1During the reign of Amraphel king of Babylon, he allied with three other kings: Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goyim.
2These four kings went to war against five kings: Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.
3-4Kedorlaomer had oppressed these five kings for twelve years until they rebelled against him in the thirteenth year. They all became regional allies in the valley of Siddim, which is now the Dead Sea.
5In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer went to war with his allied kings. They defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shavah-kiriathaim,
6and the Horites in the hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran near the desert.
7Then they turned back and attacked En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh) and subdued all the country of the Amalekites and the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-tamar.
8Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar), marched out in battle formation in the valley of Siddim.
9There they faced off against Kedorlaomer, king of Elam; Tidal, king of Goyim; Amraphel, king of Babylon; and Arioch, king of Ellasar—four kings against five.
10Now the valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah and their armies retreated from the battle and fled, some of them fell into the tar pits, and the rest fled to the hill country.
11The four victorious kings captured all the possessions and all the food of Sodom and Gomorrah and left.
12They captured Lot, Abram’s nephew who had been living in Sodom, and took him and all his possessions.
13One who escaped came to Abram the Hebrew and told him what had happened to Lot. Abram was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite. Mamre had two brothers, Eshcol and Aner, who were allied by treaty with Abram.
14When Abram heard that his nephew Lot had been taken captive by the four kings, he mobilized all the men in his camp, 318 in all who had been born and trained in his own household, and he pursued the invaders as far north as Dan.
15Then, during the night, Abram strategically divided his forces and defeated them. His forces attacked them and routed them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.
16He recovered all the stolen possessions and brought back his nephew Lot, together with the women and all the prisoners.
Abram Blessed by Melchizedek17After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet Abram at the valley of the Shaveh (known as the King’s Valley).
18And Melchizedek, who was both a priest of the Most High God and the king of Salem, brought out to Abram bread and wine.
19He spoke over him a special blessing, saying,
“Blessed is Abram by God Most High,
Creator of heaven and earth.
20And blessed be God Most High,
whose power delivered your enemies into your hands!”
Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all he possessed.
21Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Just give me the people you rescued; keep all the spoils for yourself.”
22But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I raised my hand to Yahweh, God Most High, and I pledged a solemn oath to the Possessor of heaven and earth
23that I would keep nothing for myself that belongs to you, not even a thread of a garment or sandal strap. That way, you will never be able to say, ‘I was the one that made Abram rich.’
24I will take nothing except what my young men have eaten, and the share of those who went with me—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. Let them take their share.”
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