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;
The LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat in 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;
He lifted up his eyes and looked, and saw that three men stood near him. 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, “My lord, if now I have found favour in your sight, please don’t go away from your servant.
4 Let me get water for washing your feet, and take your rest under the tree:
Now let a little water be fetched, 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.
I will get a piece of bread so you can refresh your heart. After that you may go your way, now that you have come to your servant.” They said, “Very well, do as you have said.”
6 Then Abraham went quickly into the tent, and said to Sarah, Get three measures of meal straight away and make cakes.
Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Quickly prepare three seahs of fine meal, knead it, 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;
Abraham ran to the herd, and fetched a tender and good calf, and gave it to the servant. He hurried 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.
He took butter, milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them. He stood by 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.
They asked him, “Where is Sarah, your wife?” He said, “There, 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.
He said, “I will certainly return to you at about this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” Sarah heard in 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, well advanced in age. Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.
12 And Sarah, laughing to herself, said, Now that I am used up am I still to have pleasure, my husband himself being old?
Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old will I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”
13 And the Lord said, Why was Sarah laughing and saying, Is it possible for me, being old, to give birth to a child?
The LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Will I really bear a child when I am 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 anything too hard for the LORD? At the set time I will return to you, when the season comes around, and Sarah will 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.
Then Sarah denied it, saying, “I didn’t laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
16 And the men went on from there in the direction of Sodom; and Abraham went with them on their way.
The men rose up from there, and looked towards Sodom. Abraham went with them to see them on their way.
17 And the Lord said, Am I to keep back from Abraham the knowledge of what I do;
The LORD said, “Will I hide from Abraham what I do,
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 will surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will 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 have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice; to the end that the LORD may bring on Abraham that which he has spoken of him.”
20 And the Lord said, Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is very great, and their sin is very evil,
The LORD said, “Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because 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 their deeds are as bad as the reports which have come to me. If not, I will know.”
22 And the men, turning from that place, went on to Sodom: but Abraham was still waiting before the Lord.
The men turned from there, and went towards Sodom, but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.
23 And Abraham came near, and said, Will you let destruction come on the upright with the sinners?
Abraham came near, and said, “Will you consume the righteous 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?
What if there are fifty righteous within the city? Will you consume and not spare the place for the fifty righteous who are in it?
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?
May it be far from you to do things like that, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be like the wicked. May that be far from you. Shouldn’t 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.
The LORD said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
27 And Abraham answering said, Truly, I who am only dust, have undertaken to put my thoughts before the Lord:
Abraham answered, “See now, I have taken it on myself to speak to the Lord, although I 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.
What if there will lack five of the fifty righteous? Will you destroy all the city for lack of five?” He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
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.
He spoke to him yet again, and said, “What if there are forty found there?” 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.
He said, “Oh don’t let the Lord be angry, and I will speak. What if there are thirty found there?” 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.
He said, “See now, I have taken it on myself to speak to the Lord. What if there are twenty found there?” 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.
He said, “Oh don’t let the Lord be angry, and I will speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” 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.
The LORD went his way as soon as he had finished communing with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.
