Genesis 18
Legacy Standard Bible
Yahweh Appears to Abraham
18 Then (A)Yahweh appeared to him by the [a](B)oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three (C)men were standing nearby; he saw, and he ran from the tent door to meet them, and he bowed himself to the earth, 3 and he said, “[b]My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please do not [c]pass Your servant by. 4 Please let a little water be brought and (D)wash your feet, and [d]rest yourselves under the tree; 5 and let me [e](E)bring a piece of bread, that you may [f]refresh your hearts; after that you may pass on, since in such a manner you have passed by your servant.” And they said, “So you shall do, as you have said.” 6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “[g]Hurry, prepare [h]three seahs of fine flour, knead it, and make bread cakes.” 7 Abraham also ran to the herd and took a tender and [i]choice calf and gave it to his young man, and he hurried to prepare it. 8 Then he took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and placed it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree, and they ate.
9 Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” 10 And He said, “(F)I will surely return to you [j]at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door which was behind him. 11 Now (G)Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was (H)past [k]childbearing. 12 And Sarah laughed [l]to herself, saying, “(I)After I am worn out, shall I have pleasure, my (J)lord being old also?” 13 And Yahweh said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed [m]bear a son, when I am so old?’ 14 (K)Is anything too [n]difficult for Yahweh? At the (L)appointed time I will return to you, [o]at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” 15 Then Sarah denied it however, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
Yahweh and Abraham Speak About Sodom
16 Then (M)the men rose up from there and looked down toward Sodom; and Abraham was walking with them to send them off. 17 (N)Now Yahweh said, “Shall I conceal from Abraham (O)what I am about to do, 18 since Abraham will surely become a great and [p]mighty nation, and in him (P)all the nations of the earth will be blessed? 19 For I have [q](Q)known him, so that he may (R)command his children and his household after him, (S)that they keep the way of Yahweh to do righteousness and justice, so that Yahweh may bring upon Abraham (T)what He has spoken about him.” 20 So Yahweh said, “(U)The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. 21 I will (V)go down now and see whether they have done entirely according to its outcry, which has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”
22 Then (W)the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before (X)Yahweh. 23 Then Abraham came near and said, “(Y)Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not [r]spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 Far be it from You to do [s]such a thing, to put to death the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not (Z)the Judge of all the earth do justice?” 26 So Yahweh said, “(AA)If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will [t]spare the whole place on their account.” 27 And Abraham answered and said, “Now behold, I have [u]ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but (AB)dust and ashes. 28 Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the whole city because of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” 29 Then he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose forty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it on account of the forty.” 30 Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” 31 And he said, “Now behold, I have [v]ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.” 32 Then he said, “(AC)Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.” 33 And as soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham, (AD)Yahweh departed, and Abraham returned to his place.
Footnotes
- Genesis 18:1 Or terebinths
- Genesis 18:3 Or O Lord
- Genesis 18:3 Lit pass away from Your servant
- Genesis 18:4 Lit support
- Genesis 18:5 Lit take
- Genesis 18:5 Lit sustain your heart
- Genesis 18:6 Lit Hasten 3 measures
- Genesis 18:6 Approx. 21 qt. or 23 l, a seah was approx. 7 qt. or 7.7 l
- Genesis 18:7 Lit good
- Genesis 18:10 Lit when the time revives
- Genesis 18:11 Lit the manner of women
- Genesis 18:12 Lit within
- Genesis 18:13 Lit surely bear
- Genesis 18:14 Or marvelous
- Genesis 18:14 Lit when the time revives
- Genesis 18:18 Or populous
- Genesis 18:19 Or chosen
- Genesis 18:24 Or forgive
- Genesis 18:25 Lit after this manner
- Genesis 18:26 Or forgive
- Genesis 18:27 Lit undertaken
- Genesis 18:31 Lit undertaken
Genesis 18
Christian Standard Bible
Abraham’s Three Visitors
18 The Lord appeared to Abraham at the oaks of Mamre(A) while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the heat of the day. 2 He looked up, and he saw three men standing near him.(B) When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them, bowed to the ground, 3 and said, “My lord, if I have found favor with you, please do not go on past your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought, that you may wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 I will bring a bit of bread so that you may strengthen yourselves. This is why you have passed your servant’s way. Later, you can continue on.”
“Yes,” they replied, “do as you have said.”
6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Knead three measures[a] of fine flour and make bread.”[b] 7 Abraham ran to the herd and got a tender, choice calf. He gave it to a young man, who hurried to prepare it. 8 Then Abraham took curds[c] and milk, as well as the calf that he had prepared, and set them before the men. He served[d] them as they ate under the tree.
Sarah Laughs
9 “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him.
“There, in the tent,” he answered.
10 The Lord said, “I will certainly come back to you in about a year’s time, and your wife Sarah will have a son!” (C) Now Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent behind him.
11 Abraham and Sarah were old and getting on in years.[e] Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.(D) 12 So she laughed to herself: “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I have delight?” (E)
13 But the Lord asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Can I really have a baby when I’m old?’ 14 Is anything impossible for the Lord?(F) At the appointed time I will come back to you, and in about a year she will have a son.”
15 Sarah denied it. “I did not laugh,” she said, because she was afraid.
But he replied, “No, you did laugh.”
Abraham’s Plea for Sodom
16 The men got up from there and looked out over Sodom, and Abraham was walking with them to see them off. 17 Then the Lord said, “Should I hide what I am about to do from Abraham?(G) 18 Abraham is to become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him.(H) 19 For I have chosen[f] him so that he will command his children and his house after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. This is how the Lord will fulfill to Abraham what he promised him.” 20 Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is immense, and their sin is extremely serious. 21 I will go down(I) to see if what they have done justifies the cry that has come up to me. If not, I will find out.”
22 The men turned from there and went toward Sodom(J) while Abraham remained standing before the Lord.[g] 23 Abraham stepped forward and said, “Will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked?(K) 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away instead of sparing the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people who are in it? 25 You could not possibly do such a thing: to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. You could not possibly do that! Won’t the Judge of the whole earth do what is just?” (L)
26 The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”(M)
27 Then Abraham answered, “Since I have ventured to speak to my lord—even though I am dust and ashes— 28 suppose the fifty righteous lack five. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?”
He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
29 Then he spoke to him again, “Suppose forty are found there?”
He answered, “I will not do it on account of forty.”
30 Then he said, “Let my lord not be angry, and I will speak further. Suppose thirty are found there?”
He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
31 Then he said, “Since I have ventured to speak to my lord, suppose twenty are found there?”
He replied, “I will not destroy it on account of twenty.”
32 Then he said, “Let my lord not be angry, and I will speak one more time.(N) Suppose ten are found there?”
He answered, “I will not destroy it on account of ten.” 33 When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he departed, and Abraham returned to his place.
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