Genesis 14

1 And it came to pass in the reign of Amarphal king of Sennaar, and Arioch king of Ellasar, that Chodollogomor king of Elam, and Thargal king of nations,

In a region to the east, there were four kings [who were friends/allies]. They were King Amraphel of Babylonia, King Arioch of Ellasar, King Chedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim.

2 made war with Balla king of Sodom, and with Barsa king of Gomorrha, and with Sennaar, king of Adama, and with Symobor king of Seboim and the king of Balac, this is Segor.

In an area to the west, there were five other kings. They were King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, the city that is now called Zoar.

3 All these met with one consent at the salt valley; this is [now] the sea of salt.

Those five kings and their armies gathered together in Siddim Valley, which is also called the Dead Sea [Valley], to fight against the four kings and their armies. King Chedorlaomer and his army [conquered the armies of those five kings, and demanded that those kings pay him tribute money each year].

4 Twelve years they served Chodollogomor, and the thirteenth year they revolted.

For twelve years he ruled them. But during the thirteenth year they rebelled [and refused to keep giving him tribute money].

5 And in the fourteenth year came Chodollogomor, and the kings with him, and cut to pieces the giants in Astaroth, and Carnain, and strong nations with them, and the Ommaeans in the city Save.

The next year, King Chedorlaomer and the other kings that were his allies took their armies and defeated the Repha people-group in Ashteroth-Karnaim and the Zuz people-group in Ham, and the Emi people-group in Shaveh-Kiriathaim.

6 And the Chorrhaeans in the mountains of Seir, to the turpentine tree of Pharan, which is in the desert.

They also defeated the Hor people-group in the hilly area of Seir as far as El-Paran near the desert.

7 And having turned back they came to the well of judgement; this is Cades, and they cut in pieces all the princes of Amalec, and the Amorites dwelling in Asasonthamar.

Then they turned back and went to Mishpat [city], which is now called Kadesh. They conquered all the land belonging to the Amalek people-group and the Amor people-group who were living in Hazazon-Tamar [town].

8 And the king of Sodom went out, and the king of Gomorrha, and king of Adama, and king of Seboim, and king of Balac, this is Segor, and they set themselves in array against them for war in the salt valley,

Then the armies of the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim and Bela marched out to fight the armies of the other four kings in Siddim Valley. That valley is close to the Salt/Dead Sea.

9 against Chodollogomor king of Elam, and Thargal king of nations, and Amarphal king of Sennaar, and Arioch king of Ellasar, the four kings against the five.

They fought against the armies of Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, Tidal the king of Goiim, Amraphel the king of Shinar, and Arioch the king of Ellasar. The armies of four kings were fighting against the armies of five kings.

10 Now the salt valley [consists of] slime-pits. And the king of Sodom fled and the king of Gomorrha, and they fell in there: and they that were left fled to the mountain country.

The Siddim Valley was full of tar pits. So when the armies of the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah tried to run away, many of the men fell into the tar pits. The others escaped and ran away to the hills.

11 And they took all the cavalry of Sodom and Gomorrha, and all their provisions, and departed.

As [the armies of the five kings] fled, [the armies of the four kings] seized all of the valuable things in Sodom and Gomorrah, including all the food.

12 And they took also Lot the son of Abram's brother, and his baggage, and departed, for he lived in Sodom.

They also captured Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom at that time.

13 And one of them that had been rescued came and told Abram the Hebrew; and he lived by the oak of Mamre the Amorite the brother of Eschol, and the brother of Aunan, who were confederates with Abram.

Abram was living near the big trees near Mamre, who belonged to the Amor people-group. Abram had made an agreement with Mamre and his two brothers, Eshcol and Aner, [that they would help each other if there was a war].

14 And Abram having heard that Lot his nephew had been taken captive, numbered his own home-born [servants] three hundred and eighteen, and pursued after them to Dan.

One of the men who escaped from the battle told Abram what had happened and that his nephew Lot had been captured and taken away. So Abram summoned 318 men who were his servants, men who had been with Abram since they were born. They all went together and pursued their enemies as far north as Dan [city].

15 And he came upon them by night, he and his servants, and he struck them and pursued them as far as Choba, which is on the left of Damascus.

During the night, Abram divided the men into several groups, and they attacked their enemies from various directions and defeated them. They pursued them as far as Hobah, which was north of Damascus [city].

16 And he recovered all the cavalry of Sodom, and he recovered Lot his nephew, and all his possessions, and the women and the people.

Abram’s men recovered all of the goods that had been taken. They also rescued Lot and all his possessions and also the women and others who had been captured by their enemies.

17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him, after he returned from the slaughter of Chodollogomor, and the kings with him, to the valley of Saby; this was the plain of the kings.

As Abram was returning home after he and his men had defeated the armies of King Chedorlaomer and the other kings who had fought alongside him, the king of Sodom went north to meet him in Shaveh Valley, which people call the King’s Valley.

18 And Melchisedec king of Salem brought forth loaves and wine, and he was the priest of the most high God.

The king of Salem [city], whose name was Melchizedek, was also a priest who offered sacrifices to the Supreme God. He brought some bread and wine to Abram.

19 And he blessed Abram, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, who made heaven and earth,

Then he blessed Abram, saying “I ask the Supreme God, the one who created heaven and earth, to bless you.

20 and blessed be the most high God who delivered your enemies into your power. And Abram gave him the tithe of all.

The Supreme God has enabled you to defeat [MTY] your enemies, so we should praise/thank him.” Then Abram gave to Melchizedek a tenth part of all the things he had captured.

21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, Give me the men, and take the horses to yourself.

The king of Sodom said to Abram, “You can keep all the goods you recovered. Just let me take back the people from my city whom you rescued.”

22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I will stretch out my hand to the Lord the most high God, who made the heaven and the earth,

But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have solemnly promised [MTY] to Yahweh, the Supreme God, the one who created heaven and earth,

23 [that] I will not take from all your goods from a string to a shoe-latchet, lest you should say, I have made Abram rich.

that I will not accept even one thread or a thong of a sandal from anything that belongs to you. As a result, you will never be able to say, ‘I caused Abram to become rich.’

24 Except what things the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men that went with me, Eschol, Aunan, Mambre, these shall take a portion.

The only thing I will accept is the food that my men have eaten. But Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre went with me and fought alongside me, so let them also have a share of the goods we brought back.” [So the king of Sodom agreed to what he said].