day Moses went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you attacking your companion?”
- 1 Pet 1:22Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth so that you have a genuine love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from a pure heart.
- 1 Th 4:9Now about brotherly love, you do not need anyone to write to you, because you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 13:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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