Genesis 18
1 Forsothe in the valei of Mambre the Lord apperide to Abraham, sittynge in the dore of his tabernacle, in thilke heete of the dai.
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.
2 And whanne he hadde reisid his iyen, thre men apperiden to hym, and stoden nyy hym. And whanne he hadde seyn hem, he ran fro the dore of his tabernacle in to the meting of hem, and he worschipide on erthe,
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;
3 and seide, Lord, if Y haue founde grace in thin iyen, passe thou not thi seruaunt,
And he said, My Lord, if now I have found favor in thy eyes, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant.
4 but I schal brynge a litil watir, and youre feet be waischid, and reste ye vndur the tre;
Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.
5 and Y schal sette a mussel of breed, and youre herte be coumfortid; aftirward ye schulen passe; for herfor ye bowiden to youre seruaunt. Whiche seiden, Do thou as thou hast spoke.
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.
6 Abraham hastide in to the tabernacle, to Sare, and seide to hir, Hast thou, meddle thou thre half buschelis of clene flour; and make thou looues bakun vndur aischis.
And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes.
7 Forsothe he ran to the droue of beestis, and took therof a calf moost tendre and best, and yaf to a child, which hastide, and sethede the calfe;
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.
8 and he took botere, and mylk, and the calf which he hadde sode, and settide bifore hem; forsothe Abraham stood bisidis hem vndur the tre.
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.
9 And whanne thei hadden ete, thei seiden to hym, Where is Sare thi wijf? He answerde, Lo! sche is in the tabernacle.
And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife! And he said, Behold, in the tent.
10 To whom the Lord seide, Y schal turne ayen, and Y schal come to thee in this tyme, if Y lyue; and Sare, thi wijf, schal haue a sone. Whanne this was herd, Sare leiyede bihynde the dore of the tabernacle.
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.
11 Forsothe bothe weren olde, and of greet age, and wommans termes ceessiden to be maad to Sare.
Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in years; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
12 And she leiyede, seiynge pryueli, after that Y wexede eld, and my lord is eld, schal Y yyue diligence to lust?
Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord also being old!
13 Forsothe the Lord seide to Abraham, Whi leiyeth Sare, thi wijf, seiynge, whether Y an eld womman schal bere child verili?
And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, since I am old?
14 whether ony thing is hard to God? Bi the biheeste Y schal turne ayen to thee in this same tyme, if Y lyue; and Sara schal haue a sone.
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.
15 Sare was aferd for drede, and denyede, seiynge, Y leiyede not. Forsothe the Lord seide, It is not so, but thou leiyedist.
Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid; but he said, Nay; indeed thou didst laugh.
16 Therfor whanne the men hadden risen fro thennus, thei dressiden the iyen ayens Sodom; and Abraham yede to gidre, ledynge hem forth.
And the men rose up from there and looked toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.
17 And the Lord seide, Wher Y mowe hele fro Abraham what thingis Y schal do,
And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about doing?
18 sithen he schal be in to a greet folk and moost strong, and alle naciouns of erthe schulen be blessid in hym?
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 Y woot that Abraham schal comaunde hise children, and his hows after hym, that thei kepe the weie of the Lord, and that thei do riytfulnesse and dom, that the Lord bringe for Abraham alle thingis whiche he spak to Abraham.
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.
20 And so the Lord seide, The cry of men of Sodom and of men of Gomorre is multiplied, and her synne is agreggid greetli; Y schal come doun,
And the Lord said, Because the cry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous:
21 and schal se whether thei han fillid in werk the cry that cam to me, that Y wite whether it is not so.
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.
22 And thei turneden han fro thennus, and yeden to Sodom. Abraham sotheli stood yit bifore the Lord,
And the men turned their faces from there, and went toward Sodom; but Abraham stood yet before the Lord.
23 and neiyede, and seide, Whether thou schalt leese a iust man with the wickid man?
And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou then destroy the righteous also with the wicked?
24 if fifti iust men ben in the citee, schulen thei perische togidere, and schalt thou not spare that place for fifti iust men, if thei ben ther ynne?
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?
25 Fer be it fro thee that thou do this thing, and sle a iust man with a wickid man, and that a iust man be maad as a wickid man; this is not thin that demest al erthe; thou schalt not make this doom.
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?
26 And the Lord seide to him, If Y schal fynde in Sodom fifti iust men in the myddis of the citee, Y schal foryyue to al the place for hem.
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.
27 Abraham answerde and seide, For Y bigan onys, Y schal speke to my Lord, sithen Y am dust and aische;
And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes:
28 what if lesse than fifti iust men bi fyue ben, schalt thou do a wey al the cite for fyue and fourti? And the Lord seide, Y schal not do a wei, if I schal fynde fyue and fourti there.
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.
29 And eft Abraham seide to hym, But if fourti ben there, what schalt thou do? The Lord seide, Y schal not smyte for fourti.
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.
30 Abraham seide, Lord, Y biseche, take thou not to indignacioun, if Y speke; what if thretti be foundun there? The Lord answerde, Y schal not do, if Y schal fynde thretti there.
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.
31 Abraham seide, For Y bigan onys, Y schal speke to my Lord; what if twenti be foundun there? The Lord seide, Y schal not sle for twenti.
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.
32 Abraham seide, Lord, Y biseche, be thou not wrooth, if Y speke yit onys; what if ten be founden there? The Lord seide, Y schal not do a wey for ten.
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.
33 The Lord yede forth, after that he ceesside to speke to Abraham, and Abraham turnede ayen in to his place.
And the Lord went away, when he had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned unto his place.
