Genesis 14

1 Now in the days of Amraphel, king of Shinar, Arioch, king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, and Tidal, king of Goiim,

At that time Amraphel was king of Shinar, and he allied himself with Arioch, king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, and Tidal, king of Goiim.

2 They 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).

They attacked Bera, king of Sodom, Birsha, king of Gomorrah, Shinab, king of Admah, Shemeber, king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (otherwise known as Zoar).

3 All these came together in the valley of Siddim (which is the Salt Sea).

All these in the second group joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (the Dead Sea valley).

4 For twelve years they were under the rule of Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they put off his control.

They had been under the rule of Chedorlaomer for twelve years, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled against him.

5 And in the fourteenth year, Chedorlaomer and the kings who were on his side, overcame the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim,

In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer invaded, along with the kings in his alliance. They defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh-kiriathaim,

6 And the Horites in their mountain Seir, driving them as far as El-paran, which is near the waste land.

and the Horites in their hill country of Seir, all the way to El-paran, near the desert.

7 Then they came back to En-mishpat (which is Kadesh), making waste all the country of the Amalekites and of the Amorites living in Hazazon-tamar.

Then they swung back through and attacked En-mishpat (otherwise known as Kadesh) and conquered the whole country belonging to the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-tamar.

8 And the king of Sodom with the king of Gomorrah and the king of Admah and the king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is Zoar), went out, and put their forces in position in the valley of Siddim,

Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (otherwise known as Zoar) marched out and prepared for battle in the Valley of Siddim.

9 Against Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, and Tidal, king of Goiim, and Amraphel, king of Shinar, and Arioch, king of Ellasar: four kings against the five.

They fought Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, Tidal, king of Goiim, Amraphel, king of Shinar, and Arioch, king of Ellasar—four kings on one side against five on the other.

10 Now the valley of Siddim was full of holes of sticky earth; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah were put to flight and came to their end there, but the rest got away to the mountain.

There were many tar pits in the Valley of Siddim, and as the defeated kings of Sodom and Gomorrah ran away, some of their men fell into them while the rest ran to the hills.

11 And the four kings took all the goods and food from Sodom and Gomorrah and went on their way.

The invaders took from Sodom and Gomorrah all their possessions and food and left.

12 And in addition they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who was living in Sodom, and all his goods.

They also captured Lot, Abram's nephew, and his possessions, because he was living in Sodom.

13 And one who had got away from the fight came and gave word of it to Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the holy tree of Mamre, the Amorite, the brother of Eshcol and Aner, who were friends of Abram.

But one of those captured escaped and went and told Abram the Hebrew what had happened. Abram was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, whose brothers were Eshcol and Aner. All of them were Abram's allies.

14 And Abram, hearing that his brother's son had been made a prisoner, took a band of his trained men, three hundred and eighteen of them, sons of his house, and went after them as far as Dan.

When Abram found out that his nephew had been captured, he called together 318 fighting men who had been born in his household and chased after them all the way to Dan.

15 And separating his forces by night, he overcame them, putting them to flight and going after them as far as Hobah, which is on the north side of Damascus.

There he divided his men into groups and attacked at night, defeating the enemy and chasing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.

16 And he got back all the goods, and Lot, his brother's son, with his goods and the women and the people.

Abram recovered all that had been taken, including Lot and his possessions, and also brought back the women and others who had been captured.

17 And when he was coming back after putting to flight Chedorlaomer and the other kings, he had a meeting with the king of Sodom in the valley of Shaveh, that is, the King's Valley.

When Abram returned after defeating Chedorlaomer and his allies, the king of Sodom came out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (or Valley of the King).

18 And Melchizedek, king of Salem, the priest of the Most High God, took bread and wine,

Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. He was a priest of the Most High God.

19 And blessing him, said, May the blessing of the Most High God, maker of heaven and earth, be on Abram:

He blessed Abram, telling him, “May Abram be blessed by the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth.

20 And let the Most High God be praised, who has given into your hands those who were against you. Then Abram gave him a tenth of all the goods he had taken.

May the Most High God be praised, who handed your enemies over to you.” Then Abram gave Melchizedek one tenth of everything.

21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, Give me the prisoners and take the goods for yourself.

The king of Sodom told Abram, “Let me have the people back, and you can keep everything else for yourself.”

22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have taken an oath to the Lord, the Most High God, maker of heaven and earth,

But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I raise my hand, making a solemn promise to the Lord, the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth,

23 That I will not take so much as a thread or the cord of a shoe of yours; so that you may not say, I have given wealth to Abram:

that I refuse to take anything belonging to you, not a single thread or a sandal strap. Otherwise you might claim, ‘It was me who made Abram rich!’

24 Give me nothing but the food which the fighting-men who went with me have had; but let Aner and Eshcol and Mamre have their part of the goods.

I won't take anything except what my men have eaten, and the share for those who accompanied me—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. Let them have their share.”