Genesis 18
18
1And Jehovah appeareth unto him among the oaks of Mamre, and he is sitting at the opening of the tent, about the heat of the day;
2and he lifteth up his eyes and looketh, and lo, three men standing by him, and he seeth, and runneth to meet them from the opening of the tent, and boweth himself towards the earth,
3And he saith, ‘My Lord, if, I pray thee, I have found grace in thine eyes, do not, I pray thee, pass on from thy servant;
4let, I pray thee, a little water be accepted, and wash your feet, and recline under the tree;
5and I bring a piece of bread, and support ye your heart; afterwards pass on, for therefore have ye passed over unto your servant;’ and they say, ‘So mayest thou do as thou has spoken.’
6And Abraham hasteth towards the tent, unto Sarah, and saith, ‘Hasten three measures of flour-meal, knead, and make cakes;’
7and Abraham ran unto the herd, and taketh a son of the herd, tender and good, and giveth unto the young man, and he hasteth to prepare it;
8and he taketh butter and milk, and the son of the herd which he hath prepared, and setteth before them; and he is standing by them under the tree, and they do eat.
9And they say unto him, ‘Where [is] Sarah thy wife?’ and he saith, ‘Lo — in the tent;’
10and he saith, ‘returning I return unto thee, about the time of life, and lo, to Sarah thy wife a son.’
11And Sarah is hearkening at the opening of the tent, which is behind him;
12and Abraham and Sarah [are] aged, entering into days — the way of women hath ceased to be to Sarah;
13and Sarah laugheth in her heart, saying, ‘After I have waxed old I have had pleasure! — my lord also [is] old!’
14And Jehovah saith unto Abraham, ‘Why [is] this? Sarah hath laughed, saying, Is it true really — I bear — and I am aged? Is any thing too wonderful for Jehovah? at the appointed time I return unto thee, about the time of life, and Sarah hath a son.’
15And Sarah denieth, saying, ‘I did not laugh;’ for she hath been afraid; and He saith, ‘Nay, but thou didst laugh.’
16And the men rise from thence, and look on the face of Sodom, and Abraham is going with them to send them away;
17and Jehovah said, ‘Am I concealing from Abraham that which I am doing,
18and Abraham certainly becometh a nation great and mighty, and blessed in him have been all nations of the earth?
19for I have known him, that he commandeth his children, and his house after him (and they have kept the way of Jehovah), to do righteousness and judgment, that Jehovah may bring on Abraham that which He hath spoken concerning him.’
20And Jehovah saith, ‘The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah — because great; and their sin — because exceeding grievous:
21I go down now, and see whether according to its cry which is coming unto Me they have done completely — and if not — I know;’
22and the men turn from thence, and go towards Sodom; and Abraham is yet standing before Jehovah.
23And Abraham draweth nigh and saith, ‘Dost Thou also consume righteous with wicked?
24peradventure there are fifty righteous in the midst of the city; dost Thou also consume, and not bear with the place for the sake of the fifty — the righteous who [are] in its midst?
25Far be it from Thee to do according to this thing, to put to death the righteous with the wicked; that it hath been — as the righteous so the wicked — far be it from Thee; doth the Judge of all the earth not do justice?’
26And Jehovah saith, ‘If I find in Sodom fifty righteous in the midst of the city, then have I borne with all the place for their sake.’
27And Abraham answereth and saith, ‘Lo, I pray thee, I have willed to speak unto the Lord, and I — dust and ashes;
28peradventure there are lacking five of the fifty righteous — dost Thou destroy for five the whole of the city?’ and He saith, ‘I destroy [it] not, if I find there forty and five.’
29And he addeth again to speak unto Him and saith, ‘Peradventure there are found there forty?’ and He saith, ‘I do [it] not, because of the forty.’
30And he saith, ‘Let it not be, I Pray thee, displeasing to the Lord, and I speak: peradventure there are found there thirty?’ and He saith, ‘I do [it] not, if I find there thirty.’
31And he saith, ‘Lo, I pray thee, I have willed to speak unto the Lord: peradventure there are found there twenty?’ and He saith, ‘I do not destroy [it], because of the twenty.’
32And he saith, ‘Let it not be, I pray Thee, displeasing to the Lord, and I speak only this time: peradventure there are found there ten?’ and He saith, ‘I do not destroy [it], because of the ten.’
