^{1 Ref} Now the Lord came to him by the holy tree of Mamre, when he was seated in the doorway of his tent in the middle of the day;

^{2 Ref} And lifting up his eyes, he saw three men before him; and seeing them, he went quickly to them from the door of the tent, and went down on his face to the earth;

^{3 Ref} And said, My Lord, if now I have grace in your eyes, do not go away from your servant:

^{4 Ref} Let me get water for washing your feet, and take your rest under the tree:

^{5 Ref} And let me get a bit of bread to keep up your strength, and after that you may go on your way: for this is why you have come to your servant. And they said, Let it be so.

^{6 Ref} Then Abraham went quickly into the tent, and said to Sarah, Get three measures of meal straight away and make cakes.

^{7 Ref} And running to the herd, he took a young ox, soft and fat, and gave it to the servant and he quickly made it ready;

^{8 Ref} And he took butter and milk and the young ox which he had made ready and put it before them, waiting by them under the tree while they took food.

^{9 Ref} And they said to him, Where is Sarah your wife? And he said, She is in the tent.

^{10 Ref} And he said, I will certainly come back to you in the spring, and Sarah your wife will have a son. And his words came to the ears of Sarah who was at the back of the tent-door.

^{11 Ref} Now Abraham and Sarah were very old, and Sarah was past the time for giving birth.

^{12 Ref} And Sarah, laughing to herself, said, Now that I am used up am I still to have pleasure, my husband himself being old?

^{13 Ref} And the Lord said, Why was Sarah laughing and saying, Is it possible for me, being old, to give birth to a child?

^{14 Ref} Is there any wonder which the Lord is not able to do? At the time I said, in the spring, I will come back to you, and Sarah will have a child.

^{15 Ref} Then Sarah said, I was not laughing; for she was full of fear. And he said, No, but you were laughing.

^{16 Ref} And the men went on from there in the direction of Sodom; and Abraham went with them on their way.

^{17 Ref} And the Lord said, Am I to keep back from Abraham the knowledge of what I do;

^{18 Ref} Seeing that Abraham will certainly become a great and strong nation, and his name will be used by all the nations of the earth as a blessing?

^{19 Ref} For I have made him mine so that he may give orders to his children and those of his line after him, to keep the ways of the Lord, to do what is good and right: so that the Lord may do to Abraham as he has said.

^{20 Ref} And the Lord said, Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is very great, and their sin is very evil,

^{21 Ref} I will go down now, and see if their acts are as bad as they seem from the outcry which has come to me; and if they are not, I will see.

^{22 Ref} And the men, turning from that place, went on to Sodom: but Abraham was still waiting before the Lord.

^{23 Ref} And Abraham came near, and said, Will you let destruction come on the upright with the sinners?

^{24 Ref} If by chance there are fifty upright men in the town, will you give the place to destruction and not have mercy on it because of the fifty upright men?

^{25 Ref} Let such a thing be far from you, to put the upright to death with the sinner: will not the judge of all the earth do right?

^{26 Ref} And the Lord said, If there are fifty upright men in the town, I will have mercy on it because of them.

^{27 Ref} And Abraham answering said, Truly, I who am only dust, have undertaken to put my thoughts before the Lord:

^{28 Ref} If by chance there are five less than fifty upright men, will you give up all the town to destruction because of these five? And he said, I will not give it to destruction if there are forty-five.

^{29 Ref} And again he said to him, By chance there may be forty there. And he said, I will not do it if there are forty.

^{30 Ref} And he said, Let not the Lord be angry with me if I say, What if there are thirty there? And he said, I will not do it if there are thirty.

^{31 Ref} And he said, See now, I have undertaken to put my thoughts before the Lord: what if there are twenty there? And he said, I will have mercy because of the twenty.

^{32 Ref} And he said, O let not the Lord be angry and I will say only one word more: by chance there may be ten there. And he said, I will have mercy because of the ten.

^{33 Ref} And the Lord went on his way when his talk with Abraham was ended, and Abraham went back to his place.

^{1 Ref} And Jehovah appeared unto him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;

^{2 Ref} and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood over against him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to the earth,

^{3 Ref} and said, My lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:

^{4 Ref} let now a little water be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:

^{5 Ref} and I will fetch a morsel of bread, and strengthen ye your heart; after that ye shall pass on: forasmuch as ye are come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.

^{6 Ref} And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes.

^{7 Ref} And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it unto the servant; and he hasted to dress it.

^{8 Ref} And 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 did eat.

^{9 Ref} And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.

^{10 Ref} And he said, I will certainly return unto thee when the season cometh round; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard in the tent door, which was behind him.

^{11 Ref} Now Abraham and Sarah were old, `and' well stricken in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.

