Genesis 14

1 And it came to pass 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 that 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 — the same 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 as allies unto the vale of Siddim — the same is the Salt Sea.

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

4 Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

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 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-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 mount Seir, unto El-paran, which is by the wilderness.

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

7 And they turned back, and came to En-mishpat — the same is Kadesh — and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt 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 there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela — the same is Zoar; and they set the battle in array against them in the vale 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 vale of Siddim was full of slime pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell there, and they that remained fled 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 they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way.

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

12 And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

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

13 And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew — now he dwelt by the terebinths of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner; and these were confederate with 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 when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued 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 he divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand 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 brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, 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 the king of Sodom went out to meet him, after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, at the vale of Shaveh — the same is the King's Vale.

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 brought forth bread and wine; and he was priest of God the Most High.

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

19 And he blessed him, and said: 'Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Maker of heaven and earth;

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

20 and blessed be God the Most High, who hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand.' And he gave him a tenth of all.

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 unto Abram: 'Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.'

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

22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom: 'I have lifted up my hand unto the LORD, God Most High, 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 a thread nor a shoe-latchet nor aught that is thine, lest thou shouldest say: I have made Abram rich;

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 save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, let them take their portion.'

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.”