Genesis 18

1And Jehovah appeareth unto him among the oaks of Mamre, and he is sitting at the opening of the tent, about the heat of the day;

1Now 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;

2and he lifteth up his eyes and looketh, and lo, three men standing by him, and he seeth, and runneth to meet them from the opening of the tent, and boweth himself towards the earth,

2And 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;

3And he saith, `My Lord, if, I pray thee, I have found grace in thine eyes, do not, I pray thee, pass on from thy servant;

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

4let, I pray thee, a little water be accepted, and wash your feet, and recline under the tree;

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

5and I bring a piece of bread, and support ye your heart; afterwards pass on, for therefore have ye passed over unto your servant;' and they say, `So mayest thou do as thou has spoken.'

5And 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.

6And Abraham hasteth towards the tent, unto Sarah, and saith, `Hasten three measures of flour-meal, knead, and make cakes;'

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

7and Abraham ran unto the herd, and taketh a son of the herd, tender and good, and giveth unto the young man, and he hasteth to prepare it;

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

8and he taketh butter and milk, and the son of the herd which he hath prepared, and setteth before them; and he is standing by them under the tree, and they do eat.

8And 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.

9And they say unto him, `Where <FI>is<Fi> Sarah thy wife?' and he saith, `Lo--in the tent;'

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

10and he saith, `returning I return unto thee, about the time of life, and lo, to Sarah thy wife a son.'

10And 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.

11And Sarah is hearkening at the opening of the tent, which is behind him;

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

12and Abraham and Sarah <FI>are<Fi> aged, entering into days--the way of women hath ceased to be to Sarah;

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

13and Sarah laugheth in her heart, saying, `After I have waxed old I have had pleasure! --my lord also <FI>is<Fi> old!'

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

14And Jehovah saith unto Abraham, `Why <FI>is<Fi> this? Sarah hath laughed, saying, Is it true really--I bear--and I am aged? Is any thing too wonderful for Jehovah? at the appointed time I return unto thee, about the time of life, and Sarah hath a son.'

14Is 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.

15And Sarah denieth, saying, `I did not laugh;' for she hath been afraid; and He saith, `Nay, but thou didst laugh.'

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

16And the men rise from thence, and look on the face of Sodom, and Abraham is going with them to send them away;

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

17and Jehovah said, `Am I concealing from Abraham that which I am doing,

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

18and Abraham certainly becometh a nation great and mighty, and blessed in him have been all nations of the earth?

18Seeing 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?

19for I have known him, that he commandeth his children, and his house after him (and they have kept the way of Jehovah), to do righteousness and judgment, that Jehovah may bring on Abraham that which He hath spoken concerning him.'

19For 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.

20And Jehovah saith, `The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah--because great; and their sin--because exceeding grievous:

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

21I go down now, and see whether according to its cry which is coming unto Me they have done completely--and if not--I know;'

21I 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.

22and the men turn from thence, and go towards Sodom; and Abraham is yet standing before Jehovah.

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

23And Abraham draweth nigh and saith, `Dost Thou also consume righteous with wicked?

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

24peradventure there are fifty righteous in the midst of the city; dost Thou also consume, and not bear with the place for the sake of the fifty--the righteous who <FI>are<Fi> in its midst?

24If 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?

25Far be it from Thee to do according to this thing, to put to death the righteous with the wicked; that it hath been--as the righteous so the wicked--far be it from Thee; doth the Judge of all the earth not do justice?'

25Let 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?

26And Jehovah saith, `If I find in Sodom fifty righteous in the midst of the city, then have I borne with all the place for their sake.'

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

27And Abraham answereth and saith, `Lo, I pray thee, I have willed to speak unto the Lord, and I--dust and ashes;

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

28peradventure there are lacking five of the fifty righteous--dost Thou destroy for five the whole of the city?' and He saith, `I destroy <FI>it<Fi> not, if I find there forty and five.'

28If 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.

29And he addeth again to speak unto Him and saith, `Peradventure there are found there forty?' and He saith, `I do <FI>it<Fi> not, because of the forty.'

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

30And he saith, `Let it not be, I Pray thee, displeasing to the Lord, and I speak: peradventure there are found there thirty?' and He saith, `I do <FI>it<Fi> not, if I find there thirty.'

30And 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.

31And he saith, `Lo, I pray thee, I have willed to speak unto the Lord: peradventure there are found there twenty?' and He saith, `I do not destroy <FI>it<Fi> , because of the twenty.'

31And 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.

32And he saith, `Let it not be, I pray Thee, displeasing to the Lord, and I speak only this time: peradventure there are found there ten?' and He saith, `I do not destroy <FI>it<Fi> , because of the ten.'

32And 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.

33And Jehovah goeth on, when He hath finished speaking unto Abraham, and Abraham hath turned back to his place.

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