Genesis 17-21
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
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. 2 And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be Abram,[b] but your name shall be Abraham;[c] for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come forth from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. 8 And I will give to you, and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
9 And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your descendants after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 He that is eight days old among you shall be circumcised; every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house, or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 13 both he that is born in your house and he that is bought with your money, shall be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”
15 And God said to Abraham, “As for Sar′ai your wife, you shall not call her name Sar′ai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her; I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “O that Ish′mael might live in thy sight!” 19 God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac.[d] I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasing covenant for his descendants after him. 20 As for Ish′mael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him and make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly; he shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. 21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this season next year.”
22 When he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham. 23 Then Abraham took Ish′mael his son and all the slaves born in his house or bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very day, as God had said to him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ish′mael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 That very day Abraham and his son Ish′mael were circumcised; 27 and all the men of his house, those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
A Son Promised to Abraham and Sarah
18 And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks[e] of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men stood in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the earth, 3 and said, “My lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, 5 while I fetch a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” 6 And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three measures[f] of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes.” 7 And Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. 8 Then he took curds, and milk, and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.
9 They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.” 10 The Lord said, “I will surely return to you in the spring, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?” 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 hard[g] for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, in the spring, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15 But Sarah denied, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. He said, “No, but 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 bless themselves by him?[h] 19 No, for I have chosen[i] 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 to Abraham what he has promised him.” 20 Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomor′rah is great and their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry which has come to me; and if not, I will know.”
22 So the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom; but Abraham still stood before the Lord. 23 Then Abraham drew near, and said, “Wilt thou indeed destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; wilt thou then destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 Far be it from thee to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from thee! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” 26 And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” 27 Abraham answered, “Behold, I have taken upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. 28 Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking? Wilt thou destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” 29 Again he spoke to him, and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” 30 Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” 31 He said, “Behold, I have taken upon myself to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” 32 Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” 33 And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.
The Depravity of Sodom
19 [j]The two angels came to Sodom in the evening; and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and bowed himself with his face to the earth, 2 and said, “My lords, turn aside, I pray you, to your servant’s house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise up early and go on your way.” They said, “No; we will spend the night in the street.” 3 But he urged them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. 4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house; 5 and they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.” 6 Lot went out of the door to the men, shut the door after him, 7 and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 8 Behold, I have two daughters who have not known man; let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please; only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.” 9 But they said, “Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he would play the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door. 10 But the men put forth their hands and brought Lot into the house to them, and shut the door. 11 And they struck with blindness the men who were at the door of the house, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves groping for the door.
Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed
12 Then the men said to Lot, “Have you any one else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or any one you have in the city, bring them out of the place; 13 for we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” 14 So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, “Up, get out of this place; for the Lord is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.
15 When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.” 16 But he lingered; so the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him forth and set him outside the city. 17 And when they had brought them forth, they[k] said, “Flee for your life; do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley; flee to the hills, lest you be consumed.” 18 And Lot said to them, “Oh, no, my lords; 19 behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life; but I cannot flee to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me, and I die. 20 Behold, yonder city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there—is it not a little one?—and my life will be saved!” 21 He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. 22 Make haste, escape there; for I can do nothing till you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zo′ar.[l] 23 The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zo′ar.
24 Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomor′rah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; 25 and he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 But Lot’s wife behind him looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. 27 And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord; 28 and he looked down toward Sodom and Gomor′rah and toward all the land of the valley, and beheld, and lo, smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.
29 So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt.
The Shameful Origin of Moab and Ammon
30 Now Lot went up out of Zo′ar, and dwelt in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to dwell in Zo′ar; so he dwelt in a cave with his two daughters. 31 And the first-born said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth. 32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve offspring through our father.” 33 So they made their father drink wine that night; and the first-born went in, and lay with her father; he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. 34 And on the next day, the first-born said to the younger, “Behold, I lay last night with my father; let us make him drink wine tonight also; then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve offspring through our father.” 35 So 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 first-born bore a son, and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. 38 The younger also bore a son, and called his name Ben-ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites to this day.
Abraham and Sarah at Gerar
20 From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. 2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abim′elech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3 But God came to Abim′elech in a dream by night, and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man, because of the woman whom you have taken; for she is a man’s wife.” 4 Now Abim′elech had not approached her; so he said, “Lord, wilt thou slay an innocent people? 5 Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” 6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me; therefore I did not let you touch her. 7 Now then restore the man’s wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you, and all that are yours.”
