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 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 these] 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.

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 together 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 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 Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim,

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 in their mount Seir, unto 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 in Hazezon-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 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 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 with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with 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] slimepits; 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 goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way.

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, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

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

13 And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these [were] confederate 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 when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained [servants], born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued [them] unto 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, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which [is] on the left hand 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 goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, 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 his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that [were] with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which [is] the king’s dale.

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 Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread 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 him, and said, Blessed [be] Abram of the most high God, possessor of 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, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes 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 unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to 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 lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven 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 That I will not [take] from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that [is] thine, lest thou shouldest 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 which 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].