Genesis 14

1 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel the king of Shinar, Arioch the king of El-lasar, Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and Tidal the 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 [that] they made war with Bera the king of Sodom, and with Birsha the king of Gomorrah, Shinab the king of Admah, and Shemeber the king of Zeboim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.

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 were joined in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea.

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 had they served Chedorlaomer; and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

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 Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh-Kirjathaim,

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 Horites on their mount Seir, to El-Paran, which is by the wilderness.

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

7 And they returned, and came to En-mishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites that dwelt at Hazazon-Tamar.

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 and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar, went out, and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim,

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 with Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and Tidal the king of nations, and Amraphel the king of Shinar, and Arioch the king of Ellasar — four kings with 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 And the vale of Siddim was full of pits of asphalt. And the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there: and they that remained fled to the mountain.

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 property of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, 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 Lot and his property, Abram's brother's son, and departed. For he dwelt in Sodom.

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

13 And one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew. And he dwelt by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, the brother of Eshcol, and the brother of Aner. And these were Abram's allies.

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 heard that his brother was taken captive; and he led out his trained [servants], born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued [them] as far as 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 divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and smote them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is to 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 brought back all the property, and brought again his brother Lot and his property, and the women also, 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 had returned from smiting Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, into the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's valley.

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 out bread and wine. And he was 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 him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, possessor of heavens 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 has delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him the tenth 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 souls, and take the property for thyself.

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 have lifted up my hand to Jehovah, the Most High God, possessor of heavens and 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 if from a thread even to a sandal-thong, yes, if of all that is thine, I take [anything]...; that thou mayest not 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 save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men that went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, let them take their 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].