What happened to Sodom and Gomorrah before Abram pursued the kings?
Kings from the north and east came down and defeated the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, taking all the people captive. That captivity included Lot and his family, which is why Abram assembled a small army from his hired servants and pursued the conquering king.
Les explains that word came to Abram that some kings from the north and the east had come down and defeated the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah and had taken all the people captive. Abram got interested because the captivity involved Lot and his family. So Abram put together a small army out of his hired servants and pursued this conquering king from the north that had overrun Sodom and Gomorrah and had Lot and his family with him.