Beginning

16 Therefore Sarai, the wife of Abram, had not engendered [to him] free children; but she had a servantess of Egypt, Hagar by name, (And so Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not borne him any children; but she had an Egyptian slave-girl, named Hagar,)

² and Sarai said to her husband, Lo! the Lord hath closed me (up), (so) that I should not bear (a) child; enter thou [in]to my servantess, if in hap I shall take children, namely of her (and so enter thou to my slave-girl, and perhaps I shall have children through her). And when he assented to her praying,

³ she took Hagar (the) Egyptian, her servantess, after ten years after that they began to inhabit the land of Canaan, and she gave Hagar (as) [a] wife to her husband. (she took her slave-girl, Hagar the Egyptian, and she gave her as a wife to her husband; this was ten years after that they had begun to live in the land of Canaan.)

⁴ And Abram entered [in]to Hagar; and (soon) Hagar saw that she had conceived, and (then) she despised her lady.

⁵ And Sarai said to Abram, Thou doest wickedly against me; I gave my servantess into thy bosom, which seeth that she [hath] conceived, and (now she) despiseth me; the Lord deem betwixt me and thee. (And Sarai said to Abram, Thou doest wickedly against me; I gave my slave-girl into thy arms, and she seeth that she hath conceived, and now she despiseth me; the Lord judge between me and thee.)

⁶ And Abram answered and said to her, Lo! thy servantess is in thine hand; use thou her as thee liketh. Therefore for Sarai tormented her, she fled away. (And Abram answered and said to her, Lo! thy slave-girl is in thy hands; do thou with her as thou pleaseth. And so when Sarai tormented her, she fled away.)

⁷ And when the angel of the Lord had found her beside a well of water in (the) wilderness, which well is in the way of Shur in (the) desert,

⁸ he said to her, From whence comest thou Hagar, the servantess of Sarai (Sarai’s slave-girl), and whither goest thou? Which answered, I flee from the face of Sarai, my lady.

⁹ And the angel of the Lord said to her, Turn thou again to thy lady (Return to thy lady), and be thou meeked under her hands.

¹⁰ And again he said, I multiplying shall multiply thy seed, and it shall not be numbered for multitude. (And again he said, I multiplying shall multiply thy descendants, and they shall not be able to be counted for all their multitude.)

¹¹ And afterward he said (And then he said), Lo! thou hast conceived, and thou shalt bear a son, and thou shalt call his name Ishmael, for the Lord hath heard thy torment;

¹² this shall be a wild man; his hand shall be against all men, and the hands of all men shall be against him; and he shall set (his) tabernacles even against all his brethren (and he shall be at odds with all of his kinsmen).

¹³ Forsooth Hagar called the name of the Lord that spake to her, Thou God that sawest me; for she said, Forsooth here I saw the hinder things of him that saw me. (And Hagar called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, Thou God who sawest me; for she said, Here I saw him who saw me, and I still lived.)

¹⁴ Therefore she called that well, The well of him that liveth and seeth me (And that is why people call that well The Well of Lahairoi, or Beerlahairoi); (and) that well is betwixt Kadesh and Bered.

¹⁵ And (so) Hagar childed a son to Abram, which called his name Ishmael (and he named him Ishmael).

¹⁶ Abram was eighty years and six, when Hagar childed Ishmael to him. (Abram was eighty-six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael for him.)

17 Forsooth after that Abram began to be of ninety years and nine, the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, I am Almighty God; go thou before me, and be thou perfect; (Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, I am Almighty God; go thou before me, and do thou what is right;)

² and I shall set my covenant of peace betwixt me and thee; and I shall multiply thee full greatly (and I shall greatly multiply thee).

