1Forsooth it was done in that time, that Amraphel, king of Shinar, and Arioch, king of Ellasar, and Chedor-laomer, king of Elamites, and Tidal, king of folks,

2began battle against Bera, king of Sodom, and against Birsha, king of Gomorrah, and against Shinab, king of Admah, and against Shemeber, king of Zeboiim, and against the king of Bela, that Bela is Zoar.

3All these came together into the valley of wood, which is now the sea of salt.

4For in twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they departed from him.

5Therefore Chedorlaomer came in the fourteenth year, and [the] kings that were with him, and they smited Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and Zuzims with them, and Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim,

6and Horites in the hills of Seir, till to the field places of Elparan, which is in wilderness.

7And they turned again, and came till to the well of Mishpat; that is Kadesh. And they smited all the country of men of Amalek, and Amorites, that dwelled in Hazazontamar.

8And the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, also and the king of Bela, which is Zoar, went out, and [they] dressed battle array against them in the valley of wood,

9that is, against Chedorlaomer, king of Elamites, and Tidal, king of folks or of Goiim, and Amraphel, king of Shinar, and Arioch, king of Ellasar; four kings against five.

10Forsooth the valley of wood had many pits of pitch, either strong glue; and so the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah turned their backs, and felled down there; and they that were left fled to the hills.

11Soothly they took away all the chattel [or substance] of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all things that pertain[ed] to meat, and went away;

12also and they took away Lot and his chattel [or substance], the son of the brother of Abram, which Lot dwelled in Sodom.

13And, lo! one that escaped, told to Abram the Hebrew, that dwelled in the valley of Mamre of Amorites, [the] brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner; for these [had] made covenant of peace with Abram.

14And when Abram had heard this thing, that is, Lot, the son of his brother, was taken, he numbered his born servants made ready, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them till to Dan.

15And when his fellows were separated, he felled on them in the night, and smote them, and pursued them till to Hobah, and Phenice, which is at the left side of Damascus.

16And he brought again all the chattel [or substance], and Lot, the son of his brother, with his chattel [or substance], also women, and the people.

17Soothly the king of Sodom went out into the meeting of him, after that he turned again from [the] slaying of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, in the valley of Shaveh, which is the valley of the king.

18And soothly Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine, for he was the priest of the highest God;

19and he blessed Abram, and said, Blessed be Abram of [the] high God, that made heaven and earth of nought,

20and blessed be [the] high God, by whom defending, thine enemies be betaken into thine hands. And Abram gave tithes of all things to him.

21Forsooth the king of Sodom said to Abram, Give thou the men to me; take thou other things to thee.

22And Abram answered to him, I raise [up] mine hand to the high Lord God, Lord of heaven and of earth,

23that from the thread of [the] woof till to the lanyard of the hose, I shall not take anything of all things that be thine, lest thou say, I [have] made Abram rich;

24except these things which the young men ate, and the parts of men that came with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; these men shall take their parts.

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Genesis 14

Abram Rescues Lot

1Four kings, Amraphel of Babylonia, Arioch of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer of Elam, and Tidal of Goiim, 2went to war against five other kings: Bera of Sodom, Birsha of Gomorrah, Shinab of Admah, Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (or Zoar). 3These five kings had formed an alliance and joined forces in the Valley of Siddim, which is now the Dead Sea. 4They had been under the control of Chedorlaomer for twelve years, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled against him. 5In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and his allies came with their armies and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in the plain of Kiriathaim, 6and the Horites in the mountains of Edom, pursuing them as far as Elparan on the edge of the desert. 7Then they turned round and came back to Kadesh (then known as Enmishpat). They conquered all the land of the Amalekites and defeated the Amorites who lived in Hazazon Tamar.

8Then the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela drew up their armies for battle in the Valley of Siddim and fought 9against the kings of Elam, Goiim, Babylonia, and Ellasar, five kings against four. 10The valley was full of tar pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah tried to run away from the battle, they fell into the pits; but the other three kings escaped to the mountains. 11The four kings took everything in Sodom and Gomorrah, including the food, and went away. 12Lot, Abram's nephew, was living in Sodom, so they took him and all his possessions.

13But a man escaped and reported all this to Abram, the Hebrew, who was living near the sacred trees belonging to Mamre the Amorite. Mamre and his brothers Eshcol and Aner were Abram's allies. 14When Abram heard that his nephew had been captured, he called together all the fighting men in his camp, 318 in all, and pursued the four kings all the way to Dan. 15There he divided his men into groups, attacked the enemy by night, and defeated them. He chased them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus, 16and recovered the loot that had been taken. He also brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other prisoners.

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

17When Abram came back from his victory over Chedorlaomer and the other kings, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (also called the King's Valley). 18#Heb 7.1–10And Melchizedek, who was king of Salem and also a priest of the Most High God, brought bread and wine to Abram, 19blessed him, and said, “May the Most High God, who made heaven and earth, bless Abram! 20May the Most High God, who gave you victory over your enemies, be praised!” And Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the loot he had recovered.

21The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Keep the loot, but give me back all my people.”

22Abram answered, “I solemnly swear before the LORD, the Most High God, Maker of heaven and earth, 23that I will not keep anything of yours, not even a thread or a sandal strap. Then you can never say, ‘I am the one who made Abram rich.’ 24I will take nothing for myself. I will accept only what my men have used. But let my allies, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, take their share.”

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Genesis 14

Genesis 14