Lot Is Captured
14 Now Amraphel was king of ·Babylonia [L Shinar], Arioch was king of Ellasar [C possibly in Mesopotamia], Kedorlaomer was king of Elam [C located on the Iranian plateau], and Tidal was king of Goiim [C possibly a people otherwise known as the Umman-manda]. 2 All these kings went to war against several other kings: Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela. (Bela is also called Zoar.) [C Sodom and Gomorrah were located in the vicinity of the Dead Sea, and the other named cities are thought to have been nearby.]
3 These kings who were attacked united their armies in the Valley of Siddim (·now [L that is] the ·Dead [L Salt] Sea). 4 They had served Kedorlaomer for twelve years, but in the thirteenth year, they all ·turned [rebelled] against him. 5 Then in the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings with him came and ·defeated [subdued] the ·Rephaites [or Rephaim; C an especially warlike tribe in Canaan] in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, and the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim [C the Zuzites and Emites were likely related to the Rephaites; Deut. 2:10–11]. 6 They also defeated the Horites in the mountains of ·Edom [L Seir; C a region outside of Palestine on the southeastern coast of the Dead Sea] to El Paran (near the ·desert [wilderness]). 7 Then they turned back and went to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh). They ·defeated [subdued] all the Amalekites [C a fearsome tribe in pre-Israelite Canaan], as well as the Amorites who lived in Hazazon Tamar.
8 At that time the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela went out to fight in the Valley of Siddim. (Bela is called Zoar.) 9 They fought against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of ·Babylonia [L Shinar], and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings fighting against five. 10 There were many ·tar [bitumen] pits in the Valley of Siddim. When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah and their armies ·ran away [fled], some of the soldiers fell into the tar pits, but the others ·ran away [fled] to the mountains.
11 Now Kedorlaomer and his armies took everything the people of Sodom and Gomorrah owned, including their food, and left. 12 They took Lot, Abram’s ·nephew [L son of his brother] who was living in Sodom, and ·everything he owned [L his possessions/goods]. Then they left. 13 One of the men who was not captured went to Abram, the Hebrew, and told him what had happened. At that time Abram was camped near the ·great trees [L oaks; or terebinths] of Mamre the Amorite. Mamre was a brother of Eshcol and Aner, and they had all made an ·agreement to help [covenant/treaty with] Abram.
Abram Rescues Lot
14 When Abram learned that ·Lot [L his relative/brother] had been captured, he called out his 318 trained men who had been born in his camp. He led the men and ·chased the enemy [went in pursuit] all the way to the town of Dan [C in the far north of Palestine]. 15 That night he divided his men into groups, and ·they made a surprise attack against the enemy [L he subdued/defeated/struck them]. They chased them all the way to Hobah, north of Damascus [C a major city in Syria]. 16 Then Abram brought back ·everything the enemy had stolen [L all their possessions/goods], the women and the other people, and Lot, and ·everything Lot owned [L his goods/possessions].
17 After defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, Abram ·went home [L returned]. As he was returning, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (now called King’s Valley [C somewhere in the vicinity of Jerusalem]).
18 Melchizedek king of ·Salem [C probably 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,
“Abram, may you be blessed by God Most High,
the ·God [L one] who made heaven and earth.
20 And ·we praise [L blessed be] God Most High,
who has ·helped you to defeat your enemies [L delivered your enemies into your hand].”
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 [L lifted my hand; C a 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 [C that 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.”