Genesis 18
New American Standard Bible
Birth of Isaac Promised
18 Now (A)the Lord appeared to [a]Abraham by the [b](B)oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 When he raised his eyes and looked, behold, three (C)men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed down to the ground, 3 and said, “[c]My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please do not [d]pass Your servant by. 4 Please let a little water be brought and (D)wash [e]your feet, and make yourselves comfortable under the tree; 5 and I will [f](E)bring a piece of bread, so that you may [g]refresh yourselves; after that you may go on, since you have [h]visited your servant.” And they said, “So do as you have said.” 6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “[i]Quickly, prepare three [j]measures of fine flour, knead it, and make bread cakes.” 7 Abraham also ran to the herd, and took a tender and [k]choice calf and gave it to the servant, and he hurried to prepare it. 8 He took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree [l]as they ate.
9 Then they said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” 10 He said, “(F)I will certainly return to you [m]at this time next year; and behold, your wife Sarah 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 [n]childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed [o]to herself, saying, “(I)After I have become old, am I to have pleasure, my (J)lord being old also?” 13 But the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I actually give birth to a child, when I am so old?’ 14 (K)Is anything too [p]difficult for the Lord? At the (L)appointed time I will return to you, [q]at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” 15 Sarah denied it, however, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
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)The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham (O)what I am about to do, 18 since Abraham will certainly become a great and [r]mighty nation, and in him (P)all the nations of the earth will be blessed? 19 For I have [s](Q)chosen him, so that he may (R)command his children and his household after him to (S)keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham (T)what He has spoken about him.” 20 And the Lord 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 as the outcry, which has come to Me indicates; and if not, I will know.”
Abraham Appeals for Sodom
22 Then (W)the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before (X)the Lord. 23 Abraham approached and said, “(Y)Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous people within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not [t]spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 Far be it from You to do [u]such a thing, to kill 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 [v]deal justly?” 26 So the Lord said, “(AA)If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will [w]spare the entire place on their account.” 27 And Abraham replied, “Now behold, I have [x]ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am only (AB)dust and ashes. 28 Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the entire city because of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” 29 And 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 [y]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 As soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham (AD)the Lord departed, and Abraham returned to his place.
Footnotes
- Genesis 18:1 Lit him
- Genesis 18:1 Or terebinths
- Genesis 18:3 Or O Lord
- Genesis 18:3 Lit pass away from Your servant
- Genesis 18:4 I.e., referring to the three visitors
- Genesis 18:5 Lit take
- Genesis 18:5 Lit sustain your heart
- Genesis 18:5 Lit come to
- Genesis 18:6 Lit Hasten three measures
- Genesis 18:6 Heb seah; one seah is about 7 qt. or 7.7 liters
- Genesis 18:7 Lit good
- Genesis 18:8 Lit and
- Genesis 18:10 Lit when the time revives
- Genesis 18:11 Lit the way of women
- Genesis 18:12 Lit within
- Genesis 18:14 Or wonderful
- Genesis 18:14 Lit when the time revives
- Genesis 18:18 Or populous
- Genesis 18:19 Lit known
- Genesis 18:24 Or forgive
- Genesis 18:25 Lit like this thing
- Genesis 18:25 Lit do justice
- Genesis 18:26 Or forgive
- Genesis 18:27 Or resolved
- Genesis 18:31 Or resolved
Genesis 18
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
A Son Promised to Abraham and Sarah
18 And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks[a] 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[b] 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[c] 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?[d] 19 No, for I have chosen[e] 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.
Footnotes
- 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
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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.