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

¹⁸ Then Melchizedek^(D) king of Salem^(E) brought out bread^(F) and wine.^(G) He was priest of God Most High,^{(H) 19} and he blessed Abram,^(I) saying,

Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.^(M)

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

²² But Abram said to the king of Sodom,^(P) “With raised hand^(Q) I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High,^(R) Creator of heaven and earth,^{(S) 23} that I will accept nothing belonging to you,^(T) not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ ²⁴ 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.^(U) Let them have their share.”

The Lord’s Covenant With Abram

15 After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram^(V) in a vision:^(W)

⁸ “Will a mere mortal rob^(A) God? Yet you rob me.

“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’

“In tithes^(B) and offerings. ⁹ You are under a curse^(C)—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. ¹⁰ Bring the whole tithe^(D) into the storehouse,^(E) that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates^(F) of heaven and pour out^(G) so much blessing^(H) that there will not be room enough to store it.^{(I) 11} I will prevent pests from devouring^(J) your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,^(K)” says the Lord Almighty. ¹² “Then all the nations will call you blessed,^(L) for yours will be a delightful land,”^(M) says the Lord Almighty.^(N)

Israel Speaks Arrogantly Against God

¹³ “You have spoken arrogantly^(O) against me,” says the Lord.

“Yet you ask,^(P) ‘What have we said against you?’

¹⁴ “You have said, ‘It is futile^(Q) to serve^(R) God. What do we gain by carrying out his requirements^(S) and going about like mourners^(T) before the Lord Almighty? ¹⁵ But now we call the arrogant^(U) blessed. Certainly evildoers^(V) prosper,^(W) and even when they put God to the test, they get away with it.’”

The Faithful Remnant

¹⁶ Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard.^(X) A scroll^(Y) of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared^(Z) the Lord and honored his name.

¹⁷ “On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be my^(AA) treasured possession.^(AB) I will spare^(AC) them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son^(AD) who serves him. ¹⁸ And you will again see the distinction between the righteous^(AE) and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.^(AF)