Genesis 18
1599 Geneva Bible
18 2 Abraham receiveth three Angels into his house. 10 Isaac is promised again. 12 Sarah laugheth. 18 Christ is promised to all nations. 19 Abraham taught his family to know God. 21 The destruction of Sodom is declared unto Abraham. 23 Abraham prayeth for them.
1 Again the Lord (A)appeared unto him in the [a]plain of Mamre, as he sat in his tent door about the heat of the day.
2 And he lifted up his eyes, and looked: and lo, three [b]men stood by him, and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to the ground.
3 And he said, [c]Lord, if I have now found favor in thy sight, go not, I pray thee, from thy servant.
4 Let a little water, I pray you, be brought, and [d]wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.
5 And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may comfort your hearts, afterward ye shall go your ways: for therefore are ye [e]come to your servant. And they said, Do even as thou hast said.
6 Then Abraham made haste into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready at once three [f]measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.
7 And Abraham ran to the beasts, and took a tender and good calf, and gave it to the servant, who hasted to make it ready.
8 And he took butter and milk, and the calf which he had prepared, and set before them, and stood himself by them under the tree: and [g]they did eat.
9 ¶ Then they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he answered, Behold, she is in the tent.
10 And he said, (B)I will certainly come again unto thee according to the time of [h]life: and lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son: and Sarah heard in the tent door, which was behind him.
11 (Now Abraham and Sarah were old and stricken in age, and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.)
12 Therefore Sarah [i]laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old, (C)and my lord also, shall I have lust?
13 And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah thus laugh, saying, Shall I certainly bear a child, which am old?
14 (Shall anything be [j](D)hard to the Lord? as the time appointed will I return unto thee, even according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.)
15 But Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not: for she was afraid. And he said, [k]It is not so: for thou laughedst.
16 ¶ Afterward, the men did rise up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.
17 And the [l]Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do,
18 Seeing that Abraham shall be indeed a great and a mighty nation, and (E)all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
19 For I know him [m]that he will command his sons and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord to do righteousness and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham, that he hath spoken unto him.
20 Then the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is exceedingly grievous,
21 I will [n]go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to that [o]cry, which is come unto me: and if not, that I may know.
22 And the men turned thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord.
23 Then Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
24 If there be fifty righteous within the city, wilt thou destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?
25 Be it far from thee from doing this thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be even as the wicked, be it far from thee. Shall not the Judge of all the world [p]do right?
26 And the Lord answered, If I shall find in Sodom [q]fifty righteous within the city, then will I spare all the place for their sakes.
27 Then Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have begun to speak unto my Lord, and I am [r]but dust and ashes,
28 If there shall lack five of fifty righteous, wilt thou destroy all the city for five? And he said, If I find there five and forty, I will not destroy it.
29 And he yet spake to him again, and said, What if there shall be found forty there? Then he answered, I will not do it for forty’s sake.
30 Again he said, Let not my Lord now be angry that I speak, What if thirty be found there? Then he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there.
31 Moreover he said, Behold now, I have begun to speak unto my Lord, What if twenty be found there? And he answered, I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake.
32 Then he said, Let not my Lord be now angry, and I will speak but this [s]once, What if ten be found there? And he answered, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.
33 ¶ And the Lord went his way, when he had left communing with Abraham, and Abraham returned unto his place.
Footnotes
- Genesis 18:1 Or, oak grove.
- Genesis 18:2 That is, three Angels in man’s shape.
- Genesis 18:3 Speaking to one of them in whom appeared to be most majesty, for he thought they had been men.
- Genesis 18:4 For men used because of the great heat to go bare footed in those parts.
- Genesis 18:5 As sent of God, that I should do my duty to you.
- Genesis 18:6 Hebrew, Seim.
- Genesis 18:8 For as God gave them bodies for a time, so gave he them the faculties thereof, to walk, to eat and drink, and such like.
- Genesis 18:10 That is, about this time when she shall be alive, or when the child shall come into this life.
- Genesis 18:12 For she rather had respect to the order of nature, than believed the promise of God.
- Genesis 18:14 Or, hid.
- Genesis 18:15 Hebrew, No.
- Genesis 18:17 Jehovah the Hebrew word which we call Lord, showeth that this Angel was Christ: for this word is only applied to God.
