18
Genesis 18
1¶ And the Lord appeared unto him among the terebinth trees of Mamre; and he was sitting in the door of his tent in the heat of the day;
2and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, 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
3and said, My Lord, if now I have found grace in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy slave.
4Let a little water, I pray you, be brought and wash your feet and rest yourselves under a tree;
5and I will bring a morsel of bread and comfort your hearts; after that ye shall pass on because for this ye are come to your slave. And they said, So do as thou hast said.
6And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make bread baked under the ashes.
7And Abraham ran unto the herd and brought a calf tender and good and gave it unto a young man; and he hastened to dress it.
8And 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 said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Here, in the tent.
10Then he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, behold, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
11Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age, and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
12Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
13Then the Lord said unto Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child when I am old?
14Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
15Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, No, but thou didst laugh.
16¶ And the men rose up from there and looked toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.
17And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do,
18seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation and that all the Gentiles of the earth shall be blessed in him?
19For I know him, that he will command his sons and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he has spoken of him.
20And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great and because their sin is very grievous;
21I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.
22And the men turned their faces from there and went toward Sodom; but Abraham stood yet before the Lord.
23¶ And Abraham drew near and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
24Peradventure there are fifty righteous within the city; wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are in it?
25That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked and that the righteous should be treated as the wicked that are far from thee. Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
26And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.
27And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, who am but dust and ashes;
28peradventure 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-five, I will not destroy it.
29And he spoke unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty’s sake.
30And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord now be angry if I shall speak; peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it if I find thirty there.
31And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord; peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake.
32And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once; peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.
33And the Lord went away as soon as he had left communing with Abraham; and Abraham returned unto his place.