Genesis 14

Abram Rescues Lot

At the time when Amraphel was king of Shinar,^a Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer^b king of Elam^c and Tidal king of Goyim, these kings went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboyim,^d and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).^e All these latter kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim^f (that is, the Dead Sea Valley^g). For twelve years they had been subject to Kedorlaomer,^h but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomerⁱ and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites^j in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites^k in Shaveh Kiriathaim and the Horites^l in the hill country of Seir,^m as far as El Paranⁿ near the desert. Then they turned back and went to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh),^o and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites,^p as well as the Amorites^q who were living in Hazezon Tamar.^r

Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah,^s the king of Admah, the king of Zeboyim^t and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar)^u marched out and drew up their battle lines in the Valley of Siddim^v against Kedorlaomer^w king of Elam,^x Tidal king of Goyim, Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. Now the Valley of Siddim^y was full of tar^z pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah^a fled, some of the men fell into them and the rest fled to the hills.^b The four kings seized all the goods^c of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot^d and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.

A man who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew.^e Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre^f the Amorite, a brother of Eshkol^g and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. When Abram heard that his relative^h had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trainedⁱ men born in his household^j and went in pursuit as far as Dan.^k During the night Abram divided his men^l to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.^m He recoveredⁿ all the goods^o and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.

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

Then Melchizedek^s king of Salem^t brought out bread^u and wine.^v He was priest of God Most High,^w and he blessed Abram,^x saying,

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,^y

Creator of heaven and earth.^z

And praise be to God Most High,^a

who delivered your enemies into your hand.”

Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.^b

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

But Abram said to the king of Sodom,^e “With raised hand^f I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High,^g Creator of heaven and earth,^h that I will accept nothing belonging to you,ⁱ not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshkol and Mamre.^j Let them have their share.”