Here is the passage from my The New American Bible: "The king of Sodom said to Abram, 'Give me the people, the goods you may keep.' But Abram replied to the king of Sodom: 'I have sworn to the Lord, God Most High, the creator of heaven and earth, that I should not take so much as a thread or a sandal strap from anything that is yours, lest you should say, 'I made Abram rich.' Nothing for me except what my servants have used up and the share that is due to the men that joined me--Aner, Enol and Mamre; let them take their share."
Some neighboring armies united and captured and ran away with the peoples of the plain of Jordan, including Lot and his family. Abram and his family caught wind of it, and chased after, defeated and restored the captives to their former homes and standing. The king of Sodom wanted the people but Abram could have the spoils.
Abram wise in the ways of the world, would not accept a "gift" from a wicked king. Once you compromise and do accept gifts from evil men, then they have a grip on you. They will never let go, and eventually will own you entirely, ruin you, ensnare you. Abram got nothing from this fell king, and let not his people join that kingdom for imperial kings increase their kingdom size by startling to meddle in the affairs of a neighboring people.
The moral of this story is not to associate or befriend evil people, lest you abandon God and then worship and follow their rulers, the Dark Couple. Because humans are born evil, when good people agree to associate with or receive "free" gifts from evil people just a little bit for a little while, the chain of bondage has been formed; the chain will only grow longer and thicker. Once fallen into sin, it is almost impossible to go back to the path of righteousness.
Evil people, when they meet good people, are far more likely to corrupt the good people than the good people are to convert or uplift the sinners into a life of grace. Why is this? Because all are born rotten, it is easier for good people to fall, than for the fallen to agree to improve themselves. Also, even the traditionally good people are groupist, and group-living is a state of existence in which the joiners have never conquered or admitted to their own depravity, and nor have they elected to individual-live, and this refusal makes their strength to resist evil neighbors tempting them to sell out, almost impossible to withstand.
So, be wise like Abram and do not socialize or make bad bargains with wicked people.
Here are these same verses from the Holy Bible: "And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the good to thyself. And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have life up mine hand unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth. That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and I will not take anything that is thine, lets thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich. Save only that which the young men have eaten, and that portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol and Mamre; let them take their portion.”
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