War of the Kings

14 And it came about in the days of Amraphel king of ^(A)Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of ^(B)Elam, and Tidal king of ^[a]Goiim, ² that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of ^(C)Admah, and Shemeber king of ^(D)Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, ^(E)Zoar). ³ All these kings ^[b]came as allies to ^(F)the Valley of Siddim (that is, ^(G)the Salt Sea). ⁴ For twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. ⁵ And in the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and ^[c]defeated the ^(H)Rephaim in ^(I)Ashteroth-karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in ^[d](J)Shaveh-kiriathaim, ⁶ and the ^(K)Horites on their Mount Seir, as far as ^(L)El-paran, which is by the wilderness. ⁷ Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, ^(M)Kadesh), and ^[e]conquered all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, who lived in ^(N)Hazazon-tamar. ⁸ And the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) came out; and they lined up for battle against them in ^(O)the Valley of Siddim, ⁹ against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of ^[f]Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. ¹⁰ Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and ^(P)the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell ^[g]into them. But those who survived fled to the ^(Q)hill country. ¹¹ Then they took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food supply, and departed. ¹² They also took Lot, ^(R)Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed, ^(S)for he was living in Sodom.

¹³ Then ^[h]a survivor came and told Abram the ^(T)Hebrew. Now he was residing by the ^[i](U)oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and they were ^[j](V)allies with Abram. ¹⁴ When Abram heard that ^(W)his relative had been taken captive, he ^[k]led out his trained men, ^(X)born in his house, numbering 318, and went in pursuit as far as ^(Y)Dan. ¹⁵ Then ^(Z)he divided ^[l]his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and ^[m]defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is ^[n]north of ^(AA)Damascus. ¹⁶ He ^(AB)brought back all the possessions, and also brought back ^(AC)his relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women, and the other people.

God’s Promise to Abram

¹⁷ Then after his return from the ^[o]defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, ^(AD)the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, ^(AE)the King’s Valley). ¹⁸ And ^(AF)Melchizedek the king of Salem brought out ^(AG)bread and wine; now he was a ^(AH)priest of ^[p]God Most High. ¹⁹ And he blessed him and said,

And ^(AJ)he gave him a tenth of everything. ²¹ Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give the ^[t]people to me and take the possessions for yourself.” ²² But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have ^[u]sworn to the Lord ^[v](AK)God Most High, ^[w](AL)Possessor of heaven and earth, ²³ that ^(AM)I will not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, so that you do not say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ ^24 [x]I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me, ^(AN)Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their share.”

The Demon-possessed Man Cured

^26 (A)Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. ²⁷ And when He stepped out onto the land, a man from the city met Him who was possessed with demons; and he had not put on clothing for a long time and was not living in a house, but among the tombs. ²⁸ And seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell down before Him, and said with a loud voice, “^[a](B)What business do You have with me, Jesus, Son of ^(C)the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” ²⁹ For He had already commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break the restraints and be driven by the demon into the desert. ³⁰ And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “^(D)Legion”; because many demons had entered him. ³¹ And they were begging Him not to command them to go away into ^(E)the abyss.

³² Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding there on the mountain; and the demons begged Him to permit them to enter ^[b]the pigs. And He gave them permission. ³³ And the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into ^(F)the lake and was drowned.

³⁴ Now when the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and reported everything in the city, and in the country. ³⁵ And the people came out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down ^(G)at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened. ³⁶ Those who had seen everything reported to them how the man who had been ^(H)demon-possessed had been ^[c]made well. ³⁷ And all the ^[d]people of the territory of the Gerasenes and the surrounding region asked Him to leave them, because they were overwhelmed by great fear; and He got into a boat and returned. ^38 (I)But the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might ^[e]accompany Him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, ³⁹ “Return to your home and describe what great things God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city what great things Jesus had done for him.

Miracles of Healing

^40 (J)And as Jesus was returning, the ^[f]people welcomed Him, for they had all been waiting for Him. ^41 (K)And a man named Jairus came, and he was an ^[g](L)official of the synagogue; and he fell at Jesus’ feet, and began urging Him to come to his house; ⁴² for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as He went, the crowds were pressing against Him.

⁴³ And a woman who had suffered a chronic flow of blood for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, ⁴⁴ came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His ^[h]cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. ⁴⁵ And Jesus said, “Who is the one who touched Me?” And while they were all denying it, Peter said, “^(M)Master, the ^[i]people are crowding and pressing in on You.” ⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that ^(N)power had left Me.” ⁴⁷ Now when the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and admitted in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed. ⁴⁸ And He said to her, “Daughter, ^(O)your faith has ^[j]made you well; ^(P)go in peace.”

⁴⁹ While He was still speaking, someone *came from the house of ^(Q)the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; do not trouble the Teacher anymore.” ⁵⁰ But when Jesus heard this, He responded to him, “^(R)Do not be afraid any longer; only believe, and she will be ^[k]made well.” ⁵¹ When He came to the house, He did not allow anyone to enter with Him except Peter, John, and James, and the girl’s father and mother. ⁵² Now they were all weeping and ^(S)mourning for her; but He said, “Stop weeping, for she has not died, but ^(T)is asleep.” ⁵³ And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died. ⁵⁴ He, however, took her by the hand and spoke ^[l]forcefully, saying, “Child, arise!” ⁵⁵ And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and He ordered that something be given her to eat. ⁵⁶ Her parents were amazed; but He ^(U)instructed them to tell no one what had happened.