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 Yahweh appeared unto him among the oaks of Mamre, —as, he, was sitting at the opening of the tent 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 looked, and lo! three men, standing over against him, —so he looked and ran to meet them from the opening of the tent, 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, —O My Lord! if, I pray thee, I have found favour in thine eyes, do not I pray thee pass on from thy servant.
4 Let me get water for washing your feet, and take your rest under the tree:
Let there be fetched, I pray thee a little water, and bathe ye 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 let me fetch a morsel of bread, and stay ye your heart, Afterwards, ye may pass on, For on this account, have ye passed by, over against your servant. And they said, Thus, shalt thou do as thou hast spoken.
6 Then Abraham went quickly into the tent, and said to Sarah, Get three measures of meal straight away and make cakes.
So Abraham hastened towards the tent unto Sarah, —and said, Hasten thou three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make hearth-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 unto the herd, ran Abraham, —and took a calf tender and good and gave unto the young man, and he hastened to make it ready.
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 that he had made ready, and set before them, —while, he, was standing near them under the tree, 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, As to Sarah thy wife… And he said Lo! [she is] 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, surely return, unto thee at the quickening season, —and lo! a son for Sarah thy wife. Now Sarah, was hearkening at the opening of the tent, it, being behind him.
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were very old, and Sarah was past the time for giving birth.
But Abraham and Sarah, were old, far gone in days, —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?
So then Sarah laughed within herself, saying: After I am past age, hath there come to me pleasure, my lord, also being 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 Yahweh said unto Abraham, —Wherefore now did Sarah laugh saying. Can it really and truly be that I should bear, seeing that I have 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 anything, too wonderful for Yahweh? At the appointed time, I will return unto thee, at the quickening season 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 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 out over the face of Sodom, —Abraham also going with them to set them on their way.
17 And the Lord said, Am I to keep back from Abraham the knowledge of what I do;
Now, Yahweh, had said, —Am I going to 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?
when, 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 have become his intimate friend, To the end that he may command his sons and his house after him, so shall they keep the way of Yahweh, by doing righteousness and justice. To the end that Yahweh may bring in for Abraham, what he hath spoken concerning him.
20 And the Lord said, Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is very great, and their sin is very evil,
So Yahweh said, The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah, because it hath become great, —And their sin, because it hath become exceeding 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.
Let me go down, pray, and let me behold, whether according to their outcry which hath come in unto me, they have done altogether, And if not. I must 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 from thence, and went their way, towards Sodom, —but, Yahweh was yet standing before Abraham.
23 And Abraham came near, and said, Will you let destruction come on the upright with the sinners?
So then Abraham drew near and said, Wilt thou really sweep away, the righteous with the lawless?
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 are fifty righteous, in the midst of the city, Wilt thou really sweep away, and not spare the place, for the sake of the fifty righteous which 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 after this manner. to put to death the righteous with the lawless! Then should righteous and lawless be alike, Far be it from thee! Shall, the Judge of all the earth not do justice?
26 And the Lord said, If there are fifty upright men in the town, I will have mercy on it because of them.
And Yahweh said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous in the midst of the city, then will I spare all the place for their sake.
27 And Abraham answering said, Truly, I who am only dust, have undertaken to put my thoughts before the Lord:
And Abraham responded and said, —Behold I pray thee I have ventured to speak unto My Lord, though 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.
Peradventure there may lack, of the fifty righteous, five, Wilt thou destroy for five all the city? And he said, I will not destroy, if I find there forty and five.
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 added, yet once more, to speak unto him, and said, Peradventure there may be found there—forty. And he said—I will not do it, for the sake of the forty.
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 Let it not, I pray thee, be vexing to My Lord, but let me speak, Peradventure there may be found there—thirty And he said, I will not to it, if I find there—thirty.
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, I pray thee, I have ventured to speak unto My Lord, Peradventure there may be found there—twenty. And he said I will not destroy it, for the sake of the twenty.
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, Let it not, I pray thee, be vexing to My Lord, but let me speak only this once, Peradventure there may be found there—ten. And he said, I will not destroy [it], for the sake of the ten!
33 And the Lord went on his way when his talk with Abraham was ended, and Abraham went back to his place.
And Yahweh went his way, when he had made an end. of speaking unto Abraham, —Abraham, also returned to his place.
