Chapter 14

Chapter 14

1 At that time, Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goyim

2 went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).

3 These five kings joined forces in the Siddim Valley (which is now the Dead Sea).

4 For 12 years they had been subject to Chedorlaomer, but in the 13th year they rebelled.

5 In the 14th year, Chedorlaomer and the kings allied with him marched out and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim,

6 and the Horites in the hill country of Seir, pursuing them as far as El Paran near the wilderness.

7 Then they turned back and came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), conquering the entire territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazezon Tamar.

8 Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and drew up their battle lines in the Siddim Valley

9 against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goyim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five.

10 Now the Siddim Valley was full of tar pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some of their men fell into them, while the rest escaped into the hill country.

11 The four eastern kings seized all the goods and food supplies of Sodom and Gomorrah and marched away.

12 They also captured Abram’s nephew Lot, who was living in Sodom, and carried off his possessions.

13 A survivor arrived and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Abram was living near the Great Trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and Aner, who were all allied with Abram.

14 When Abram heard that his relative had been captured, he mobilized 318 of his trained men born into his household and pursued the invaders as far as Dan.

15 During the night, Abram divided his forces to ambush them. He defeated them and pursued them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.

16 He recovered all the stolen goods and brought back his relative Lot, along with his possessions, the women, and the rest of the captives.

17 After Abram returned from defeating Chedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Shaveh Valley (that is, the King’s Valley).

18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was a priest of The Supreme All-Powerful One,

19 and he endowed Abram with the power of life, saying:

“May Abram be endowed with life by The Supreme All-Powerful One,

Creator of the sky and the land.

20 And praise be to The Supreme All-Powerful One,

who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”

Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything.

21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.”

22 But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand and sworn an oath to The Sovereign, The Self-Existent, The Supreme All-Powerful One, Creator of the sky and the land,

23 that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you can never say, ‘I made Abram rich.’

24 I will accept nothing less than what my men have consumed and the share belonging to the men who went with me—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. Let them take their share.”