Genesis 18
1 And YHWH appears to him among the oaks of Mamre, and he is sitting at the opening of the tent, about the heat of the day;
And the LORD appeared to him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;
2 and he lifts up his eyes and looks, and behold, three men standing by him, and he sees, and runs to meet them from the opening of the tent, and bows himself toward the earth,
And he lifted 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 he says, “My Lord, if now I have found grace in Your eyes, please do not pass on 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 please let a little water be accepted, and wash Your feet, and recline under the tree;
Let a little water, I pray you, be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:
5 and I bring a piece of bread, and support Your heart; afterward pass on, for therefore You have passed over to Your servant”; and they say, “So may you do as you have spoken.”
And I will bring a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that you shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.
6 And Abraham hurries toward the tent, to Sarah, and says, “Hurry three measures of flour-meal, knead, and make cakes”;
And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.
7 and Abraham ran to the herd, and takes a son of the herd, tender and good, and gives to the young man, and he hurries to prepare it;
And Abraham ran to the herd, and brought a calf tender and good, and gave it to a young man; and he hasted to dress it.
8 and he takes butter and milk, and the son of the herd which he has prepared, and sets before them; and he is standing by them under the tree, and they eat.
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 ate.
9 And they say to him, “Where [is] Sarah your wife?” And he says, “Behold—in the tent”;
And they said to him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.
10 and He says, “Returning I return to you, about the time of life, and behold, to Sarah your wife a son.” And Sarah is listening at the opening of the tent, which is behind him;
And he said, I will certainly return to 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 and Abraham and Sarah [are] aged, entering into days—the way of women has ceased to be to Sarah;
Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well advanced in years; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
12 and Sarah laughs in her heart, saying, “After I have waxed old have I had pleasure? My lord [is] also old!”
Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am become old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
13 And YHWH says to Abraham, “Why [is] this? Sarah has laughed, saying, Is it really true—I bear—and I am aged?
And the LORD said to Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I certainly bear a child, who am old?
14 Is anything too wonderful for YHWH? At the appointed time I return to you, about the time of life, and Sarah has a son.”
Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return to thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
15 And Sarah denies, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she has been afraid; and He says, “No, but you did laugh.”
Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.
16 And the men rise from there, and look on the face of Sodom, and Abraham is going with them to send them away;
And the men rose up from there, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.
17 and YHWH said, “Am I concealing from Abraham that which I am doing,
And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;
18 and Abraham certainly becomes a great and mighty nation, and blessed in him have been all nations of the earth?
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 known him, that he commands his children, and his house after him (and they have kept the way of YHWH), to do righteousness and judgment, that YHWH may bring on Abraham that which He has spoken concerning him.”
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 righteousness and justice; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.
20 And YHWH says, “The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah—because great; and their sin—because exceedingly grievous:
And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
21 I go down now, and see whether according to its cry which is coming to Me they have done completely—and if not—I know”;
I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come to me; and if not, I will know.
22 and the men turn from there, and go toward Sodom; and Abraham is yet standing before YHWH.
And the men turned their faces from there, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.
23 And Abraham draws near and says, “Do You also consume righteous with wicked?
And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
24 Perhaps there are fifty righteous in the midst of the city; do You also consume, and not bear with the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who [are] in its midst?
Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are in it?
25 Far be it from You to do according to this thing, to put to death the righteous with the wicked; that it has been—as the righteous so the wicked—far be it from You; does the Judge of all the earth not do justice?”
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 YHWH says, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous in the midst of the city, then have I borne with all the place for their sake.”
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 answers and says, “Now behold, I have willed to speak to the Lord, and I [am] dust and ashes;
And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I who am dust and ashes, have taken upon me to speak to the Lord.
28 perhaps there are lacking five of the fifty righteous—do You destroy for five the whole of the city?” And He says, “I do not destroy [it], if I find there forty-five.”
Suppose 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 he adds again to speak to Him and says, “Perhaps there are found there forty?” And He says, “I do not do [it], because of the forty.”
And he spoke to him yet again, and said, Suppose there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty’s sake.
30 And he says, “Please let it not be displeasing to the Lord, and I speak: perhaps there are found there thirty?” And He says, “I do not do [it], if I find there thirty.”
And he said, O let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there.
31 And he says, “Now behold, I have willed to speak to the Lord: perhaps there are found there twenty?” And He says, “I do not destroy [it], because of the twenty.”
And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak to the Lord: Suppose there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake.
32 And he says, “Please let it not be displeasing to the Lord, and I speak only this time: perhaps there are found there ten?” And He says, “I do not destroy [it], because of the ten.”
And he said, O let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Suppose ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.
33 And YHWH goes on, when He has finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham has turned back to his place.
And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had finished speaking with Abraham: and Abraham returned to his place.