³ And Abram felled down low on his face. And God said to him,

⁴ I am, and my covenant of peace is with thee, and thou shalt be the father of many folks (and thou shalt be the father of many nations);

⁵ and thy name shall no more be called Abram, but thou shalt be called Abraham, for I have made thee [the] father of many folks (for I have made thee the father of many nations);

⁶ and I shall make thee to wax full greatly, and I shall set thee in folks (and I shall make nations to come out of thee), and kings shall go out of thee;

⁷ and I shall make my covenant between me and thee, and between thy seed after thee, in their generations, by everlasting bond of peace, that I be thy God, and of thy seed after thee; (and I shall make my covenant between me and thee, and thy descendants after thee, in all their generations, an everlasting covenant, that I be thy God, and the God of thy descendants after thee;)

⁸ and I shall give to thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land of thy pilgrimage, all the land of Canaan, into everlasting possession, and I shall be the God of them. (and I shall give to thee, and to thy descendants after thee, this land where thou art now living, yea, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I shall be their God.)

⁹ God said again to Abraham, And therefore thou shalt keep my covenant, and thy seed after thee, in their generations. (And God said to Abraham, And so thou shalt keep my covenant, thou, and thy descendants after thee, in all generations.)

¹⁰ This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, betwixt me and you, and thy seed after thee; each male kind of you shall be circumcised (every male among you shall be circumcised),

¹¹ and ye shall circumcise the flesh of your man’s rod, that it be into a sign of bond of peace betwixt me and you (so that it be a sign of the covenant between me and you).

¹² A young child of eight days shall be circumcised in you, all male kind in your generations, as well a born servant [of your household], as a servant bought, shall be circumcised, (A newborn child among you shall be circumcised on the eighth day, yea, all the males of every generation, as well as a slave born in your household, and a slave who is bought, yea, all the males shall be circumcised,)

¹³ and whoever is of your kindred, he (also) shall be circumcised; and my covenant shall be in your flesh into everlasting bond of peace (and so my covenant shall be made in your flesh as an everlasting covenant).

¹⁴ A(ny) man whose flesh of his rod shall not be circumcised, that man shall be done away from his people; for he made void my covenant (for he hath broken my covenant).

¹⁵ Also God said to Abraham (And God said Abraham), Thou shalt not call Sarai, thy wife, Sarai, but Sarah;

¹⁶ and I shall bless her, and of her I shall give to thee a son, whom I shall bless, and he shall be into nations, and kings of peoples shall be born of him. (and I shall bless her, and I shall give thee a son by her; yea, I shall bless her, and she shall be the mother of nations, and kings of many people shall be born from her.)

¹⁷ Abraham felled down on his face, and laughed in his heart, and said, Guessest thou, whether a child shall be born to a man of an hundred years, and Sarah of ninety years shall bear a child? (And Abraham fell down on his face, and laughed in his heart, and said, Thinkest thou, that a child shall be born to a man who is a hundred years old, and that Sarah, who is ninety years old, shall yet bear a child?)

¹⁸ And he said to the Lord, I would that Ishmael might live before thee.

¹⁹ And the Lord said to Abraham, Sarah, thy wife, shall bear a son to thee, and thou shalt call his name Isaac, and I shall make my covenant with him into everlasting bond of peace, and to his seed after him; (And the Lord said to Abraham, No, thy wife Sarah shall bear a son for thee, and thou shalt call his name Isaac, and I shall make my covenant with him, and his descendants after him, yea, an everlasting covenant;)

²⁰ also on Ishmael I have heard thee, lo! I shall bless him, and I shall increase (him), and I shall multiply him greatly; he shall engender twelve dukes, and I shall make him into a great folk. (and regarding Ishmael, I have heard thee, lo! I shall bless him, and I shall increase him, and I shall greatly multiply him; he shall beget twelve princes, and I shall make him into a great nation.)

²¹ Forsooth I shall make my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall child to thee in this time in the tother year. (But I shall make my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear for thee at this same time next year.)

²² And when the word of the speaker with him was ended (And when he was finished speaking), God ascended from Abraham.