^{12 Ref} And Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?

^{13 Ref} And Jehovah said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, who am old?

^{14 Ref} Is anything too hard for Jehovah? At the set time I will return unto thee, when the season cometh round, and Sarah shall have a son.

^{15 Ref} Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.

^{16 Ref} And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.

^{17 Ref} And Jehovah said, Shall I hide from Abraham that which I do;

^{18 Ref} seeing that Abraham had surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?

^{19 Ref} For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of Jehovah, to do righteousness and justice; to the end that Jehovah may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.

^{20 Ref} And Jehovah said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;

^{21 Ref} I 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.

^{22 Ref} And the men turned from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before Jehovah.

^{23 Ref} And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou consume the righteous with the wicked?

^{24 Ref} Peradventure there are fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou consume and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?

^{25 Ref} That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that so the righteous should be as the wicked; that be far from thee: shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

^{26 Ref} And Jehovah said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sake.

^{27 Ref} And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, who am but dust and ashes:

^{28 Ref} peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, I will not destroy it, if I find there forty and five.

^{29 Ref} And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for the forty's sake.

^{30 Ref} And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there.

^{31 Ref} And 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 the twenty's sake.

^{32 Ref} And 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 the ten's sake.

^{33 Ref} And Jehovah went his way, as soon as he had left off communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.

^{1 Ref} Yahweh appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day.

^{2 Ref} He lifted up his eyes and looked, and saw that three men stood opposite him. When he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to the earth,

^{3 Ref} and said, "My lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, please don't go away from your servant.

^{4 Ref} Now let a little water be fetched, wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.

^{5 Ref} I will get a morsel of bread so you can refresh your heart. After that you may go your way, now that you have come to your servant." They said, "Very well, do as you have said."

^{6 Ref} Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, "Quickly make ready three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes."

^{7 Ref} Abraham ran to the herd, and fetched a tender and good calf, and gave it to the servant. He hurried to dress it.

^{8 Ref} He took butter, milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them. He stood by them under the tree, and they ate.

^{9 Ref} They said to him, "Where is Sarah, your wife? He said, "See, in the tent."

^{10 Ref} He said, "I will certainly return to you when the season comes round. Behold, Sarah your wife will have a son." Sarah heard in the tent door, which was behind him.

^{11 Ref} Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age. It had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.

^{12 Ref} Sarah laughed within herself, saying, "After I have grown old will I have pleasure, my lord being old also?"

^{13 Ref} Yahweh said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Will I really bear a child, yet I am old?'

^{14 Ref} Is anything too hard for Yahweh? At the set time I will return to you, when the season comes round, and Sarah will have a son."

^{15 Ref} Then Sarah denied, saying, "I didn't laugh," for she was afraid." He said, "No, but you did laugh."

^{16 Ref} The men rose up from there, and looked toward Sodom. Abraham went with them to see them on their way.

^{17 Ref} Yahweh said, "Will I hide from Abraham what I do,

^{18 Ref} seeing that Abraham has surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in him?

^{19 Ref} For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of Yahweh, to do righteousness and justice; to the end that Yahweh may bring on Abraham that which he has spoken of him."

^{20 Ref} Yahweh said, "Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous,

^{21 Ref} I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come to me. If not, I will know."

^{22 Ref} The men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, but Abraham stood yet before Yahweh.

^{23 Ref} Abraham drew near, and said, "Will you consume the righteous with the wicked?

^{24 Ref} What if there are fifty righteous within the city? Will you consume and not spare the place for the fifty righteous who are therein?

^{25 Ref} Be it far from you to do things like that, to kill the righteous with the wicked, that so the righteous should be as the wicked. May that be far from you. Shouldn't the Judge of all the earth do right?"

^{26 Ref} Yahweh said, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sake."

^{27 Ref} Abraham answered, "See now, I have taken it on myself to speak to the Lord, who am but dust and ashes.

^{28 Ref} What if there will lack five of the fifty righteous? Will you destroy all the city for lack of five?" He said, "I will not destroy it, if I find forty-five there."

^{29 Ref} He spoke to him yet again, and said, "What if there are forty found there?" He said, "I will not do it for the forty's sake."

^{30 Ref} He said, "Oh don't let the Lord be angry, and I will speak. What if there are thirty found there?" He said, "I will not do it, if I find thirty there."

^{31 Ref} He said, "See now, I have taken it on myself to speak to the Lord. What if there are twenty found there?" He said, "I will not destroy it for the twenty's sake."

^{32 Ref} He said, "Oh don't let the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once. What if ten are found there?" He said, "I will not destroy it for the ten's sake."

^{33 Ref} Yahweh went his way, as soon as he had finished communing with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.