Abram Returns to Canaan

13 So Abram left Egypt. He traveled through the Negev with his wife and everything he owned. Lot was also with them. ² At this time Abram was very rich. He had many animals and much silver and gold.

³ Abram continued traveling around. He left the Negev and went back to Bethel. He went to the place between the city of Bethel and Ai,^[a] where he and his family had camped before. ⁴ This was where Abram had built an altar earlier. So he worshiped the Lord there.

Abram and Lot Separate

⁵ During this time Lot was also traveling with Abram. Lot had many animals and tents. ⁶ Abram and Lot had so many animals that the land could not support both of them together. ⁷ (The Canaanites and the Perizzites were also living in this land at the same time.) The shepherds of Abram and Lot began to argue.

⁸ So Abram said to Lot, “There should be no arguing between you and me or between your people and my people. We are all brothers. ⁹ We should separate. You can choose any place you want. If you go to the left, I will go to the right. If you go to the right, I will go to the left.”

¹⁰ Lot looked and saw the whole Jordan Valley. He saw that there was much water there. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. At that time the Jordan Valley all the way to Zoar was like the Lord’s Garden. This was good land, like the land of Egypt.) ¹¹ So Lot chose to live in the Jordan Valley. The two men separated, and Lot began traveling east. ¹² Abram stayed in the land of Canaan, and Lot lived among the cities in the valley. Lot moved as far as Sodom and made his camp there. ¹³ The Lord knew that the people of Sodom were very evil sinners.

¹⁴ After Lot left, the Lord said to Abram, “Look around you. Look north, south, east, west. ¹⁵ All this land that you see I will give to you and your people who live after you. This will be your land forever. ¹⁶ I will make your people so many that they will be like the dust of the earth. If people could count all the particles of dust on earth, they could count your people. ¹⁷ So go. Walk through your land. I now give it to you.”

¹⁸ So Abram moved his tents. He went to live near the big trees of Mamre. This was near the city of Hebron. There he built an altar to honor the Lord.

Lot Is Captured

14 Amraphel was the king of Babylonia, Arioch was the king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer was the king of Elam, and Tidal was the king of Goiim. ² All these kings fought a war against King Bera of Sodom: King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela. (Bela is also called Zoar.)

³ All these kings joined their armies in the Valley of Siddim. (The Valley of Siddim is now the Salt Sea.) ⁴ These kings had served Kedorlaomer for twelve years. But in the 13th year, they all rebelled against him. ⁵ So in the 14th year, King Kedorlaomer and the kings with him came to fight against them. Kedorlaomer and the kings with him defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim. They also defeated the Zuzites in Ham. They defeated the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim. ⁶ And they defeated the Horites who lived in the area from the hill country of Seir^[b] to El Paran.^[c] (El Paran is near the desert.) ⁷ Then King Kedorlaomer turned back, went to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and defeated the Amalekites. He also defeated the Amorites living in Hazezon Tamar.

⁸ At that time the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (Zoar) joined together to fight against their enemies in the Valley of Siddim.^{[d] 9} They fought against King Kedorlaomer of Elam, King Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel of Babylonia, and King Arioch of Ellasar. So there were four kings fighting against five.

¹⁰ There were many holes filled with tar in the Valley of Siddim. When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah and their armies ran away, some of the soldiers fell into these holes, but the others ran away to the mountains.

¹¹ So Kedorlaomer and his armies took everything that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah owned. They took all their food and clothing and left. ¹² Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, was living in Sodom, and they captured him. They also took everything he owned and left. ¹³ One of the men who had escaped went to Abram the Hebrew and told him what happened. Abram was camped near the trees of Mamre the Amorite. Mamre, Eshcol, and Aner^[e] had made an agreement to help each other, and they had also signed an agreement to help Abram.

Abram Rescues Lot

¹⁴ When Abram learned that Lot was captured, he called all of his family together. There were 318 trained soldiers. He led the men and chased the enemy all the way to the town of Dan. ¹⁵ That night he and his men made a surprise attack against the enemy. They defeated them and chased them to Hobah, north of Damascus. ¹⁶ Then Abram brought back everything the enemy had stolen, as well as the women and servants, his nephew Lot, and everything Lot owned.

¹⁷ Then Abram went home after he defeated Kedorlaomer and the kings with him. On his way home, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh. (This is now called King’s Valley.)

Melchizedek

¹⁸ Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High, also went to meet Abram. He brought bread and wine. ¹⁹ He blessed Abram and said,

Abram gave Melchizedek one-tenth of everything he had taken during the battle. ²¹ Then the king of Sodom told Abram, “Give me my people who were captured. But you can keep everything else.”

²² But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I promise to the Lord, the God Most High, the one who made heaven and earth. ²³ I promise that I will not keep anything that is yours—not even a thread or a sandal strap! I don’t want you to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ ²⁴ The only thing I will accept is the food that my young men have eaten, but you should give the other men their share. Take what we won in battle and give some to Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. These men helped me in the battle.”