33And Jehovah goeth on, when He hath finished speaking unto Abraham, and Abraham hath turned back to his place.
maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Genesis 18
18
Abraham’s Three Visitors
1The Lord appeared to Abraham at the oaks of Mamre#Gn 13:18; 14:13; 23:17–19 while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the heat of the day. 2He looked up, and he saw three men standing near him.#Gn 18:16,22; 19:1; 32:24; Jos 5:13; Jdg 13:6–11; Heb 13:2 When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them, bowed to the ground, 3and said, “My lord, if I have found favor with you, please do not go on past your servant. 4Let a little water be brought, that you may wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree. 5I will bring a bit of bread so that you may strengthen yourselves. This is why you have passed your servant’s way. Later, you can continue on.”
“Yes,” they replied, “do as you have said.”
6So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Knead three measures#18:6 Lit three seahs; about 21 quarts of fine flour and make bread.”#18:6 A round, thin, unleavened bread 7Abraham ran to the herd and got a tender, choice calf. He gave it to a young man, who hurried to prepare it. 8Then Abraham took curds#18:8 Or butter and milk, as well as the calf that he had prepared, and set them before the men. He served#18:8 Lit was standing by them as they ate under the tree.
Sarah Laughs
9“Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him.
“There, in the tent,” he answered.
10The Lord said, “I will certainly come back to you in about a year’s time, and your wife Sarah will have a son!” #Gn 17:10; 21:1; Rm 9:9 Now Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent behind him.
11Abraham and Sarah were old and getting on in years.#18:11 Lit days Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.#Gn 17:17; Rm 4:19; Heb 11:11–12 12So she laughed to herself: “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I have delight?” #Gn 17:17; Lk 1:18; 1Pt 3:6
13But the Lord asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Can I really have a baby when I’m old?’ 14Is anything impossible for the Lord?#Jb 34:10; Jr 32:17,27; Mt 19:26; Mk 10:27; Lk 1:37; 18:27; Heb 6:18 At the appointed time I will come back to you, and in about a year she will have a son.”
15Sarah denied it. “I did not laugh,” she said, because she was afraid.
But he replied, “No, you did laugh.”
Abraham’s Plea for Sodom
16The men got up from there and looked out over Sodom, and Abraham was walking with them to see them off. 17Then the Lord said, “Should I hide what I am about to do from Abraham?#Am 3:7 18Abraham is to become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him.#Gn 12:3; 26:4; Gl 3:8 19For I have chosen#18:19 Lit known him so that he will command his children and his house after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. This is how the Lord will fulfill to Abraham what he promised him.” 20Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is immense, and their sin is extremely serious. 21I will go down#Gn 11:5; Ex 3:8; Ps 14:2 to see if what they have done justifies the cry that has come up to me. If not, I will find out.”
22The men turned from there and went toward Sodom#Gn 19:1 while Abraham remained standing before the Lord.#18:22 Alt Hb tradition reads while the Lord remained standing before Abraham 23Abraham stepped forward and said, “Will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked?#Ex 23:7; Nm 16:22; 2Sm 24:17; Ps 11:4–7 24What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away instead of sparing the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people who are in it? 25You could not possibly do such a thing: to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. You could not possibly do that! Won’t the Judge of the whole earth do what is just?” #Dt 1:16–17; 32:4; Jb 8:3,20; Ps 58:11; 94:2; Is 3:10–11; Rm 3:5–6
26The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”#Jr 5:1
27Then Abraham answered, “Since I have ventured to speak to my lord — even though I am dust and ashes — 28suppose the fifty righteous lack five. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?”
He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
29Then he spoke to him again, “Suppose forty are found there?”
He answered, “I will not do it on account of forty.”
30Then he said, “Let my lord not be angry, and I will speak further. Suppose thirty are found there?”
He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
31Then he said, “Since I have ventured to speak to my lord, suppose twenty are found there?”
He replied, “I will not destroy it on account of twenty.”
32Then he said, “Let my lord not be angry, and I will speak one more time.#Jdg 6:39 Suppose ten are found there?”
He answered, “I will not destroy it on account of ten.” 33When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he departed, and Abraham returned to his place.
© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers