Genesis18

¹Now the Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day.

²When he raised his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed down to the ground,

³and said, “My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please do not pass Your servant by.

⁴Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and make yourselves comfortable under the tree;

⁵and I will bring a piece of bread, so that you may refresh yourselves; after that you may go on, since you have visited your servant.” And they said, “So do as you have said.”

⁶So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Quickly, prepare three measures of fine flour, knead it, and make bread cakes.”

⁷Abraham also ran to the herd, and took a tender and choice calf and gave it to the servant, and he hurried to prepare it.

⁸He took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree as they ate.

⁹Then they said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.”

¹⁰He said, “I will certainly return to you at this time next year; and behold, your wife Sarah will have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him.

¹¹Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing.

¹²So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have become old, am I to have pleasure, my lord being old also?”

¹³But the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I actually give birth to a child, when I am so old?’

¹⁴Is anything too difficult for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

¹⁵Sarah denied it, however, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”

¹⁶Then the men rose up from there, and looked down toward Sodom; and Abraham was walking with them to send them off.

¹⁷The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do,

¹⁸since Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed?

¹⁹For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.”

²⁰And the Lord said, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave.

²¹I will go down now and see whether they have done entirely as the outcry, which has come to Me indicates; and if not, I will know.”

²²Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the Lord.

²³Abraham approached and said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?

²⁴Suppose there are fifty righteous people within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it?

²⁵Far be it from You to do such a thing, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?”

²⁶So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the entire place on their account.”

²⁷And Abraham replied, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am only dust and ashes.

²⁸Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the entire city because of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”

²⁹And he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose forty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it on account of the forty.”

³⁰Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

³¹And he said, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.”

³²Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once: suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.”

³³As soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham the Lord departed, and Abraham returned to his place.