- 1
- ¶ AND the LORD revealed himself to him by the oak of Mamre, as he was sitting at the door of the tent in the heat of the day;
- 2
- And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, three men stood at a distance from him;
and when he saw them, he ran from the door of the tent to meet them and bowed himself to the ground,
- 3
- And said, O LORD, if now I have found mercy in thy sight, do not pass away from thy servant;
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- Let me bring a little water and wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree;
- 5
- And take a morsel of bread and sustain your hearts;
after that you shall go on your way, since you have come to your servant. And they said, So do as you have said.
- 6
- So Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine flour, knead it, and make cakes on a griddle.
- 7
- And Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf fat and good, and gave it to a servant, and he hastened to prepare it.
- 8
- And he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set them before them;
and he stood by them under the tree, and they ate.
- 9
- ¶ And they said to him, Where is Sarah your wife?
And he said, Behold, she is in the tent.
- 10
- And the LORD said, I will certainly return to you at this time next year, and lo, Sarah your wife shall be with child, and shall have a son.
And Sarah heard it in the tent door which was behind her.
- 11
- Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well advanced in years;
and Sarah was beyond the age of childbearing.
- 12
- Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am grown old, shall I renew my youth, my lord being old also?
- 13
- And the LORD said to Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I truly bear a child, when I am so old?
- 14
- Is anything too hard for the LORD?
I will return to you at this season, and Sarah your wife shall be with child, and shall have a son.
- 15
- Then Sarah denied, saying, I did not laugh;
because she was afraid. And he said, No; but you did laugh.
- 16
- ¶ And the men rose up from there and looked toward Sodom;
and Abraham went with them to see them off.
- 17
- And the LORD said, Shall I hide from my servant Abraham the thing which I am going to do,
- 18
- Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed through him?
- 19
- For I know him well, and that he will command his children and his household after him, to keep the ways of the LORD, to do justice and righteousness;
for the LORD shall fulfil for Abraham the thing that he has spoken concerning him.
- 20
- And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah has come before me and their sins are very grievous,
- 21
- I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to their cry which has come before me;
and if not, I will know.
- 22
- So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom;
but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.
- 23
- ¶ And Abraham drew near and said, Wilt thou in thine anger destroy the righteous with the sinners?
- 24
- Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city;
wilt thou in thine anger destroy it, and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous that are in it?
- 25
- Far be it from thee to do such a thing as this, to slay the innocent with the guilty, far be it from thee, O thou Judge of the whole earth!
Such a judgment should never be carried out.
- 26
- And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole country for their sake.
- 27
- And Abraham answered and said, Behold, I have ventured to speak before the LORD, and yet I am but dust and ashes;
- 28
- Suppose there shall lack five of the fifty righteous;
wilt thou destroy the whole city for the lack of five men? And he said, If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.
- 29
- And Abraham spoke to him and said, Suppose there shall be forty found there?
And he said, I will not destroy it, if I find there forty.
- 30
- Then Abraham said, Oh let not the LORD be displeased and I will speak: Suppose there shall thirty be found there?
And he said, I will not destroy it, if I find thirty there.
- 31
- And he said, Behold, I have ventured to speak before the LORD;
suppose there shall be twenty found there? And he said, I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.
- 32
- And he said, Oh, let not the LORD be displeased, and I will speak only once more;
suppose ten shall be found there? And he said, I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.
- 33
- And the LORD went his way when he had finished communing with Abraham;
and Abraham returned to his place.
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