Lot Is Captured

14 Now Amraphel was king of ·Babylonia [^LShinar], Arioch was king of Ellasar [^Cpossibly in Mesopotamia], Kedorlaomer was king of Elam [^Clocated on the Iranian plateau], and Tidal was king of Goiim [^Cpossibly 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.) [^CSodom 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 [^Lthat is] the ·Dead [^LSalt] 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; ^Can especially warlike tribe in Canaan] in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, and the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim [^Cthe Zuzites and Emites were likely related to the Rephaites; Deut. 2:10–11]. ⁶ They also defeated the Horites in the mountains of ·Edom [^LSeir; ^Ca 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 [^Ca 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 [^LShinar], 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 [^Lson of his brother] who was living in Sodom, and ·everything he owned [^Lhis 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 [^Loaks; 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 [^Lhis 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 [^Cin the far north of Palestine]. ¹⁵ That night he divided his men into groups, and ·they made a surprise attack against the enemy [^Lhe subdued/defeated/struck them]. They chased them all the way to Hobah, north of Damascus [^Ca major city in Syria]. ¹⁶ Then Abram brought back ·everything the enemy had stolen [^Lall their possessions/goods], the women and the other people, and Lot, and ·everything Lot owned [^Lhis goods/possessions].

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.”