Genesis 14 - Easy To Read Version

¹ Amraphel was the king of Shinar. Arioch was the king of Ellasar. Kedorlaomer was the king of Elam. And Tidal was the king of Goiim.

² All these kings fought a war against Bera the king of Sodom, Birsha the king of Gomorrah, Shinab the king of Admah, Shemeber the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela. (Bela is also called Zoar.)

³ All these kings joined their armies in the Valley of Siddim. (The Valley of Siddim is now the Salt Sea.)

⁴ These kings had served Kedorlaomer for twelve years. But in the 13th year they all rebelled against him.

⁵ So in the 14th year, King Kedorlaomer and the kings with him came to fight against them. Kedorlaomer and the kings with him defeated the Rephaim people in Ashteroth Karnaim. They also defeated the Zuzim people in Ham. They defeated the Emim people in Shaveh Kiriathaim.

⁶ And they defeated the Horite people who lived in the area from the hill country of Seir [79] to El Paran. [80] (El Paran is near the desert.)

⁷ Then King Kedorlaomer turned back and went to En Mishpat (that is Kadesh) and defeated the Amalekite people. He also defeated the Amorite people living in Hazezon Tamar.

⁸ At that time, the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (Zoar) joined together and went to fight against their enemies. {They went to fight} in the Valley of Siddim. [81]

⁹ They fought against Kedorlaomer the king of Elam, Tidal the king of Goiim, Amraphel the king of Shinar, and Arioch the king of Ellasar. So there were four kings fighting against five.

¹⁰ There were very many holes filled with tar [82] in the Valley of Siddim. The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah {and their armies} ran away. Many of the soldiers fell into those holes. But the others ran away to the mountains.

¹¹ So their enemies took all the things that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah owned. They took all their food and clothing and left.

¹² Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, was living in Sodom, and the enemy captured him. The enemy also took everything he owned and left.

¹³ One of the men that was not captured went to Abram the Hebrew and told him what happened. Abram was camped near the trees of Mamre the Amorite. Mamre, Eshcol, and Aner had made an agreement to help each other. [83] And they had also signed an agreement to help Abram.

¹⁴ Abram learned that Lot was captured. So Abram called all of his family together. There were 318 trained soldiers. Abram led the men and chased the enemy all the way to the town of Dan.

¹⁵ That night, he and his men made a surprise attack against the enemy. They defeated the enemy and chased them to Hobah, north of Damascus.

¹⁶ Then Abram brought back all the things that the enemy had stolen. Abram brought back the women and servants, and also Lot and everything Lot owned.

¹⁷ Then Abram went home after he defeated Kedorlaomer and the kings with Kedorlaomer. When he came home, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh. (This is now called King’s Valley.)

¹⁸ Melchizedek, the king of Salem, also went to meet Abram. Melchizedek was a priest of God Most High. Melchizedek brought bread and wine.

¹⁹ Melchizedek blessed Abram and said,

²⁰ And we praise God Most High. God helped you to defeat your enemies.”

²¹ Then the king of Sodom told Abram, “Give me my people that the enemy took away. But you can keep all these other things.”

²² But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I promise to the Lord, the God Most High, the One who made heaven and earth—

²³ I promise that I will not keep anything that is yours—not even a thread or a shoestring! I don’t want you to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’

²⁴ The only thing I will accept is the food that my young men have eaten. But you should give the other men their share. Take the things we won in battle and give some to Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. These men helped me in the battle.”