Genesis 18
1 And the LORD appeared unto him by the terebinths of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;
One day during that year when it was hot, Yahweh appeared to Abraham again near the big trees that belonged to Mamre, while Abraham was sitting in the entrance to his tent.
2 and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood over against him; and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed down to the earth,
Abraham looked up [MTY] and was surprised to see three men standing near him. [Actually, one was Yahweh, and the other two were angels]. When he saw them, he ran to meet them. He prostrated himself with his face on the ground to show respect,
3 and said: 'My lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant.
and said [to one of them], “Sir, if you are pleased with me, stay here for a little while [LIT].
4 Let now a little water be fetched, and wash your feet, and recline yourselves under the tree.
Allow my servants to bring a little water and wash your feet, and rest under this tree.
5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and stay ye your heart; after that ye shall pass on; forasmuch as ye are come to your servant.' And they said: 'So do, as thou hast said.'
Since you have come here to me, allow me to bring you some food [SYN] so that you can feel refreshed before you leave.” Yahweh replied, “All right, do as you have said.”
6 And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said: 'Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes.'
So Abraham quickly went into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick, get some of our best flour and make some loaves of bread!”
7 And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it unto the servant; and he hastened to dress it.
Then he ran to the herd of cattle and selected a calf whose meat would be tender and tasty. He gave it to one of his servants [and told him to] quickly kill it and cook it.
8 And he took curd, 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.
When the meat was cooked, Abraham brought some curds and milk and the meat that had been prepared, and set them in front of his visitors. Then he stood near them, under a tree, while they ate.
9 And they said unto him: 'Where is Sarah thy wife?' And he said: 'Behold, in the tent.'
[One of] them asked him, “Where is Sarah, your wife?” He replied, “She is in the tent.”
10 And He said: 'I will certainly return unto thee when the season cometh round; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son.' And Sarah heard in the tent door, which was behind him. —
Then the leader of the group said, “I will return to you (about this time/in the springtime) next year, and to your amazement, your wife Sarah will have an infant son.” It happened that Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, which was behind the one who was speaking.
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, and well stricken in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. —
Abraham and Sarah were very old, and Sarah was far past the time of when she could bear children.
12 And Sarah laughed within herself, saying: 'After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?'
So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, “My body is worn out, and my husband is old. So how can I have the pleasure [of having a child]?” [RHQ]
13 And the LORD said unto Abraham: 'Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying: Shall I of a surety bear a child, who am old?
Yahweh said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why was she thinking, ‘I am too old, so how can I bear a child?’
14 Is any thing too hard for the LORD. At the set time I will return unto thee, when the season cometh round, and Sarah shall have a son.'
I am Yahweh! (Is there anything too difficult for me?/There is nothing too difficult for me!) [RHQ] I will return about this time next year in the springtime, and Sarah will have an infant son.”
15 Then Sarah denied, saying: 'I laughed not'; for she was afraid. And He said: 'Nay; but thou didst laugh.'
Then Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.” But Yahweh said, “Don’t deny it! You did laugh.”
16 And the men rose up from thence, and looked out toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.
When the three men got up to leave, they looked down into the valley toward Sodom [city]. Abraham was walking with them to say “goodbye” to them.
17 And the LORD said: 'Shall I hide from Abraham that which I am doing;
Yahweh thought to himself, “It is not right for me to prevent Abraham from knowing what I plan to do [RHQ].
18 seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
Abraham’s descendants [MTY] will become a great and powerful nation. And people of [MTY] all nations will be blessed because of what I do for him.
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 the LORD, to do righteousness and justice; to the end that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which He hath spoken of him.'
I have chosen him in order that he will teach his children and their families to obey me and do what is right and fair, and then I will do for Abraham what I promised.”
20 And the LORD said: 'Verily, the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and, verily, their sin is exceeding grievous.
So Yahweh said to Abraham, “I have heard the terrible things that have been said about the people of [MTY] Sodom and Gomorrah. Their sins are very great.
21 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.'
So I will go down now, and I will see if all the terrible things that I have heard are true or not true.”
22 And the men turned from thence, and went toward Sodom; but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.
Then the two men turned and started walking toward Sodom. But Yahweh remained, standing in front of Abraham.
23 And Abraham drew near, and said: 'Wilt Thou indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
Abraham came closer to him and said, “Will you really destroy righteous people along with wicked ones?
24 Peradventure there are fifty righteous within the city; wilt Thou indeed sweep away and not forgive the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?
What will you do if there are only 50 righteous people in the city? Will you really get rid of them all, and not spare the place/city for the sake of the 50 righteous people who are in the city?
25 That be far from Thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that so the righteous should be as the wicked; that be far from Thee; shall not the judge of all the earth do justly?'
It would certainly not be right for you to do such a thing, to kill righteous people along with wicked ones, and treat righteous people and wicked people the same way. You could not do that, because you, who are the judge of everyone on the earth, will certainly do what is right [regarding the people of Sodom]!” [RHQ]
26 And the LORD said: 'If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will forgive all the place for their sake.'
Yahweh replied, “If I find 50 righteous people in Sodom, I will spare the whole place/city for their sake.”
27 And Abraham answered and said: 'Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, who am but dust and ashes.
Abraham replied, “I should not be bold like this and speak to you, God, because I am as worthless as dust and ashes [MET].
28 Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous; wilt Thou destroy all the city for lack of five?' And He said: 'I will not destroy it, if I find there forty and five.'
But what will you do if there are only 45 righteous people? Will you destroy everyone in the whole city because there are only 45 and not 50 righteous people?” Yahweh replied, “I will not destroy it if I find that there are 45 righteous people.”
29 And he spoke unto Him yet again, and said: 'Peradventure there shall be forty found there.' And He said: 'I will not do it for the forty's sake.'
Abraham continued to speak to him [like this], saying, “What will you do if you find that there are only 40 righteous people there?” Yahweh replied, “I will not destroy them all, for the sake of the 40.”
30 And he said: '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.'
Abraham said, “God, please don’t be angry now. Let me speak again. What will you do if there are only 30 righteous people?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find that there are 30 there.”
31 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 the twenty's sake.'
Abraham said, “I should not be bold and speak to you like this, God. But what will you do if you find that there are only 20 righteous people there?” He replied, “I will not destroy the whole city, for the sake of those 20.”
32 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 the ten's sake.'
Abraham said, “God, don’t be angry now. Just let me speak one time more. What will you do if you find that there are only ten righteous people there?” Yahweh answered, “I will not destroy the city for the sake of those ten.”
33 And the LORD went His way, as soon as He had left off speaking to Abraham; and Abraham returned unto his place.
Abraham said no more, and as soon as Yahweh finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.