²³ Forsooth Abraham took Ishmael, his son, and all the born servants of his house, and all which he had bought, all the males of all men of his house, and circumcised the flesh of their rod(s), anon in that day, as the Lord commanded to him. (Then Abraham took his son Ishmael, and all the slaves born in his household, and all the slaves he had bought, yea, all the males of his household, and at once circumcised the flesh of their rods on that day, as the Lord had commanded him.)

²⁴ Abraham was of ninety years and nine when he circumcised the flesh of his rod, (Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he circumcised the flesh of his own rod,)

²⁵ and Ishmael, his son, had filled thirteen years in the time of his circumcision. (and his son Ishmael was thirteen years old at the time of his circumcision.)

²⁶ Abraham was circumcised in the same day, and Ishmael his son, (And Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on the same day,)

²⁷ and all the men of his house, as well born servants, as (those) bought and aliens, were circumcised together. (and all the men of his household, yea, the slaves born in his household, and those bought from foreigners, were circumcised with him.)

18 Forsooth in the valley of Mamre the Lord appeared to Abraham, (as he was) sitting in the door of his tabernacle, in that heat of the day. (And sometime later, by the terebinths of Mamre, the Lord appeared to Abraham, when he was sitting by the door of his tent, in the heat of the day.)

² And when Abraham had raised up his eyes, three men appeared to him, and stood nigh [to] him. And when he had seen them, he ran from the door of his tabernacle into the meeting of them, and he worshipped on [the] earth (And when he had seen them, he ran from the door of his tent to meet them, and he bowed low to the ground),

³ and said, Lord (My lords), if I have found grace in thine eyes, pass thou not (by) thy servant,

⁴ but I shall bring (thee) a little water, and your feet (can) be washed, and (so) rest ye (yourselves) under the tree;

⁵ and I shall set (before you) a morsel of bread, and your heart (shall) be comforted; (and) afterward ye shall pass [forth]; for therefore (be) ye bowed (aside) to your servant. Which said (And they said to him), Do thou as thou hast spoken.

⁶ (And) Abraham hasted into the tabernacle, to Sarah, and said to her, Haste thou, mix (up) three half bushels of clean flour; and make thou loaves baken under ashes.

⁷ Forsooth (then) he ran to the drove of beasts, and took thereof a calf most tender and best, and gave (it) to a servant, which hasted, and seethed the calf (and boiled the calf);

⁸ and (then) he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had sodden, and set (it) before them; forsooth Abraham stood beside them under the tree. And when they had eaten,

⁹ they said to him, Where is Sarah thy wife? He answered, Lo! she is in the tabernacle (she is in the tent).

¹⁰ To whom the Lord said, I shall turn again, and I shall come to thee in this time, if I live; and Sarah, thy wife, shall have a son. When this was heard, Sarah laughed behind the door of the tabernacle. (And the Lord said to him, I shall return, and I shall come back to thee at this same time next year, as I live; and Sarah, thy wife, shall have a son. And when she heard this, Sarah laughed behind the door of the tent.)

¹¹ Forsooth both were old, and of great age, and woman’s terms ceased to be made to Sarah (and a woman’s terms had ceased to be made with Sarah).

¹² And (so) she laughed, saying privily, After that I (have) waxed eld, and my lord is eld, shall I give diligence to lust?

¹³ Forsooth the Lord said to Abraham, Why laughed Sarah, thy wife, saying, Whether I an eld woman shall bear a child verily? (And the Lord said to Abraham, Why did thy wife Sarah laugh, and say, Shall I, an old woman, truly bear a child?)

¹⁴ whether anything is hard to God? By the promise I shall turn again to thee in this same time, if I live; and Sarah shall have a son. (is there anything too hard for God to do? By my word, I shall return to thee at this same time, as I live; and Sarah shall have a son.)

¹⁵ (And) Sarah was afeared for dread, and denied (it), saying, I laughed not. Forsooth the Lord said, It is not so, but thou laughedest.

