The Holy Bible

CH. 18

1 And the Lord appeared to him by the oak of Mamre, while he was sitting at the door of his tent at midday. 2 * He lifted his eyes and saw, and behold, three men were standing before him. And when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the door of his tent, and bowed to the ground and said: 3 * "Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. 4 * But let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 * And I will bring bread, and you shall eat, and then you may go on your way, since you have turned aside to your servant." And they said, "Do as you have said." 6 * And Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said to her, "Hurry, knead three measures of fine flour, and make bread cakes." 7 * And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the young man, and he hurried to prepare it immediately. 8 * And he took curds and milk, and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them, and they ate; and he stood before them under the tree. 9 * And he said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" He answered and said, "Behold, she is in the tent." 10 * And he said, "I will surely return to you at this time when the season comes, and your wife Sarah shall have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent door, for it was behind him. 11 * And Abraham and Sarah were old and advanced in days, and it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. 12 * Sarah laughed to herself and said, "Shall I have pleasure now that I am old, and my

lord is old?" 14 * And the Lord said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh to herself and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?' 15 * Is anything too hard for the Lord? At this time I will return to you at this same season, and Sarah shall have a son." 16 * Sarah denied, saying, "I did not laugh," for she was afraid. And he said, "No, but you did laugh." 17 * And the men rose from there and looked toward the face of the Sodomites and the Gomorrahites, and Abraham went with them to see them off. 18 * And the Lord said, "Shall I hide from Abraham my servant what I am about to do? 19 * For Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him. 20 * For I have known that he will command his children and his house after him to keep the way of the Lord, and to do righteousness and justice; and the Lord God shall bring upon Abraham all that He has spoken to him." 21 * And the Lord said, "The outcry of the Sodomites and Gomorrahites has become great, and their sins have grown very heavy. 22 * Now I will go down and see whether they have done according to the outcry that comes to me, if not, I will know." 23 * And the men turned from there and came to Sodom, and Abraham stood before the Lord. 24 * And Abraham approached and said, "Will you destroy the righteous with the wicked, and shall the righteous be as the wicked? 25 * If there are fifty righteous in the city, will you destroy them, and will you not spare the whole place for the fifty righteous if they are in it? 26 * Far be it from you to do such a thing, to kill the righteous with the wicked, and for the righteous to be as the wicked. Far be it from you, you who judge all the earth, shall you not do this judgment?" 27 * And the Lord said, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake." 28 * Abraham answered and said, "Now I have begun to speak to the Lord, yet I am dust and ashes. 29 * If there are five fewer than fifty righteous, will you destroy the whole city for the sake of the five?" And He said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there." 30 * And he spoke to Him again and said, "Suppose forty are found there?" And He said, "I will not destroy it for the sake of the forty." 31 * And he said, "Let not the Lord be angry if I speak. Suppose thirty are found there?" And He said, "I will not destroy it if I find thirty there." 32 * And he said, "Since I have dared to speak to the Lord, suppose twenty are found there?" And He said, "I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty." 33 * And he said, "Let not the Lord be angry if I speak yet once more. Suppose ten are found there?" And He said, "I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten." 34 * And the Lord went away as soon as He finished speaking with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

CH. 19

1 And the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting at the gate of the Sodomites. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and bowed to the ground on his face and said, 2 * "Behold, my lords, come into your servant's house, and rest, and I will wash your feet, and you may rise early and go on your way." And they said, "No, but we will spend the night in the square." 3 * And he pressed them hard, and they turned aside to him, and entered his house, and he made them a feast. 4 * And he baked unleavened bread for them, and they ate. * Before they had gone to sleep, the men of the city, the Sodomites, surrounded the house—

(19) Some: Concerning Abraham. "Yes, behold, Sarah." (19) Some add: "Son. And you shall call his name Isaac. And He established..." (20) Some: "And I will bless him, and increase..." (23) Some: "In the time of that day."
CH. 18 (4) Some: "But let a little water be taken, and..." (5) Others: "And they say, 'Do thus.'" (6) Some: "And make bread cakes." (9) Others: "And they say to him, 'Where is Sarah?'" (15) Some: "Not so, but..." (18) Some: "Shall surely become a nation." (21) Others: "And now I will go down and see..." (23) Some: "The righteous with the wicked." (32) Others: "If ten are found there."
CH. 19 (2) Some: "Behold, I am. In the morning..."