Genesis 14
New King James Version
Lot’s Captivity and Rescue
14 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king (A)of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of (B)Elam, and Tidal king of [a]nations, 2 that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of (C)Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, (D)Zoar). 3 All these joined together in the Valley of Siddim (E)(that is, the Salt Sea). 4 Twelve years (F)they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
5 In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him came and attacked (G)the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, (H)the Zuzim in Ham, (I)the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 6 (J)and the Horites in their mountain of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is by the wilderness. 7 Then they turned back and came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and attacked all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who dwelt (K)in Hazezon Tamar.
8 And the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and joined together in battle in the Valley of Siddim 9 against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of [b]nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of (L)asphalt pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled; some fell there, and the remainder fled (M)to the mountains. 11 Then they took (N)all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. 12 They also took Lot, Abram’s (O)brother’s son (P)who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the (Q)Hebrew, for (R)he dwelt by [c]the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; (S)and they were allies with Abram. 14 Now (T)when Abram heard that (U)his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were (V)born in his own house, and went in pursuit (W)as far as Dan. 15 He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants (X)attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is [d]north of Damascus. 16 So he (Y)brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.
17 And the king of Sodom (Z)went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the (AA)King’s Valley), (AB)after his return from the [e]defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him.
Abram and Melchizedek(AC)
18 Then (AD)Melchizedek king of Salem brought out (AE)bread and wine; he was (AF)the priest of (AG)God Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said:
(AH)“Blessed be Abram of God Most High,
(AI)Possessor of heaven and earth;
20 And (AJ)blessed be God Most High,
Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”
And he (AK)gave him [f]a tithe of all.
21 Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the [g]persons, and take the goods for yourself.”
22 But Abram (AL)said to the king of Sodom, “I (AM)have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, (AN)the Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that (AO)I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’— 24 except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.”
Footnotes
- Genesis 14:1 Heb. goyim
- Genesis 14:9 Heb. goyim
- Genesis 14:13 Heb. Alon Mamre
- Genesis 14:15 Lit. on the left hand of
- Genesis 14:17 Lit. striking
- Genesis 14:20 one-tenth
- Genesis 14:21 Lit. souls
Genesis 14
Good News Translation
Abram Rescues Lot
14 Four kings, Amraphel of Babylonia, Arioch of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer of Elam, and Tidal of Goiim, 2 went to war against five other kings: Bera of Sodom, Birsha of Gomorrah, Shinab of Admah, Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (or Zoar). 3 These five kings had formed an alliance and joined forces in Siddim Valley, which is now the Dead Sea. 4 They had been under the control of Chedorlaomer for twelve years, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled against him. 5 In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and his allies came with their armies and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in the plain of Kiriathaim, 6 and the Horites in the mountains of Edom, pursuing them as far as Elparan on the edge of the desert. 7 Then they turned around and came back to Kadesh (then known as Enmishpat). They conquered all the land of the Amalekites and defeated the Amorites who lived in Hazazon Tamar.
8 Then the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela drew up their armies for battle in Siddim Valley and fought 9 against the kings of Elam, Goiim, Babylonia, and Ellasar, five kings against four. 10 The valley was full of tar pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah tried to run away from the battle, they fell into the pits; but the other three kings escaped to the mountains. 11 The four kings took everything in Sodom and Gomorrah, including the food, and went away. 12 Lot, Abram's nephew, was living in Sodom, so they took him and all his possessions.
13 But a man escaped and reported all this to Abram, the Hebrew, who was living near the sacred trees belonging to Mamre the Amorite. Mamre and his brothers Eshcol and Aner were Abram's allies. 14 When Abram heard that his nephew had been captured, he called together all the fighting men in his camp, 318 in all, and pursued the four kings all the way to Dan. 15 There he divided his men into groups, attacked the enemy by night, and defeated them. He chased them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus, 16 and got back all the loot that had been taken. He also brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other prisoners.
Melchizedek Blesses Abram
17 When Abram came back from his victory over Chedorlaomer and the other kings, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in Shaveh Valley (also called King's Valley). 18 (A)And Melchizedek, who was king of Salem and also a priest of the Most High God, brought bread and wine to Abram, 19 blessed him, and said, “May the Most High God, who made heaven and earth, bless Abram! 20 May the Most High God, who gave you victory over your enemies, be praised!” And Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the loot he had recovered.
21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Keep the loot, but give me back all my people.”
22 Abram answered, “I solemnly swear before the Lord, the Most High God, Maker of heaven and earth, 23 that I will not keep anything of yours, not even a thread or a sandal strap. Then you can never say, ‘I am the one who made Abram rich.’ 24 I will take nothing for myself. I will accept only what my men have used. But let my allies, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, take their share.”
Genesis 14
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Lot’s Captivity and Rescue
14 In the days of King Amraphel of Shinar, King Arioch of Ellasar, King Chedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim,(A) 2 these kings made war with King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, that is, Zoar.(B) 3 All these joined forces in the Valley of Siddim, that is, the Dead Sea.[a](C) 4 Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5 In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and subdued the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim,(D) 6 and the Horites in the hill country of Seir as far as El-paran on the edge of the wilderness;(E) 7 then they turned back and came to En-mishpat, that is, Kadesh, and subdued all the country of the Amalekites and also the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-tamar.(F) 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, went out, and they joined battle in the Valley of Siddim 9 with King Chedorlaomer of Elam, King Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel of Shinar, and King Arioch of Ellasar, four kings against five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of bitumen pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled to the hill country. 11 So the enemy took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their provisions and went their way;(G) 12 they also took Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, who lived in Sodom, and his goods and departed.(H)
13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks[b] of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner; these were allies of Abram.(I) 14 When Abram heard that his nephew had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred eighteen of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.(J) 15 He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and routed them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 Then he brought back all the goods and also brought back his nephew Lot with his goods and the women and the people.(K)
Abram Blessed by Melchizedek
17 After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh, that is, the King’s Valley.(L) 18 And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High.[c](M) 19 He blessed him and said,
“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,[d]
maker of heaven and earth,(N)
20 and blessed be God Most High,[e]
who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”
And Abram gave him one-tenth of everything.(O) 21 Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have sworn to God[f] Most High,[g] maker of heaven and earth,(P) 23 that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, so that you might not say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’(Q) 24 I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten and the share of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. Let them take their share.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.