Genesis 18
1 And the Lord appeared to him in the vale of Mambre as he was sitting at the door of his tent, in the very 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 when he had lifted up his eyes, there appeared to him three men standing near him: and as soon as he saw them he ran to meet them from the door of his tent, and adored down to the ground.
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 he said: Lord, if I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away from thy servant:
And said, My Lord, if now I have grace in your eyes, do not go away from your servant:
4 But I will fetch a little water, and wash ye your feet, and rest ye under the tree.
Let me get water for washing your feet, and take your rest under the tree:
5 And I will set a morsel of bread, and strengthen ye your heart, afterwards you shall pass on: for therefore are you come aside to your servant. And they said: Do as thou hast spoken.
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 Abraham made haste into the tent to Sara, and said to her: Make haste, temper together three measures of flour, and make cakes upon the hearth.
Then Abraham went quickly into the tent, and said to Sarah, Get three measures of meal straight away and make cakes.
7 And he himself ran to the herd, and took from thence a calf very tender and very good, and gave it to a young man: who made haste and boiled 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 He took also butter and milk, and the calf which he had boiled, and set before them: but he stood by them under the tree.
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 when they had eaten, they said to him: Where is Sara thy wife? He answered: Lo, she is 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 to him: I will return and come to thee at this time, life accompanying and Sara thy wife shall have a son. Which when Sara heard, she laughed behind the door of the tent.
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 they were both old, and far advanced in years, and it had ceased to be with Sara after the manner of women.
Now Abraham and Sarah were very old, and Sarah was past the time for giving birth.
12 And she laughed secretly, saying: After I am grown old and my lord is an old man, shall I give myself to pleasure?
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 the Lord said to Abraham: Why did Sara laugh, saying: Shall I who am an old woman bear a child indeed?
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 there any thing hard to God? According to appointment I will return to thee at this same time, life accompanying, and Sara 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 Sara denied, saying: I did not laugh: for she was afraid. But the Lord said, Nay: but thou didst laugh:
Then Sarah said, I was not laughing; for she was full of fear. And he said, No, but you were laughing.
16 And when the men rose up from thence, they turned their eyes towards Sodom: and Abraham walked with them, bringing 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 the Lord said: Can I hide from Abraham what I am about to do:
And the Lord said, Am I to keep back from Abraham the knowledge of what I do;
18 Seeing he shall become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth shall be blessed?
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 know that he will command his children, and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord, and do judgment and justice: that for Abraham’s sake the Lord may bring to effect all the things he hath spoken unto 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 the Lord said: The cry of Sodom and Gomorrha is multiplied, and their sin is become exceedingly 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 and see whether they have done according to the cry that is come to me: or whether it be not so, that I may 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 they turned themselves from thence, and went their way to Sodom: but Abraham as yet stood before the Lord.
And the men, turning from that place, went on to Sodom: but Abraham was still waiting before the Lord.
23 And drawing nigh he said: Wilt thou destroy the just with the wicked?
And Abraham came near, and said, Will you let destruction come on the upright with the sinners?
24 If there be fifty just men in the city, shall they perish withal? and wilt thou not spare that place for the sake of the fifty just, if they be therein?
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 Far be it from thee to do this thing, and to slay the just with the wicked, and for the just to be in like case as the wicked, this is not beseeming thee: thou who judgest all the earth, wilt not make this judgment.
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 the Lord said to him: If I find in Sodom fifty just within the city, I will spare the whole 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: Seeing I have once begun, I will speak to my Lord, whereas I am dust and ashes.
And Abraham answering said, Truly, I who am only dust, have undertaken to put my thoughts before the Lord:
28 What if there be five less than fifty just persons? wilt thou for five and forty destroy the whole city? And he said: I will not destroy it, if I find five and forty.
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 again he said to him: But if forty be found there, what wilt thou do? He said: I will not destroy it for the sake of forty.
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 Lord, saith he, be not angry, I beseech thee, if I speak: What if thirty shall be found there? He answered: 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 Seeing, saith he, I have once begun, I will speak to my Lord. What if twenty be found there? He said: I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.
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 I beseech thee, saith he, be not angry, Lord, if I speak yet once more: What if ten should be found there? And he said: I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.
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 the Lord departed, after he had left speaking to 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.