8 So Abim′elech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told them all these things; and the men were very much afraid. 9 Then Abim′elech called Abraham, and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.” 10 And Abim′elech said to Abraham, “What were you thinking of, that you did this thing?” 11 Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife. 12 Besides she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. 13 And when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, I said to her, ‘This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, He is my brother.’” 14 Then Abim′elech took sheep and oxen, and male and female slaves, and gave them to Abraham, and restored Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abim′elech said, “Behold, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” 16 To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; it is your vindication in the eyes of all who are with you; and before every one you are righted.” 17 Then Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abim′elech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. 18 For the Lord had closed all the wombs of the house of Abim′elech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
The Birth of Isaac
21 The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised. 2 And Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. 4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; every one who hears will laugh over me.” 7 And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would suckle children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away
8 And the child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 9 But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac.[m] 10 So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.” 11 And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Be not displeased because of the lad and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your descendants be named. 13 And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.” 14 So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.
15 When the water in the skin was gone, she cast the child under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went, and sat down over against him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot; for she said, “Let me not look upon the death of the child.” And as she sat over against him, the child lifted up his voice[n] and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not; for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. 18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him fast with your hand; for I will make him a great nation.” 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink. 20 And God was with the lad, and he grew up; he lived in the wilderness, and became an expert with the bow. 21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
Abraham and Abimelech Make a Covenant
22 At that time Abim′elech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, “God is with you in all that you do; 23 now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring or with my posterity, but as I have dealt loyally with you, you will deal with me and with the land where you have sojourned.” 24 And Abraham said, “I will swear.”
25 When Abraham complained to Abim′elech about a well of water which Abim′elech’s servants had seized, 26 Abim′elech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, and I have not heard of it until today.” 27 So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abim′elech, and the two men made a covenant. 28 Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock apart. 29 And Abim′elech said to Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set apart?” 30 He said, “These seven ewe lambs you will take from my hand, that you may be a witness for me that I dug this well.” 31 Therefore that place was called Beer-sheba;[o] because there both of them swore an oath. 32 So they made a covenant at Beer-sheba. Then Abim′elech and Phicol the commander of his army rose up and returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God. 34 And Abraham sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines.
Footnotes
- Genesis 17:1 Heb El Shaddai
- Genesis 17:5 That is exalted father
- Genesis 17:5 Here taken to mean father of a multitude
- Genesis 17:19 That is he laughs
- Genesis 18:1 Or terebinths
- Genesis 18:6 Heb seahs
- Genesis 18:14 Or wonderful
- Genesis 18:18 Or in him all the nations of the earth shall be blessed
- Genesis 18:19 Heb known
- 19.1 The Sodom episode, so often referred to in the Old and New Testaments, expresses the abhorrence of the true Israelite for unnatural sin and the violation of the sacred duty of hospitality, cf. Judg 19.11-30.
- Genesis 19:17 Gk Syr Vg: Heb he
- Genesis 19:22 That is Little
- Genesis 21:9 Gk Vg: Heb lacks with her son Isaac
- Genesis 21:16 Gk: Heb she lifted up her voice
- Genesis 21:31 That is Well of seven or Well of the oath
Genesis 17-21
New King James Version
The Sign of the Covenant(A)
17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord (B)appeared to Abram and said to him, (C)“I am [a]Almighty God; (D)walk before Me and be (E)blameless. 2 And I will make My (F)covenant between Me and you, and (G)will multiply you exceedingly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: 4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be (H)a father of [b]many nations. 5 No longer shall (I)your name be called [c]Abram, but your name shall be [d]Abraham; (J)for I have made you a father of [e]many nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make (K)nations of you, and (L)kings shall come from you. 7 And I will (M)establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, (N)to be God to you and (O)your descendants after you. 8 Also (P)I give to you and your descendants after you the land (Q)in[f] which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and (R)I will be their God.”
9 And God said to Abraham: “As for you, (S)you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 10 This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: (T)Every male child among you shall be circumcised; 11 and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be (U)a sign of the covenant between Me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you (V)shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant. 13 He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14 And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person (W)shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but [g]Sarah shall be her name. 16 And I will bless her (X)and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother (Y)of nations; (Z)kings of peoples shall be from her.”
17 Then Abraham fell on his face (AA)and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham (AB)said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”
19 Then God said: “No, (AC)Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My (AD)covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and (AE)will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget (AF)twelve princes, (AG)and I will make him a great nation. 21 But My (AH)covenant I will establish with Isaac, (AI)whom Sarah shall bear to you at this (AJ)set time next year.” 22 Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
23 So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had said to him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 That very same day Abraham was circumcised, and his son Ishmael; 27 and (AK)all the men of his house, born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
The Son of Promise(AL)
18 Then the Lord appeared to him by [h]the (AM)terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 (AN)So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; (AO)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 (AP)a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 And (AQ)I will bring a morsel of bread, that (AR)you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, (AS)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 (AT)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, (AU)in the tent.”
10 And He said, “I will certainly return to you (AV)according to the time of life, and behold, (AW)Sarah your wife shall have a son.”
(Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) 11 Now (AX)Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and [i]Sarah (AY)had passed the age of childbearing. 12 Therefore Sarah (AZ)laughed within herself, saying, (BA)“After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my (BB)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 (BC)Is anything too hard for the Lord? (BD)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 (BE)to send them on the way. 17 And the Lord said, (BF)“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 (BG)blessed in him? 19 For I have known him, in order (BH)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 (BI)the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their (BJ)sin is very grave, 21 (BK)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, (BL)I will know.”
22 Then the men turned away from there (BM)and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. 23 And Abraham (BN)came near and said, (BO)“Would You also (BP)destroy the (BQ)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 (BR)that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! (BS)Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
26 So the Lord said, (BT)“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 (BU)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, (BV)“Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?”
(BW)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 (BX)the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and (BY)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 (BZ)turn in to your servant’s house and spend the night, and (CA)wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.”
And they said, (CB)“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. (CC)Then he made them a feast, and baked (CD)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 (CE)And they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? (CF)Bring them out to us that we (CG)may know them carnally.”
6 So (CH)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 (CI)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, (CJ)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 (CK)came in to [j]stay here, (CL)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 (CM)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(CN)
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—(CO)take them out of this place! 13 For we will destroy this place, because the (CP)outcry against them has grown great before the face of the Lord, and (CQ)the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”
14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, (CR)who had married his daughters, and said, (CS)“Get up, get out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city!” (CT)But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking.
15 When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, (CU)“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 (CV)took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the (CW)Lord being merciful to him, (CX)and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 17 So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that [k]he said, (CY)“Escape for your life! (CZ)Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape (DA)to the mountains, lest you be [l]destroyed.”
18 Then Lot said to them, “Please, (DB)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, (DC)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 (DD)I cannot do anything until you arrive there.”
Therefore (DE)the name of the city was called [m]Zoar.
23 The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar. 24 Then the Lord rained (DF)brimstone and (DG)fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. 25 So He [n]overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and (DH)what grew on the ground.
26 But his wife looked back behind him, and she became (DI)a pillar of salt.
27 And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where (DJ)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, (DK)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 (DL)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 (DM)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 (DN)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 (DO)may preserve the [o]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 [p]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; (DP)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; (DQ)he is the father of the people of Ammon to this day.
Abraham and Abimelech
20 And Abraham journeyed from (DR)there to the South, and dwelt between (DS)Kadesh and Shur, and (DT)stayed in Gerar. 2 Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, (DU)“She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and (DV)took Sarah.
3 But (DW)God came to Abimelech (DX)in a dream by night, and said to him, (DY)“Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is [q]a man’s wife.”
4 But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, (DZ)will You slay a righteous nation also? 5 Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ (EA)In the [r]integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.”
6 And God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For (EB)I also withheld you from sinning (EC)against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. 7 Now therefore, restore the man’s wife; (ED)for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, (EE)know that you shall surely die, you (EF)and all who are yours.”
8 So Abimelech rose early in the morning, called all his servants, and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were very much afraid. 9 And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? How have I [s]offended you, (EG)that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me (EH)that ought not to be done.” 10 Then Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you have in view, that you have done this thing?”
