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.”