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 the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and 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;
And he lift 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 toward the ground,
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 thy sight, 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 a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and 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 comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to 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 unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.
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 unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; 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 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 did eat.
9 And they said to him, Where is Sarah your wife? And he said, She is in the tent.
And they said unto 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 unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it 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 and well stricken in age; and it 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?
Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall 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?
And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which 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 any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, 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.
Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; 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 from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.
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 that thing which 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?
Seeing that Abraham shall surely 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 the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which 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 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 they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and 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.
And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward 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?
And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy 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?
Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for 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?
That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall 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 the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare 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 taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which 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.
Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, 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 spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for 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 unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be 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 taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for 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, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for 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 the Lord went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.