11 And Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely (EI)the fear of God is not in this place; and (EJ)they will kill me on account of my wife. 12 But indeed (EK)she is truly my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. 13 And it came to pass, when (EL)God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is your kindness that you should do for me: in every place, wherever we go, (EM)say of me, “He is my brother.” ’ ”
14 Then Abimelech (EN)took sheep, oxen, and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham; and he restored Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelech said, “See, (EO)my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” 16 Then to Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; (EP)indeed this [t]vindicates you (EQ)before all who are with you and before everybody.” Thus she was [u]rebuked.
17 So Abraham (ER)prayed to God; and God (ES)healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants. Then they bore children; 18 for the Lord (ET)had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
Isaac Is Born(EU)
21 And the Lord (EV)visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah (EW)as He had spoken. 2 For Sarah (EX)conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, (EY)at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3 And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him—(EZ)Isaac.[v] 4 Then Abraham (FA)circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, (FB)as God had commanded him. 5 Now (FC)Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, (FD)“God has [w]made me laugh, and all who hear (FE)will laugh with me.” 7 She also said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? (FF)For I have borne him a son in his old age.”
Hagar and Ishmael Depart(FG)
8 So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned.
9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar (FH)the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, (FI)scoffing.[x] 10 Therefore she said to Abraham, (FJ)“Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac.” 11 And the matter was very [y]displeasing in Abraham’s sight (FK)because of his son.
12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for (FL)in Isaac your seed shall be called. 13 Yet I will also make (FM)a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your [z]seed.”
14 So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and [aa]a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and (FN)sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba. 15 And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs. 16 Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, “Let me not see the death of the boy.” So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept.
17 And (FO)God heard the voice of the lad. Then the (FP)angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. 18 Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for (FQ)I will make him a great nation.”
19 Then (FR)God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink. 20 So God (FS)was with the lad; and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, (FT)and became an archer. 21 He dwelt in the Wilderness of Paran; and his mother (FU)took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
A Covenant with Abimelech
22 And it came to pass at that time that (FV)Abimelech and Phichol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, (FW)“God is with you in all that you do. 23 Now therefore, (FX)swear[ab] to me by God that you will not deal falsely with me, with my offspring, or with my posterity; but that according to the kindness that I have done to you, you will do to me and to the land in which you have dwelt.”
24 And Abraham said, “I will swear.”
25 Then Abraham rebuked Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech’s servants (FY)had seized. 26 And Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor had I heard of it until today.” 27 So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them (FZ)made a [ac]covenant. 28 And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.
29 Then Abimelech asked Abraham, (GA)“What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves?”
30 And he said, “You will take these seven ewe lambs from my hand, that (GB)they may be my witness that I have dug this well.” 31 Therefore he (GC)called that place [ad]Beersheba, because the two of them swore an oath there.
32 Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba. So Abimelech rose with Phichol, the commander of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and (GD)there called on the name of the Lord, (GE)the Everlasting God. 34 And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines many days.
Footnotes
- Genesis 17:1 Heb. El Shaddai
- Genesis 17:4 Lit. a multitude of nations
- Genesis 17:5 Lit. Exalted Father
- Genesis 17:5 Lit. Father of a Multitude
- Genesis 17:5 a multitude of
- Genesis 17:8 Lit. of your sojournings
- Genesis 17:15 Lit. Princess
- Genesis 18:1 Heb. Alon Mamre
- Genesis 18:11 Lit. the manner of women had ceased to be with Sarah
- Genesis 19:9 As a resident alien
- Genesis 19:17 LXX, Syr., Vg. they
- Genesis 19:17 Lit. swept away
- Genesis 19:22 Lit. Little or Insignificant
- Genesis 19:25 devastated
- Genesis 19:32 Lit. seed
- Genesis 19:34 Lit. seed
- Genesis 20:3 Lit. married to a husband
- Genesis 20:5 innocence
- Genesis 20:9 sinned against
- Genesis 20:16 Lit. is a covering of the eyes for you to all
- Genesis 20:16 Or justified
- Genesis 21:3 Lit. Laughter
- Genesis 21:6 Lit. made laughter for me
- Genesis 21:9 Lit. laughing
- Genesis 21:11 distressing
- Genesis 21:13 descendant
- Genesis 21:14 A water bottle made of skins
- Genesis 21:23 take an oath
- Genesis 21:27 treaty
- Genesis 21:31 Lit. Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
