Genesis 14

1 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations;

At that time Amraphel was king of Shinar, and he allied himself with Arioch, king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, and Tidal, king of Goiim.

2 That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.

They attacked Bera, king of Sodom, Birsha, king of Gomorrah, Shinab, king of Admah, Shemeber, king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (otherwise known as Zoar).

3 All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea.

All these in the second group joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (the Dead Sea valley).

4 Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

They had been under the rule of Chedorlaomer for twelve years, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled against him.

5 And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim,

In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer invaded, along with the kings in his alliance. They defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh-kiriathaim,

6 And the Horites in their mount Seir, to Elparan, which is by the wilderness.

and the Horites in their hill country of Seir, all the way to El-paran, near the desert.

7 And they returned, and came to Enmishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezontamar.

Then they swung back through and attacked En-mishpat (otherwise known as Kadesh) and conquered the whole country belonging to the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-tamar.

8 And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar; ) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim;

Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (otherwise known as Zoar) marched out and prepared for battle in the Valley of Siddim.

9 With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five.

They fought Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, Tidal, king of Goiim, Amraphel, king of Shinar, and Arioch, king of Ellasar—four kings on one side against five on the other.

10 And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain.

There were many tar pits in the Valley of Siddim, and as the defeated kings of Sodom and Gomorrah ran away, some of their men fell into them while the rest ran to the hills.

11 And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their food, and went their way.

The invaders took from Sodom and Gomorrah all their possessions and food and left.

12 And they took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

They also captured Lot, Abram's nephew, and his possessions, because he was living in Sodom.

13 And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.

But one of those captured escaped and went and told Abram the Hebrew what had happened. Abram was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, whose brothers were Eshcol and Aner. All of them were Abram's allies.

14 And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them to Dan.

When Abram found out that his nephew had been captured, he called together 318 fighting men who had been born in his household and chased after them all the way to Dan.

15 And he divided his men against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them to Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.

There he divided his men into groups and attacked at night, defeating the enemy and chasing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.

16 And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.

Abram recovered all that had been taken, including Lot and his possessions, and also brought back the women and others who had been captured.

17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale.

When Abram returned after defeating Chedorlaomer and his allies, the king of Sodom came out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (or Valley of the King).

18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.

Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. He was a priest of the Most High God.

19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:

He blessed Abram, telling him, “May Abram be blessed by the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth.

20 And blessed be the most high God, who hath delivered thy enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

May the Most High God be praised, who handed your enemies over to you.” Then Abram gave Melchizedek one tenth of everything.

21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.

The king of Sodom told Abram, “Let me have the people back, and you can keep everything else for yourself.”

22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted my hand to the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,

But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I raise my hand, making a solemn promise to the Lord, the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth,

23 That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:

that I refuse to take anything belonging to you, not a single thread or a sandal strap. Otherwise you might claim, ‘It was me who made Abram rich!’

24 Except only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.

I won't take anything except what my men have eaten, and the share for those who accompanied me—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. Let them have their share.”