Genesis 14

Soldiers grabbed Lot and his family and took them away

1-9This story is about the people in the flat country, and it started before Lot went to live near the town called Sodom. There were 5 tribes in that flat country at that time, and each tribe had a leader. These were the 5 tribes and their leaders,

– A tribe called Sodom, and their leader was called Bera.

– A tribe called Gomorrah, and their leader was called Birsha.

– A tribe called Admah, and their leader was Shinab.

– A tribe called the Zebo mob, and their leader was Shemeber.

– A tribe called Zoar. They are also called Bela.

There were another 4 tribes in the country to the east. These were those 4 tribes and their leaders,

– A tribe called Elam, and their leader was Kedorlayomer.

– A tribe called Babylonia, and their leader was called Amrafel.

– A tribe called Ellasar, and their leader was called Ariok.

– A tribe called the Goy mob, and their leader was Tidal.

And Kedorlayomer was the boss over those 4 tribes in the east. Those 4 tribes sent their soldiers to fight the other 5 tribes, and the 4 tribes from the east won. So Kedorlayomer became the boss over the other 5 tribes too.

Those 5 tribes let him be their boss for 12 years. Then the next year, their leaders told Kedorlayomer that they didn’t want him to be their boss any more. Kedorlayomer got really angry, and the next year, he got soldiers from the 4 tribes in the east, and they went to fight those 5 tribes.

On the way to that fight, Kedorlayomer’s soldiers had other fights with some other tribes, and they won all those fights. They beat the Refa tribe at a place called Ashteroth-Karnayim, and they beat the Zuz tribe at a place called Ham, and they beat the Em tribe at a place called Shaveh-Kiriathayim, and they beat the Hor tribe in the hill country called Edom. They chased the Hor soldiers all the way to a place called El-Paran, near the desert. Then Kedorlayomer and the soldiers from the east, they all went back to a place called En-Mishpat. Another name for that place is Kadesh. Then Kedorlayomer and his mob fought the Amalek tribe and beat them, and took control of their country. Then they fought the Amor tribe in Hazazon-Tamar country, and beat them too.

While Kedorlayomer and his mob were fighting those other people, the 5 tribes that didn’t want Kedorlayomer to be their boss, they went to the valley called Sidim. (Today there is salt water in that valley, and we call it the Dead Sea.) The soldiers of those 5 tribes got ready there to fight against Kedorlayomer and his 4 tribes from the east.

So when Kedorlayomer and his mob got to that Sidim valley there was a big fight. 10Kedorlayomer and his mob won that fight. They beat those 5 tribes, and their soldiers all ran away. In that flat country there were lots of holes in the ground that were full of sticky black stuff, called tar. So when the soldiers from the 5 tribes ran away, some of them fell into those holes. But the rest of them ran up into the hills.

11So Kedorlayomer and his soldiers went to Sodom and Gomorrah, and they grabbed all the people that lived there. And they took everything the people owned, even their food, and then they started to go back to their own country. 12At that time, Abram’s nephew, Lot, lived in Sodom, so the soldiers grabbed Lot too, and his family, and all their things. Those soldiers took all of Lot’s mob away with them.

Abram saved Lot and his family

13-14A man got away from Kedorlayomer and his mob, and he went and told Abram that they got Lot. At that time, Abram was living near the big trees that belonged to a man called Mamreh. Abram was a good friend of Mamreh, and also of Mamreh’s 2 brothers. Their names were Eskol and Aner. Mamreh and his brothers belonged to the Amor tribe, and Abram belonged to the Hebrew tribe, but they all looked after each other.

Abram had 318 men that knew how to fight. They worked for Abram all their lives, and Abram really trusted them. So Abram got those men, and Mamreh, Eskol and Aner got their fighting men, and they all went to fight Kedorlayomer and his soldiers. They followed them, and they found them at a place to the north, called Dan. 15Then, in the night time, Abram split up all the fighting men into groups, and they attacked Kedorlayomer and his soldiers. Abram and his men won that fight, and they chased those other soldiers all the way to a place called Hobah, north of Damascus town. 16That’s how Abram’s mob saved Lot, and all the women, and the other people from the towns called Sodom and Gomorrah, and they got all their things too. Then they all started to go back south.

Abram met Melkizedek

17After Abram’s mob beat Kedorlayomer and his mob, and while they were going back south on their way home, the leader of Sodom went out to meet Abram in the valley called Shaveh. Another name for that place is the valley that belongs to the leader.

