GenesisChapter 18

Tap any verse to comment or suggest a better wording.

¹Then the LORD appeared to Abraham near the Oaks of Mamre. It was the hottest part of the day. Abraham was sitting at the door of his tent. ²Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran from the door of his tent to meet them. He bowed low to the ground. ³"My lord," Abraham said, "if you are pleased with me, please don't pass by your servant. ⁴Let me have some water brought so you can wash your feet. Then rest under the tree. ⁵I'll bring a little bread so you can get your strength back. That's why you have come by your servant. After that, you can go on your way." "Yes," they answered. "Do as you have said." ⁶So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. He said, "Quick! Get three seahs of fine flour. Knead it and bake some bread."a ⁷Then Abraham ran to the herd. He picked out a tender, choice calf and gave it to a servant. The servant hurried to cook it. ⁸Then Abraham brought curds and milk and the calf that had been cooked. He set the food before the men. He stood near them under the tree while they ate. ⁹"Where is your wife Sarah?" they asked. "There, in the tent," he answered. ¹⁰Then the LORD said, "I will surely come back to you at this time next year. And your wife Sarah will have a son!" Sarah was behind him, listening at the door of the tent. ¹¹Abraham and Sarah were already very old. Sarah was past the age of having children. ¹²So Sarah laughed to herself. She thought, "I am worn out, and my husband is old. Will I have this joy now?" ¹³The LORD asked Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, 'Can I really have a baby now that I am old?' ¹⁴Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will come back to you at the set time, about a year from now. And Sarah will have a son." ¹⁵But Sarah was afraid, so she denied it. She said, "I didn't laugh." "No," the LORD said, "you did laugh." ¹⁶Then the men got up to leave. They looked down toward Sodom. Abraham walked along with them to send them on their way. ¹⁷The LORD said, "Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? ¹⁸Abraham will surely become a great and strong nation. Through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed. ¹⁹I have chosen him so that he will command his children and his family after him. They are to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and fair. That way the LORD will do for Abraham what he has promised." ²⁰Then the LORD said, "There is a loud cry against Sodom and Gomorrah. And because their sin is so terrible, ²¹I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the cry that has come to me. If not, I will know." ²²Then the two men turned away and went toward Sodom. But Abraham stayed standing before the LORD. ²³Abraham came near and said, "Will you really wipe out the righteous along with the wicked? ²⁴What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really wipe it out? Won't you spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people there? ²⁵You would never do such a thing! You would never kill the righteous with the wicked. Then the righteous and the wicked would be treated the same. You would never do that! Won't the Judge of all the earth do what is right?" ²⁶The LORD answered, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake." ²⁷Then Abraham spoke again. "I have been bold to speak to the Lord, even though I am only dust and ashes. ²⁸What if there are five less than fifty righteous people? Will you destroy the whole city because five are missing?" He answered, "If I find forty-five there, I will not destroy it." ²⁹Once more Abraham spoke to the LORD. "What if only forty are found there?" He answered, "For the sake of the forty, I will not do it." ³⁰Then Abraham said, "Please don't let the Lord be angry. But let me speak again. What if only thirty are found there?" He answered, "If I find thirty there, I will not do it." ³¹Abraham said, "I have been bold to speak to the Lord. What if only twenty are found there?" He answered, "For the sake of the twenty, I will not destroy it." ³²At last Abraham said, "Please don't let the Lord be angry. Let me speak just one more time. What if only ten are found there?" He answered, "For the sake of the ten, I will not destroy it." ³³When the LORD finished speaking with Abraham, he left. And Abraham went back home.