Genesis 18
1 Now the Lord came to him by the holy tree of Mamre, when he was seated in the doorway of his tent in the middle of the day;
And Jehovah appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre. And he sat at the tent-door in the heat of the day.
2 And lifting up his eyes, he saw three men before him; and seeing them, he went quickly to them from the door of the tent, and went down on his face to the earth;
And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, three men standing near him. And when he saw [them], he ran to meet them from the tent-door, and bowed himself to the earth,
3 And said, My Lord, if now I have grace in your eyes, do not go away from your servant:
and said, Lord, if now I have found favour in thine eyes, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant.
4 Let me get water for washing your feet, and take your rest under the tree:
Let now a little water be fetched, that ye may wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.
5 And let me get a bit of bread to keep up your strength, and after that you may go on your way: for this is why you have come to your servant. And they said, Let it be so.
And I will fetch a morsel of bread; and refresh yourselves; after that ye shall pass on; for therefore have ye passed on towards your servant. And they said, So do as thou hast said.
6 Then Abraham went quickly into the tent, and said to Sarah, Get three measures of meal straight away and make cakes.
And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, Knead quickly three seahs of wheaten flour, and make cakes.
7 And running to the herd, he took a young ox, soft and fat, and gave it to the servant and he quickly made it ready;
And Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf tender and good, and gave [it] to the attendant; and he hasted to dress it.
8 And he took butter and milk and the young ox which he had made ready and put it before them, waiting by them under the tree while they took food.
And he took thick and sweet milk, and the calf that he had dressed, and set [it] before them; and he stood before them under the tree, and they ate.
9 And they said to him, Where is Sarah your wife? And he said, She is in the tent.
And they said to him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.
10 And he said, I will certainly come back to you in the spring, and Sarah your wife will have a son. And his words came to the ears of Sarah who was at the back of the tent-door.
And he said, I will certainly return to thee at [this] time of the year, and behold, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah was listening at the tent-door, which was behind him.
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were very old, and Sarah was past the time for giving birth.
Now Abraham and Sarah were old [and] advanced in age: it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
12 And Sarah, laughing to herself, said, Now that I am used up am I still to have pleasure, my husband himself being old?
And Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am become old, shall I have pleasure, and my lord old?
13 And the Lord said, Why was Sarah laughing and saying, Is it possible for me, being old, to give birth to a child?
And Jehovah said to Abraham, Why is this, that Sarah laughs, saying, Shall I indeed bear, when I am become old?
14 Is there any wonder which the Lord is not able to do? At the time I said, in the spring, I will come back to you, and Sarah will have a child.
Is [any] matter too wonderful for Jehovah? At the time appointed I will return to thee, at [this] time of the year, and Sarah shall have a son.
15 Then Sarah said, I was not laughing; for she was full of fear. And he said, No, but you were laughing.
And Sarah denied, saying, I did not laugh; for she was afraid. And he said, No; but thou didst laugh.
16 And the men went on from there in the direction of Sodom; and Abraham went with them on their way.
And the men rose up thence, and looked toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them to conduct them.
17 And the Lord said, Am I to keep back from Abraham the knowledge of what I do;
And Jehovah said, Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?
18 Seeing that Abraham will certainly become a great and strong nation, and his name will be used by all the nations of the earth as a blessing?
Since Abraham shall indeed become a great and mighty nation; and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him.
19 For I have made him mine so that he may give orders to his children and those of his line after him, to keep the ways of the Lord, to do what is good and right: so that the Lord may do to Abraham as he has said.
For I know him that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of Jehovah, to do righteousness and justice, in order that Jehovah may bring upon Abraham what he hath spoken of him.
20 And the Lord said, Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is very great, and their sin is very evil,
And Jehovah said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grievous,
21 I will go down now, and see if their acts are as bad as they seem from the outcry which has come to me; and if they are not, I will see.
I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come to me; and if not, I will know [it].
22 And the men, turning from that place, went on to Sodom: but Abraham was still waiting before the Lord.
And the men turned thence, and went towards Sodom; and Abraham remained yet standing before Jehovah.
23 And Abraham came near, and said, Will you let destruction come on the upright with the sinners?
And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also cause the righteous to perish with the wicked?
24 If by chance there are fifty upright men in the town, will you give the place to destruction and not have mercy on it because of the fifty upright men?
There are perhaps fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not forgive the place for the sake of the fifty righteous that are therein?
25 Let such a thing be far from you, to put the upright to death with the sinner: will not the judge of all the earth do right?
Far be it from thee to do so, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that the righteous should be as the wicked — far be it from thee! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?
26 And the Lord said, If there are fifty upright men in the town, I will have mercy on it because of them.
And Jehovah said, If I find at Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will forgive all the place for their sakes.
27 And Abraham answering said, Truly, I who am only dust, have undertaken to put my thoughts before the Lord:
And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have ventured to speak unto the Lord; I, who am dust and ashes.
28 If by chance there are five less than fifty upright men, will you give up all the town to destruction because of these five? And he said, I will not give it to destruction if there are forty-five.
Perhaps there may want five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city on account of the five? And he said, If I shall find forty-five there, I will not destroy [it].
29 And again he said to him, By chance there may be forty there. And he said, I will not do it if there are forty.
And he continued yet to speak with him, and said, Perhaps there may be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for the forty's sake.
30 And he said, Let not the Lord be angry with me if I say, What if there are thirty there? And he said, I will not do it if there are thirty.
And he said, Oh, let not the Lord be angry that I speak! Perhaps there may be thirty found there. And he said, I will not do it if I find thirty there.
31 And he said, See now, I have undertaken to put my thoughts before the Lord: what if there are twenty there? And he said, I will have mercy because of the twenty.
And he said, Behold now, I have ventured to speak with the Lord. Perhaps there may be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy [it] for the twenty's sake.
32 And he said, O let not the Lord be angry and I will say only one word more: by chance there may be ten there. And he said, I will have mercy because of the ten.
And he said, Oh, let not the Lord be angry, that I speak yet but this time! Perhaps there may be ten found there. And he said, I will not destroy [it] for the ten's sake.
33 And the Lord went on his way when his talk with Abraham was ended, and Abraham went back to his place.
And Jehovah went away when he had ended speaking to Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.
