The Son of Promise^(A)

18 Then the Lord appeared to him by ^[a]the ^(B)terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. ^2 (C)So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; ^(D)and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, ³ and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. ⁴ Please let ^(E)a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. ⁵ And ^(F)I will bring a morsel of bread, that ^(G)you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, ^(H)inasmuch as you have come to your servant.”

They said, “Do as you have said.”

⁶ So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes.” ⁷ And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it. ⁸ So ^(I)he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.

⁹ Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?”

So he said, “Here, ^(J)in the tent.”

¹⁰ And He said, “I will certainly return to you ^(K)according to the time of life, and behold, ^(L)Sarah your wife shall have a son.”

(Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) ¹¹ Now ^(M)Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and ^[b]Sarah ^(N)had passed the age of childbearing. ¹² Therefore Sarah ^(O)laughed within herself, saying, ^(P)“After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my ^(Q)lord being old also?”

¹³ And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ ^14 (R)Is anything too hard for the Lord? ^(S)At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”

¹⁵ But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid.

And He said, “No, but you did laugh!”

Abraham Intercedes for Sodom

¹⁶ Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them ^(T)to send them on the way. ¹⁷ And the Lord said, ^(U)“Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, ¹⁸ since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be ^(V)blessed in him? ¹⁹ For I have known him, in order ^(W)that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” ²⁰ And the Lord said, “Because ^(X)the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their ^(Y)sin is very grave, ^21 (Z)I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, ^(AA)I will know.”

²² Then the men turned away from there ^(AB)and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. ²³ And Abraham ^(AC)came near and said, ^(AD)“Would You also ^(AE)destroy the ^(AF)righteous with the wicked? ²⁴ Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? ²⁵ Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so ^(AG)that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! ^(AH)Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

²⁶ So the Lord said, ^(AI)“If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.”

²⁷ Then Abraham answered and said, “Indeed now, I who am ^(AJ)but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: ²⁸ Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?”

So He said, “If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.”

²⁹ And he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose there should be forty found there?”

So He said, “I will not do it for the sake of forty.”

³⁰ Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?”

So He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

³¹ And he said, “Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?”

So He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.”

³² Then he said, ^(AK)“Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?”

^(AL)And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.” ³³ So the Lord went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.

Sodom’s Depravity

19 Now ^(AM)the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and ^(AN)Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. ² And he said, “Here now, my lords, please ^(AO)turn in to your servant’s house and spend the night, and ^(AP)wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.”

And they said, ^(AQ)“No, but we will spend the night in the open square.”

³ But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. ^(AR)Then he made them a feast, and baked ^(AS)unleavened bread, and they ate.

⁴ Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. ^5 (AT)And they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? ^(AU)Bring them out to us that we ^(AV)may know them carnally.”

⁶ So ^(AW)Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him, ⁷ and said, “Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly! ^8 (AX)See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, ^(AY)since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof.”

⁹ And they said, “Stand back!” Then they said, “This one ^(AZ)came in to ^[c]stay here, ^(BA)and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them.” So they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break down the door. ¹⁰ But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. ¹¹ And they ^(BB)struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they became weary trying to find the door.

Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed^(BC)

¹² Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city—^(BD)take them out of this place! ¹³ For we will destroy this place, because the ^(BE)outcry against them has grown great before the face of the Lord, and ^(BF)the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”

¹⁴ So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, ^(BG)who had married his daughters, and said, ^(BH)“Get up, get out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city!” ^(BI)But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking.

¹⁵ When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, ^(BJ)“Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.” ¹⁶ And while he lingered, the men ^(BK)took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the ^(BL)Lord being merciful to him, ^(BM)and they brought him out and set him outside the city. ¹⁷ So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that ^[d]he said, ^(BN)“Escape for your life! ^(BO)Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape ^(BP)to the mountains, lest you be ^[e]destroyed.”

¹⁸ Then Lot said to them, “Please, ^(BQ)no, my lords! ¹⁹ Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die. ²⁰ See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.”

²¹ And he said to him, “See, ^(BR)I have favored you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken. ²² Hurry, escape there. For ^(BS)I cannot do anything until you arrive there.”

Therefore ^(BT)the name of the city was called ^[f]Zoar.

