Genesis 18
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 18
God Becomes a Guest.[a] 1 The Lord appeared to Abraham at the Oak of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest part of the day. 2 He looked up and saw three men standing nearby. As soon as he saw them, he ran to meet them from the entrance of his tent and bowed down to the ground, 3 saying, “My lord, if I have found favor with you, please do not pass on without stopping to visit your servant. 4 Let some water be brought so that you may wash your feet. Make yourselves comfortable under this tree. 5 Let me go and prepare a bit of food that you may refresh yourselves. Afterward, you can go on your way. It is for this that you have come to visit your servant.”
They answered, “Do as you have said.”
6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick, take three seahs[b] of fine flour, knead it, and make it into rolls.”
7 He ran to the herd, took a choice calf, and gave it to his servant, who quickly prepared it. 8 He then took curds[c] and milk, as well as the veal that had been prepared, and he placed them before his guests. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate.
9 They then said, “Where is Sarah, your wife?” He answered, “She is in the tent.” 10 The Lord[d] said, “I will return this way a year from now, and by that time Sarah, your wife, will have a son.” Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, just behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. Sarah no longer had her monthly periods. 12 Sarah therefore laughed to herself and said, “After I am withered and my husband is old, will I now have this pleasure?”
13 But the Lord said to Abraham, “Why is Sarah laughing and saying, ‘Can I really give birth now that I am so old?’ 14 Is anything impossible to the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time, one year from now, and Sarah will have a son.” 15 Sarah denied laughing, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.”
16 The “Friend” of God.[e] The men rose up and went along to look down upon Sodom from on high while Abraham accompanied them to show them the way. 17 The Lord said, “Should I keep hidden from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 for Abraham shall become a great and powerful nation and all of the nations of the earth shall be blessed through him? 19 I chose him so that he would instruct his sons and his family after him to observe the ways of the Lord and to act with justice and righteousness so that the Lord might fulfill what he has promised to Abraham.”
20 Therefore, the Lord said, “The cry against Sodom and Gomorrah is too great and their sin is very grave. 21 I am going to descend to see if they have really done all the evil that has cried out to me. I want to know this!”
22 While the two men departed and journeyed toward Sodom, Abraham remained standing before the Lord. 23 Abraham approached him and said to him, “Is it true that you will destroy the just along with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really destroy it? Will you not spare it for the sake of the fifty righteous people that you found there? 25 Far be it from you to make the righteous die along with the wicked, so that the righteous would have the same fate as the wicked. Far be it from you! Is it possible that the judge of the whole earth does not practice justice?” 26 The Lord answered, “If I find fifty righteous people living in the city of Sodom, for their sake I will spare the city.”
27 Abraham spoke again, “Look how I dare to speak with my Lord, I who am dust and ashes. 28 What if there are five fewer than fifty righteous people, will you destroy the entire city because of those five?”
He answered, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
29 Abraham spoke again and said, “What if you find forty there?” He answered, “I will not do it, for the sake of those forty.” 30 And again he said, “Let my Lord not grow impatient with me if I continue to speak; what if thirty are found there?” He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” 31 Once again he said, “Look how I dare to talk to my Lord! What if you find twenty there?” He said, “I will not destroy it, for the sake of those twenty.”
32 Yet again he said, “My Lord, do not grow impatient if I speak still another time; what if ten are found there?” He answered, “I will not destroy it, for the sake of the ten.” 33 When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he went on his way, and Abraham returned to his tent.
Footnotes
- Genesis 18:1 Chapters 18–19 are from the Yahwist tradition and might be entitled “The meaning of the covenant.” Three individuals appear before Abraham; he receives them with an act of homage. “He saw three but worshiped the One,” said the Fathers of the Church, who saw here a prefiguration of the Trinity.
- Genesis 18:6 Three seahs: a dry measure that equaled about one ephah.
- Genesis 18:8 Curds: a kind of soft cheese.
- Genesis 18:10 The Lord: literally, “he.”
- Genesis 18:16 For the first time in the Bible God’s justice is questioned; trusting in the Lord, Abraham begins to try to bend it. The sacred writer, like his contemporaries, is convinced that members of one and the same group have a joint responsibility as well as the same destiny, but he thinks that ten righteous persons can save an entire city. The prophets Jeremiah (Jer 5:1) and Ezekiel (Ezek 22:30) will claim that a single righteous person is enough. Abraham, however, does not feel able to push his request any further; perhaps there were no truly righteous persons in the city.
Genesis 18
New Life Version
Abraham Is Promised a Son
18 The Lord showed Himself to Abraham by the oak trees of Mamre, as he sat at the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them. He put his face to the ground 3 and said, “My lord, if I have found favor in your eyes, please do not pass by your servant. 4 Let us have a little water brought to wash your feet. Rest yourselves under the tree. 5 And I will get a piece of bread so you may eat and get strength. After that you may go on your way, since you have come to your servant.”
The men said, “Do as you have said.” 6 So Abraham ran into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Hurry and get three pails of fine flour, mix it well, and make bread.” 7 Then Abraham ran to the cattle and took out a young and good calf. He gave it to the servant to make it ready in a hurry. 8 He took milk and cheese and the meat which he had made ready, and set it in front of them. He stood by them under the tree while they ate.
9 Then they said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There in the tent.” 10 The Lord said, “I will be sure to return to you at this time next year. And your wife Sarah will have a son.” Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old. They had lived many years. The way of women had stopped for Sarah. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “Will I have this joy after my husband and I have grown old?” 13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘How can I give birth to a child when I am so old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” 15 But Sarah said, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
Abraham Cries Out for Sodom
16 Then the men got up from there and looked down toward Sodom. Abraham went with them to send them on their way. 17 And the Lord said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 since Abraham will become a great and powerful nation, because good will come to all the nations of the earth through him? 19 For I have chosen him, so that he may teach his children and the sons of his house after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and fair. So the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has promised him.” 20 Then the Lord said, “The cry against Sodom and Gomorrah is loud. Their sin is very bad. 21 I will now go down and see if they have done as much wrong as the cry against them has told Me they have. And if not, I will know.”
22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom. But Abraham still stood before the Lord. 23 Abraham came near and said, “Will You destroy the good also, with the bad? 24 What if there are fifty good people within the city? Will You destroy the place and not save it because of the fifty good people in it? 25 May You never do such a thing as to destroy the good with the bad! May the good never be punished like the bad! You would never do such a thing! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?” 26 So the Lord said, “If I find fifty good people in the city of Sodom, I will save the whole place because of them.” 27 Abraham said, “Now see, I have taken upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am only dust and ashes. 28 What if five of the fifty good people are not so good. Will You destroy the whole city because of five?” The Lord said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five good people there.” 29 Abraham spoke to Him again and said, “What if only forty are found there?” The Lord said, “I will not destroy it if there are forty.” 30 Then Abraham said, “O may the Lord not be angry, and I will speak. What if only thirty are found there?” The Lord said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” 31 Abraham said, “Now see, I have taken upon myself to speak to the Lord. What if twenty are found there?” The Lord said, “I will not destroy it because of the twenty.” 32 Then Abraham said, “O may the Lord not be angry. And I may speak once more. What if ten are found there?” The Lord said, “I will not destroy it because of the ten.” 33 Then the Lord went on His way when He finished speaking with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.
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