¹⁷ After defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, Abram ·went home [^Lreturned]. As he was returning, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (now called King’s Valley [^Csomewhere in the vicinity of Jerusalem]).

¹⁸ Melchizedek king of ·Salem [^Cprobably an old name of Jerusalem] brought out bread and wine. He was a priest for God Most High [Ps. 110; Heb. 5:6–10; 6:20—7:28] ¹⁹ and blessed Abram, saying,

Then Abram gave Melchizedek a ·tenth [tithe] of everything he had brought back from the battle.

²¹ The king of Sodom said to Abram, “You may keep ·all these things [the goods/possessions] for yourself. Just give me my people who were captured.”

²² But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I ·make a promise [^Llifted my hand; ^Ca gesture of swearing] to the Lord, the God Most High, who made heaven and earth. ²³ I promise that I will not keep anything that is yours. I will not keep even a thread or a sandal strap [^Cthat is, not the smallest thing] so that you cannot say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ ²⁴ I will keep nothing but the food my young men have eaten. But give Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre their share of what we won, because they went with me into battle.”