²³ The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar. ²⁴ Then the Lord rained ^(BU)brimstone and ^(BV)fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. ²⁵ So He ^[g]overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and ^(BW)what grew on the ground.

²⁶ But his wife looked back behind him, and she became ^(BX)a pillar of salt.

²⁷ And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where ^(BY)he had stood before the Lord. ²⁸ Then he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain; and he saw, and behold, ^(BZ)the smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace. ²⁹ And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God ^(CA)remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt.

The Descendants of Lot

³⁰ Then Lot went up out of Zoar and ^(CB)dwelt in the mountains, and his two daughters were with him; for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar. And he and his two daughters dwelt in a cave. ³¹ Now the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man on the earth ^(CC)to come in to us as is the custom of all the earth. ³² Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we ^(CD)may preserve the ^[h]lineage of our father.” ³³ So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.

³⁴ It happened on the next day that the firstborn said to the younger, “Indeed I lay with my father last night; let us make him drink wine tonight also, and you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve the ^[i]lineage of our father.” ³⁵ Then they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.

³⁶ Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. ³⁷ The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab; ^(CE)he is the father of the Moabites to this day. ³⁸ And the younger, she also bore a son and called his name Ben-Ammi; ^(CF)he is the father of the people of Ammon to this day.

The Lord Helps His Troubled People

A Psalm of David ^(A)when he fled from Absalom his son.

Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Servant^(A)

7 Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He ^(B)entered Capernaum. ² And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. ³ So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. ⁴ And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, ⁵ “for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.”

⁶ Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. ⁷ Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But ^(C)say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁸ For I also am a man placed under ^(D)authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

⁹ When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” ¹⁰ And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well ^[a]who had been sick.

Jesus Raises the Son of the Widow of Nain

¹¹ Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd. ¹² And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her. ¹³ When the Lord saw her, He had ^(E)compassion on her and said to her, ^(F)“Do not weep.” ¹⁴ Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, ^(G)arise.” ¹⁵ So he who was dead ^(H)sat up and began to speak. And He ^(I)presented him to his mother.

^16 (J)Then fear ^[b]came upon all, and they ^(K)glorified God, saying, ^(L)“A great prophet has risen up among us”; and, ^(M)“God has visited His people.” ¹⁷ And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region.

John the Baptist Sends Messengers to Jesus^(N)

^18 (O)Then the disciples of John reported to him concerning all these things. ¹⁹ And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to ^[c]Jesus, saying, “Are You ^(P)the Coming One, or ^[d]do we look for another?”

²⁰ When the men had come to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?’ ” ²¹ And that very hour He cured many of ^[e]infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight.

^22 (Q)Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: ^(R)that the blind ^(S)see, the lame ^(T)walk, the lepers are ^(U)cleansed, the deaf ^(V)hear, the dead are raised, ^(W)the poor have the gospel preached to them. ²³ And blessed is he who is not ^[f]offended because of Me.”

^24 (X)When the messengers of John had departed, He began to speak to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ²⁵ But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed those who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury are in kings’ courts. ²⁶ But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. ²⁷ This is he of whom it is written:

²⁸ For I say to you, among those born of women there is ^[g]not a ^(Z)greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

²⁹ And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors ^[h]justified God, ^(AA)having been baptized with the baptism of John. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and ^[i]lawyers rejected ^(AB)the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.

^31 [j]And the Lord said, ^(AC)“To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like? ³² They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying:

³³ For ^(AD)John the Baptist came ^(AE)neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ ³⁴ The Son of Man has come ^(AF)eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a ^[k]winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ ^35 (AG)But wisdom is justified by all her children.”

A Sinful Woman Forgiven

^36 (AH)Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. ³⁷ And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, ³⁸ and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. ³⁹ Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, ^(AI)“This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”

⁴⁰ And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”

So he said, “Teacher, say it.”

⁴¹ “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred ^(AJ)denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴² And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?”

⁴³ Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.”

And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” ⁴⁴ Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no ^(AK)water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. ⁴⁵ You gave Me no ^(AL)kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. ^46 (AM)You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. ^47 (AN)Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”

⁴⁸ Then He said to her, ^(AO)“Your sins are forgiven.”

⁴⁹ And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, ^(AP)“Who is this who even forgives sins?”

⁵⁰ Then He said to the woman, ^(AQ)“Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”