Genesis 18
1 And the Lord appeared unto him in the grove of Mamre; while he was sitting at the door of the tent in the heat of the day.
The Lord appeared to Abraham at the oaks of Mamre. Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent as the day became really hot.
2 And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and lo, three men stood near him; and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the door of the tent, and bowed himself to the ground;
He looked up and all of a sudden he saw three men standing there. As soon as he saw them, he ran over to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
3 And he said, My Lord, if now I have found favor in thy eyes, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant.
He said, “Sir, if you please, don't continue your journey without spending some time here with me, your servant.
4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.
Let me have some water brought so you can wash your feet and rest under the tree.
5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your heart, after that ye may pass on; since ye have once passed by your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast spoken.
Also let me bring some food so you can get your strength back before you go on your way, now that you've come to visit me here.” “That would be fine,” they answered. “Please do as you've suggested.”
6 And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes.
Abraham hurried back to the tent and told Sarah, “Quick! Make some bread using three large measures of the best flour. Knead the dough and bake the bread.”
7 And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man, and he hastened to dress it.
Then Abraham ran to the cattle herd and chose a good, young calf and gave it to his servant who quickly killed and cooked it.
8 And he took cream 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.
Then he took some yogurt, milk, and the cooked meat, and placed the food in front of them. He stood nearby under a tree while they ate.
9 And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife! And he said, Behold, in the tent.
“Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him. “Over there, inside the tent,” he replied.
10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee at this time next year: and lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it at the door of the tent, which was behind him.
Then one said, “I promise you that I will come back to visit you about this time next year, and your wife Sarah will have a son.” Sarah was listening, hiding just inside the entrance to the tent behind him.
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in years; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
Abraham and Sarah were old, getting on in years. Sarah was well past the age of having children.
12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord also being old!
Sarah was laughing inside, saying to herself, “Now that I'm old and worn out, how would I experience pleasure? My husband is old too!”
13 And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, since I am old?
The Lord asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and ask, ‘How could it possibly be true that I'll have a child now I'm so old?’
14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, at this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.
Is anything too difficult for the Lord to do? I will come back next year when I said I would, in the spring, and Sarah will have a son.”
15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid; but he said, Nay; indeed thou didst laugh.
Sarah denied it because she was afraid, claiming, “I didn't laugh.” “Yes, you did laugh,” the Lord replied.
16 And the men rose up from there and looked toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.
Then the men left. They looked down on Sodom and headed in that direction. Abraham accompanied them part of the way.
17 And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about doing?
Then the Lord said, “Should I keep from Abraham what I'm going to do?
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 will definitely become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on earth will be blessed through him.
19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, that they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice; in order that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken concerning him.
I've chosen him so that he will teach his sons and their families to follow the way of the Lord by doing what is right and good, so that I, the Lord, can do for Abraham what I promised.”
20 And the Lord said, Because the cry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous:
Then the Lord said, “There are many complaints made against Sodom and Gomorrah because they sin so blatantly.
21 I will go down now, and see if they have done according to the cry against them, which is come unto me, destruction [shall come upon them]; and if not, I will know it.
I ‘m going to see if these complaints that have reached me are completely true. I'll know if they're not.”
22 And the men turned their faces from there, and went toward Sodom; but Abraham stood yet before the Lord.
The two men turned and went towards Sodom, but the Lord stayed there with Abraham.
23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou then destroy the righteous also with the wicked?
Abraham came to him and asked: “Are you really going to wipe out the good people along with the wicked?
24 Peradventure there are fifty righteous within the city; wilt thou then also destroy and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous that are therein?
What if there are fifty good people in the town? Are you still going to wipe it out despite the fifty good people there?
25 Far be it from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, and that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be this from thee; shall the Judge of all the earth not exercise justice?
No, you can't do something like that! You can't kill the good with the wicked, otherwise you would be treating the good and the wicked in the same way. You can't do that! Isn't the Judge of all the earth going to do the right thing?”
26 And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then will I spare all of the place for their sake.
“If I find fifty good people in Sodom, I'll spare the whole town because of them,” the Lord replied.
27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes:
“Since I've started, let me go on speaking to my Lord, even though I'm nothing but dust and ashes,” Abraham continued.
28 Peradventure there will lack five of the fifty righteous; wilt thou then destroy all the city for the [lack of] these five? And he said, I will not destroy, if I find there forty and five.
“What if there are forty-five good people, just five less? Are you still going to wipe out the whole town just because there are five fewer people?” “I won't destroy it if I find forty-five,” the Lord replied.
29 And he spoke yet again unto him, and said, Peradventure there will be found there forty. And he said, I will not do it for the sake of the forty.
Abraham spoke up again and he asked the Lord, “What if only forty can be found?” “I won't do it for the sake of the forty,” the Lord replied.
30 And he said, Oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there will be found there thirty. And he said, I will not do it, if I find there thirty.
“My Lord, please don't get angry with me,” Abraham went on. “Let me ask this—what if only thirty were found?” “I won't do it if I find thirty,” the Lord replied.
31 And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there will be found there twenty. And he said, I will not destroy for the sake of the twenty.
“I admit I've been very bold to speak to my Lord like this,” Abraham said. “What if only twenty are found there?” “I won't do it for the sake of the twenty,” the Lord replied.
32 And he said, Oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure there will be found there ten. And he said, I will not destroy, for the sake of the ten.
“Please don't get angry with me, my Lord,” Abraham said. “Just let me ask one more thing. What if only ten are found there?” “I won't destroy it for the sake of the ten,” the Lord replied.
33 And the Lord went away, when he had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned unto his place.
The Lord left once he had finished speaking with Abraham, and Abraham went home.
