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;
Then the LORD appeared to Abraham by the Oaks of Mamre in the heat of the day, while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent.
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 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
3 And said, My Lord, if now I have grace in your eyes, do not go away from your servant:
“My lord,” said Abraham, “if I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass your servant by.
4 Let me get water for washing your feet, and take your rest under the tree:
Let a little water be brought, that you 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 bring a bit of bread so that you may refresh yourselves. This is why you have passed your servant’s way. After that, you may continue on your way.” “Yes,” they replied, “you may 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.
So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Prepare three seahs of fine flour, knead it, and bake some bread.”
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;
Meanwhile, Abraham ran to the herd, selected a tender and choice calf, and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare 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.
Then Abraham brought curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and he set them before the men and stood by them under the tree as they ate.
9 And they said to him, Where is Sarah your wife? And he said, She is in the tent.
“Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked. “There, in the tent,” he replied.
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.
Then the LORD said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year, and your wife Sarah will have a son!” Now Sarah was behind him, listening at the entrance to the tent.
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were very old, and Sarah was past the time for giving birth.
And Abraham and Sarah were already old and well along in years; 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?
So she laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?”
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 the LORD asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Can 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 difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you—in about a year—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.
But Sarah was afraid, so she denied it and said, “I did not laugh.” “No,” replied the LORD, “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.
When the men got up to leave, they looked out over Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them off.
17 And the Lord said, Am I to keep back from Abraham the knowledge of what I do;
And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to 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?
Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed.
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 chosen him, so that he will command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, in order that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has promised.”
20 And the Lord said, Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is very great, and their sin is very evil,
Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great. Because their sin is so 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 to see if their actions fully justify the outcry that has reached Me. If not, I will find out.”
22 And the men, turning from that place, went on to Sodom: but Abraham was still waiting before the Lord.
And the two men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD.
23 And Abraham came near, and said, Will you let destruction come on the upright with the sinners?
Abraham stepped forward and said, “Will You really sweep away 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 ones in the city? Will You really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous ones who are there?
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 You to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”
26 And the Lord said, If there are fifty upright men in the town, I will have mercy on it because of them.
So the LORD replied, “If I find fifty righteous ones within the city of Sodom, on their account I will spare the whole place.”
27 And Abraham answering said, Truly, I who am only dust, have undertaken to put my thoughts before the Lord:
Then Abraham answered, “Now that I have ventured to speak to the Lord—though I am but 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.
suppose the fifty righteous ones lack five. Will You destroy the whole city for the lack of five?” He replied, “If I 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.
Once again Abraham spoke to the LORD, “Suppose forty are found there?” He answered, “On account of the forty, I will not do it.”
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.
Then Abraham said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak further. Suppose thirty are found there?” He replied, “If I find thirty there, I will not do it.”
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 Abraham said, “Now that I have ventured to speak to the Lord, suppose twenty are found there?” He answered, “On account of the twenty, I will not destroy it.”
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.
Finally, Abraham said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak once more. Suppose ten are found there?” And He answered, “On account of the ten, I will not destroy it.”
33 And the Lord went on his way when his talk with Abraham was ended, and Abraham went back to his place.
When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, He departed, and Abraham returned home.
