² The Lord appeared to Isaac^[a] and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; settle in the land that I shall show you.^(A)

⁷ Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.^(A)

A Son Promised to Abraham and Sarah

18 The Lord appeared to Abraham^[a] by the oaks^[b] of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day.^(A)

The Sign of the Covenant

17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty;^[a] walk before me, and be blameless.^(A)

The Call of Abram

12 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.^(A)

¹⁰ Then one said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him.^{(A) 11} Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.^{(B) 12} So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I be fruitful?”^{(C) 13} The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ ¹⁴ Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.”^{(D) 15} But Sarah denied, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “Yes, you did laugh.”

Judgment Pronounced on Sodom

¹⁶ Then the men set out from there, and they looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to set them on their way. ¹⁷ The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, ¹⁸ seeing that Abraham shall become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?^{[a](E) 19} No, for I have chosen^[b] him, that he may charge his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”^{(F) 20} Then the Lord said, “How great is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah and how very grave their sin!^(G)