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14
Abram rescued Lot
1 In a region to the east, there were four kings who were friends/allies. They were King Amraphel of Babylonia, King Arioch of Ellasar, King Chedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim. 2 In an area to the west, there were five other kings. They were King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, the city that is now called Zoar. 3 Those five kings and their armies gathered together in Siddim Valley, which is also called the Dead Sea Valley, to fight against the four kings and their armies. King Chedorlaomer and his army conquered the armies of those five kings, and demanded that those kings pay him tribute money each year. 4 For twelve years he ruled them. But during the thirteenth year they rebelled and refused to keep giving him tribute money. 5 The next year, King Chedorlaomer and the other kings that were with him took their armies and defeated the Repha people-group in Ashteroth-Karnaim and the Zuz people-group in Ham, and the Emi people-group in Shaveh-Kiriathaim. 6 They also defeated the Hor people-group in the hilly area of Seir as far as El-Paran near the desert. 7 Then they turned back and went to Mishpat city, which is now called Kadesh. They conquered all the land belonging to the Amalek people-group and the Amor people-group who were living in Hazazon-Tamar town. 8 Then the armies of the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim and Bela marched out to fight the armies of the other four kings in Siddim Valley. That valley is close to the Salt/Dead Sea. 9 They fought against the armies of Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, Tidal the king of Goiim, Amraphel the king of Shinar, and Arioch the king of Ellasar. The armies of four kings were fighting against the armies of five kings. 10 The Siddim Valley was full of tar pits. So when the armies of the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah tried to run away, many of the men fell into the tar pits. The others escaped and ran away to the hills. 11 As the armies of the five kings fled, the armies of the four kings seized all of the valuable things in Sodom and Gomorrah, including all the food. 12 They also captured Abram's nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom at that time. 13 At that time, Abram was living near the big trees that belonged to Mamre, who belonged to the Amor people-group. Abram had made an agreement with Mamre and his two brothers, Eshcol and Aner, that they would help each other if there was a war. 14 One of the men who escaped from the battle told Abram the Hebrew what had happened and that his nephew Lot had been captured and taken away. So Abram summoned 318 men who were his servants, men who had been with Abram since they were born. They all went together and pursued their enemies as far as Dan city. 15 During the night, Abram divided the men into several groups, and they attacked their enemies from various directions and defeated them. They pursued them as far as Hobah, which was north of Damascus city. 16 Abram's men recovered all of the goods that had been taken. They also rescued Lot and all his possessions and also the women and others who had been captured by their enemies.
Melchizedek blessed Abram
17 As Abram was returning home after he and his men had defeated the armies of King Chedorlaomer and the other kings who had fought alongside him, the king of Sodom went north to meet him in Shaveh Valley, which people call the King's Valley. 18 Melchizedek, the king of Salem city, was also a priest who offered sacrifices to the Supreme God. He brought some bread and wine to Abram. 19 Then he blessed Abram, saying “I ask the Supreme God, the one who created heaven and earth, to bless you. 20 The Supreme God has enabled you to defeat [MTY] your enemies, so we should praise/thank him.” Then Abram gave to Melchizedek a tenth part of all the things he had captured. 21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “You can keep all the goods you recovered. Just let me take back the people from my city whom you rescued.” 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have solemnly promised [MTY] to Yahweh, the Supreme God, the one who created heaven and earth, 23 that I will not accept even one thread or a thong of a sandal from anything that belongs to you. As a result, you will never be able to say, ‘I caused Abram to become rich.’ 24 The only thing I will accept is the food that my men have eaten. But Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre went with me and fought alongside me, so let them also have a share of the goods we brought back.”

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© 2008-2016 Ellis W. Deibler, Jr.