- Genesis 18:19 He showeth that fathers ought both to know God’s judgments, and to declare them to their children.
- Genesis 18:21 God speaketh after the fashion of men: that is, I will enter into judgment with good advice.
- Genesis 18:21 For our sins cry for vengeance, though none accuse us.
- Genesis 18:25 Hebrew, do judgment.
- Genesis 18:26 God declareth that his judgments were done with great mercy, forasmuch as all were so corrupt, that not only fifty but ten righteous men could not be found there, and also that the wicked are spared for the righteous’ sake.
- Genesis 18:27 Hereby we learn, that the nearer we approach unto God, the more doth our miserable estate appear, and the more are we humbled.
- Genesis 18:32 If God refused not the prayer for the wicked Sodomites, even to the sixth request, how much more will he grant the prayers of the godly for the afflicted Church?
Genesis 18
New Century Version
The Three Visitors
18 Later, the Lord again appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre. Abraham was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the hottest part of the day. 2 He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When Abraham saw them, he ran from his tent to meet them. He bowed facedown on the ground before them 3 and said, “Sir, if you think well of me, please stay awhile with me, your servant. 4 I will bring some water so all of you can wash your feet. You may rest under the tree, 5 and I will get some bread for you so you can regain your strength. Then you may continue your journey.”
The three men said, “That is fine. Do as you said.”
6 Abraham hurried to the tent where Sarah was and said to her, “Hurry, prepare twenty quarts of fine flour, and make it into loaves of bread.” 7 Then Abraham ran to his herd and took one of his best calves. He gave it to a servant, who hurried to kill it and to prepare it for food. 8 Abraham gave the three men the calf that had been cooked and milk curds and milk. While they ate, he stood under the tree near them.
9 The men asked Abraham, “Where is your wife Sarah?”
“There, in the tent,” said Abraham.
10 Then the Lord said, “I will certainly return to you about this time a year from now. At that time your wife Sarah will have a son.”
Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were very old. Since Sarah was past the age when women normally have children, 12 she laughed to herself, “My husband and I are too old to have a baby.”
13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘I am too old to have a baby’? 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? No! I will return to you at the right time a year from now, and Sarah will have a son.”
15 Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I didn’t laugh.”
But the Lord said, “No. You did laugh.”
16 Then the men got up to leave and started out toward Sodom. Abraham walked along with them a short time to send them on their way.
Abraham’s Bargain with God
17 The Lord said, “Should I tell Abraham what I am going to do now? 18 Abraham’s children will certainly become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. 19 I have chosen him so he would command his children and his descendants to live the way the Lord wants them to, to live right and be fair. Then I, the Lord, will give Abraham what I promised him.”
20 Then the Lord said, “I have heard many complaints against the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. They are very evil. 21 I will go down and see if they are as bad as I have heard. If not, I will know.”
22 So the men turned and went toward Sodom, but Abraham stood there before the Lord. 23 Then Abraham approached him and asked, “Do you plan to destroy the good people along with the evil ones? 24 What if there are fifty good people in that city? Will you still destroy it? Surely you will save the city for the fifty good people living there. 25 Surely you will not destroy the good people along with the evil ones; then they would be treated the same. You are the judge of all the earth. Won’t you do what is right?”
26 The Lord said, “If I find fifty good people in the city of Sodom, I will save the whole city because of them.”
27 Then Abraham said, “Though I am only dust and ashes, I have been brave to speak to the Lord. 28 What if there are only forty-five good people in the city? Will you destroy the whole city for the lack of five good people?”
The Lord said, “If I find forty-five there, I will not destroy the city.”
29 Again Abraham said to him, “If you find only forty good people there, will you destroy the city?”
The Lord said, “If I find forty, I will not destroy it.”
30 Then Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me, but let me ask you this. If you find only thirty good people in the city, will you destroy it?”
He said, “If I find thirty good people there, I will not destroy the city.”
31 Then Abraham said, “I have been brave to speak to the Lord. But what if there are twenty good people in the city?”
He answered, “If I find twenty there, I will not destroy the city.”
32 Then Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me, but let me bother you this one last time. What if you find ten there?”
He said, “If I find ten there, I will not destroy it.”
33 When the Lord finished speaking to Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.
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