Genesis 18 | King James Version

King James Version

1 And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, 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, 3 And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: 4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: 5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. 6 And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it , and make cakes upon the hearth. 7 And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it. 8 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 And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. 10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? 13 And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? 14 Is 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. 15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh. 16 And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. 17 And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; 18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. 20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; 21 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 And the men turned their faces from thence, 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? 24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? 25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? 26 And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. 27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: 28 Peradventure 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 and five, I will not destroy it . 29 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 forty' sake. 30 And he said unto him , 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 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 twenty' sake. 32 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 ten' sake. 33 And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.

New International Reader’s Version

Three men visit Abraham

1 The LORD appeared to Abraham near the large trees of Mamre. Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent. It was the hottest time of the day. 2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. So he quickly left the entrance to his tent to greet them. He bowed low to the ground. 3 He said, ‘My lord, if you are pleased with me, don’t pass me by. 4 Let me get you some water. Then all of you can wash your feet and rest under this tree. 5 Let me get you something to eat to give you strength. Then you can go on your way. I want to do this for you now that you have come to me.’ ‘All right’, they answered. ‘Do as you say.’ 6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. ‘Quick!’ he said. ‘Get about 15 kilograms of the finest flour. Prepare it and bake some bread.’ 7 Then he ran over to the herd. He picked out a choice, tender calf. He gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. 8 Then he brought some butter and milk and the calf that had been prepared. He served them to the three men. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree. 9 ‘Where is your wife Sarah?’ they asked him. ‘Over there in the tent,’ he said. 10 Then one of them said, ‘I will surely return to you about this time next year. Your wife Sarah will have a son.’ Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already very old. Sarah was too old to have a baby. 12 So she laughed to herself. She thought, ‘I’m worn out, and my husband is old. Can I really know the joy of having a baby?’ 13 Then the LORD said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, “Will I really have a baby, now that I am old?” 14 Is anything too hard for me? I will return to you at the appointed time next year. Sarah will have a son.’ 15 Sarah was afraid. So she lied and said, ‘I didn’t laugh.’ But the LORD said, ‘Yes, you laughed.’

Abraham pleads for Sodom

16 The men got up to leave. They looked down towards Sodom. Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. 17 Then the LORD said, ‘Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 18 He will certainly become a great and powerful nation. All nations on earth will be blessed because of him. 19 I have chosen him. He must direct his children to live in the way that pleases me. And he must direct the members of his family after him to do the same. So he must guide all of them in doing what is right and fair. Then I, the LORD, will do for Abraham what I have promised him.’ 20 The LORD also said, ‘The cries against Sodom and Gomorrah are very great. Their sin is so bad 21 that I will go down and see for myself. I want to see if what they have done is as bad as the cries that have reached me. If it is not, then I will know.’ 22 The men turned away and went towards Sodom. But Abraham remained standing in front of the LORD. 23 Then Abraham came up to him. He said, ‘Will you sweep away godly people along with those who are evil? 24 What if there are 50 godly people in the city? Will you really sweep it away? Won’t you spare the place because of the 50 godly people in it? 25 You would never kill godly people along with those who are evil, would you? Would you treat them all alike? You would never do anything like that! Won’t the Judge of the whole earth do what is right?’ 26 The LORD said, ‘If I find 50 godly people in the city of Sodom, I will spare it. I will spare the whole place because of them.’ 27 Then Abraham spoke up again. He said, ‘I have been very bold to speak to the Lord. After all, I’m only dust and ashes. 28 What if the number of godly people is five fewer than 50? Will you destroy the whole city because there are five fewer people?’ ‘If I find 45 there,’ he said, ‘I will not destroy it.’ 29 Once again Abraham spoke to him. He asked, ‘What if only 40 are found there?’ He said, ‘If there are 40, I will not do it.’ 30 Then Abraham said, ‘Lord, please don’t be angry with me. Let me speak. What if only 30 can be found there?’ He answered, ‘If I find 30, I will not do it.’ 31 Abraham said, ‘I have been very bold to speak to the Lord. What if only 20 can be found there?’ He said, ‘If I find 20, I will not destroy it.’ 32 Then he said, ‘Lord, please don’t be angry with me. Let me speak just one more time. What if only ten can be found there?’ He answered, ‘If I find ten, I will not destroy it.’ 33 When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left. And Abraham returned home.