Genesis 18
1 And Jehovah appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day.
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;
2 And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him. And when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to the earth,
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;
3 and said, My lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant.
And said, My Lord, if now I have grace in your eyes, do not go away from your servant:
4 Let now a little water be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.
Let me get water for washing your feet, and take your rest under the tree:
5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and strengthen ye your heart. After that ye shall pass on, inasmuch as ye came to your servant. And they said, Do so as thou have said.
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.
6 And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes.
Then Abraham went quickly into the tent, and said to Sarah, Get three measures of meal straight away and make cakes.
7 And Abraham ran to the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it to the servant. And he hastened to dress it.
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;
8 And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree, and they ate.
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.
9 And they said to him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.
And they said to him, Where is Sarah your wife? And he said, She is in the tent.
10 And he said, I will certainly return to thee when the season comes round, and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard in the tent door, which was behind him.
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.
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, and well stricken in age. It had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
Now Abraham and Sarah were very old, and Sarah was past the time for giving birth.
12 And Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I have become old shall I have pleasure, my lord also being old?
And Sarah, laughing to herself, said, Now that I am used up am I still to have pleasure, my husband himself being old?
13 And Jehovah said to Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I who am old certainly bear a child?
And the Lord said, Why was Sarah laughing and saying, Is it possible for me, being old, to give birth to a child?
14 Is anything too hard for Jehovah? At the set time I will return to thee, when the season comes round, and Sarah shall have a son.
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.
15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I did not laugh, for she was afraid. And he said, No, but thou did laugh.
Then Sarah said, I was not laughing; for she was full of fear. And he said, No, but you were laughing.
16 And the men rose up from there, and looked toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.
And the men went on from there in the direction of Sodom; and Abraham went with them on their way.
17 And Jehovah said, Shall I hide from Abraham that which I do,
And the Lord said, Am I to keep back from Abraham the knowledge of what I do;
18 since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
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?
19 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 Jehovah, to do righteousness and justice, to the end that Jehovah may bring upon Abraham that which he has spoken of him.
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.
20 And Jehovah said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous,
And the Lord said, Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is very great, and their sin is very evil,
21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which comes to me. And if not, I will know.
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.
22 And the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, but Abraham yet stood before Jehovah.
And the men, turning from that place, went on to Sodom: but Abraham was still waiting before the Lord.
23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Will thou consume righteous men with wicked men?
And Abraham came near, and said, Will you let destruction come on the upright with the sinners?
24 Perhaps there are fifty righteous men within the city. Will thou consume and not spare the place for the fifty righteous men that are in it?
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?
25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay a righteous man with a wicked man, that so the righteous man should be as the wicked man. Far be it from thee. Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
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?
26 And Jehovah said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous men within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sake.
And the Lord said, If there are fifty upright men in the town, I will have mercy on it because of them.
27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak to the Lord, who am but dust and ashes.
And Abraham answering said, Truly, I who am only dust, have undertaken to put my thoughts before the Lord:
28 Perhaps there shall lack five of the fifty righteous men. Will thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, I will not destroy it, if I find there forty-five.
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.
29 And he spoke to him yet again, and said, Perhaps there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for the forty's sake.
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.
30 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Perhaps there shall be thirty found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there.
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.
31 And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak to the Lord. Perhaps there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for the twenty's sake.
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.
32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once. Perhaps ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for the ten's sake.
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.
33 And Jehovah went his way as soon as he had left off conversing with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.
And the Lord went on his way when his talk with Abraham was ended, and Abraham went back to his place.