18There was a town in that country called Salem, and the boss over that town was called Melkizedek. He was also a leader of God’s ceremonies. He worked for God, the one that is more powerful than any other god. Well, Melkizedek also went out to meet Abram and his men, and he gave them some bread and some wine. 19Then Melkizedek prayed for Abram. He said,

“God, you are more powerful than any other god.

You are the one that made heaven and earth.

I’m asking you to be really good to Abram.

20I want everyone to say that you are great, and more powerful than any other god.

You are the one that helped Abram fight with his enemies and win.”

Then Abram got all the things he got after the fight, the things that used to belong to the Sodom and Gomorrah mob, and he split those things up into 10 groups. And he gave one of those groups of things to Melkizedek.#Hebrews 7:1-10

21Then the leader of Sodom said to Abram, “I only want my people back. You can keep those other things.”

22But Abram said, “I made a strong promise to my God, the one that is more powerful than any other god, and the one that made heaven and earth. 23I promised that I will not take anything that belongs to you. I will not even take a bit of string, or anything that belongs to you. You see, I don’t want you to tell everyone that you gave me a lot of things and made me rich. 24No. The only thing that I will keep is the food that I ate and the food that my fighting men ate. And these men, Mamreh, and Aner, and Eskol, and their fighting men, they helped me save your people and your things too, so you can give them some of those things.”

Learn More About Plain English Version

Berĕshith (Genesis) 14

1And it came to be in the days of Amraphel sovereign of Shin‛ar, Aryoḵ sovereign of Ellasar, Keḏorla‛omer sovereign of Ěylam, and Tiḏ‛al sovereign of Goyim,

2that they fought against Bera sovereign of Seḏom, Birsha sovereign of Amorah, Shinaḇ sovereign of Aḏmah, Shem’ĕḇer sovereign of Tseḇoyim, and the sovereign of Bela, that is Tso‛ar.

3All these joined together in the Valley of Siddim, that is the Salt Sea.

4Twelve years they served Keḏorla‛omer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

5And in the fourteenth year Keḏorla‛omer and the sovereigns that were with him came and struck the Repha’im in Ashteroth Qarnayim, and the Zuzim in Ḥam, and the Ěmites in Shawĕh Qiryathayim,

6and the Ḥorites in their mountain of Sĕ‛ir, as far as Ěl Paran, which is by the wilderness.

7And they turned back and came to Ěn Mishpat, that is Qaḏĕsh, and struck all the country of the Amalĕqites, and also the Amorites who dwelt in Ḥatsetson Tamar.

8And the sovereign of Seḏom, and the sovereign of Amorah, and the sovereign of Aḏmah, and the sovereign of Tseḇoyim, and the sovereign of Bela, that is Tso‛ar, went out and joined together in battle in the Valley of Siddim,

9against Keḏorla‛omer sovereign of Ěylam, and Tiḏ‛al sovereign of Goyim, and Amraphel sovereign of Shin‛ar, and Aryoḵ sovereign of Ellasar – four sovereigns against five.

10And the Valley of Siddim had many tar pits. And the sovereigns of Seḏom and Amorah fled and fell there, and the remainder fled to the mountains.

11And they took all the goods of Seḏom and Amorah, and all their food, and went away.

12And they took Lot, Aḇram’s brother’s son who dwelt in Seḏom, and his goods, and left.

13And one who had escaped came and informed Aḇram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamrĕ the Amorite, brother of Eshkol and brother of Anĕr, and they had a covenant with Aḇram.

14And when Aḇram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.

15And he and his servants divided against them by night, and struck them and pursued them as far as Ḥoḇah, which is on the left of Dammeseq.

16So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.

17And after his return from the striking of Keḏorla‛omer and the sovereigns who were with him, the sovereign of Seḏom came out to meet him at the Valley of Shawĕh, that is, the Sovereign’s Valley.

18And Malkitseḏeq sovereign of Shalĕm brought out bread and wine. Now he was the priest of the Most High Ěl.

19And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Aḇram of the Most High Ěl, Possessor of the heavens and earth.

20“And blessed be the Most High Ěl who has delivered your enemies into your hand. And he gave him a tenth of all.

21And the sovereign of Seḏom said to Aḇram, “Give me the people, and take the goods for yourself.”

22But Aḇram said to the sovereign of Seḏom, “I have lifted my hand to יהוה, the Most High Ěl, the Possessor of the heavens and earth,

23not to take a thread or a sandal strap or whatever is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Aḇram rich,’

24except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Anĕr, Eshkol, and Mamrĕ. Let them take their portion.”

Learn More About The Scriptures 2009