¹⁶ Therefore when the men had risen (up) from thence, they (ad)dressed the eyes against Sodom (they directed their eyes toward Sodom); and Abraham went together (with them), leading them forth.

¹⁷ And the Lord said, Whether I may cover from Abraham what things I shall do, (And the Lord said to himself, Can I hide from Abraham what things I am about to do?)

¹⁸ since he shall be into a great folk and most strong, and all nations of [the] earth shall be blessed in him? (For he shall become a great and a most strong nation, and all the nations of the earth shall pray to be blessed as he is blessed/and through him I shall bless all the nations of the earth.)

¹⁹ For I know that Abraham shall command his children, and his house(hold) after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, and that they do rightfulness and doom, that the Lord bring for Abraham all things which he spake to Abraham (and that they do what is right and just, so that I shall bring to Abraham all the things that I have promised him).

²⁰ And so the Lord said, The cry of men of Sodom and of men of Gomorrah is multiplied, and their sin is egregious greatly; (And so the Lord said to him, There is a great outcry against the people of Sodom and the people of Gomorrah, and their sin is highly egregious;)

²¹ I shall come down, and see whether they have [ful]filled in work the cry that came to me, that I know whether it is not so. (and so I shall go down there, and see whether their deeds have warranted the outcry that came to me, and so that I know if it is so, or not.)

²² And they turned them[selves] from thence, and went to Sodom. Abraham soothly stood yet before the Lord, (And then two of the men went forth from there, and went down to Sodom. But Abraham stood yet before the Lord,)

²³ and nighed, and said, Whether thou shalt lose a just man with the wicked? (and he came over, and said to him, Shalt thou destroy the righteous along with the wicked?)

²⁴ if fifty just men be in the city, shall they perish together, and shalt thou not spare that place for fifty just men, if they be therein? (what if fifty righteous people be in the city, shall they perish along with the others, and shalt thou not spare that place for fifty righteous people, if they be there?)

²⁵ Far be it from thee that thou do this thing, and slay the just with the wicked, and that a just man be made as a wicked man; this is not thine that deemest all [the] earth; thou shalt not make this doom. (Far be it from thee that thou do this thing, and kill the righteous along with the wicked, and that the righteous be made like the wicked; this is not thee who judgest all the earth; nay, thou shalt not make such a judgement.)

²⁶ And the Lord said to him, If I shall find in Sodom fifty just men in the midst of the city, I shall forgive to all the place for them. (And the Lord said to him, If I shall find in Sodom fifty righteous people in the midst of the city, I shall forgive the whole place for their sake.)

²⁷ Abraham answered and said, For I began once (For once I began), I shall speak to my Lord, since I am (but) dust and ashes;

²⁸ what if less than fifty just men by five be, shalt thou do away all the city for five and forty? And the Lord said, I shall not do away, if I shall find five and forty there. (what if there be five less than fifty righteous people there, shalt thou do away all the city for forty-five? And the Lord said, I shall not do them all away, if I shall find forty-five righteous people there.)

²⁹ And again Abraham said to him, But if forty be there, what shalt thou do? The Lord said, I shall not smite for forty (I shall not strike them all down, for the sake of forty righteous people).

³⁰ Abraham said, Lord, I beseech, take thou (it) not into indignation, if I speak (again); what if thirty be found there? The Lord answered, I shall not do (it), if I shall find thirty there.

³¹ Abraham said, For I began once, I shall speak to my Lord; what if twenty be found there? The Lord said, I shall not slay for twenty. (Abraham said, For once I began, I shall speak again to my Lord; what if twenty be found there? The Lord said, I shall not slay them all, for the sake of twenty.)

³² Abraham said, Lord, I beseech, be thou not wroth, if I speak yet once (more); what if ten be found there? The Lord said, I shall not do away for ten. (And Abraham said, Lord, I beseech thee, be thou not angry, if I speak yet once more; what if ten be found there? And the Lord said, I shall not do them all away, if I shall find ten righteous people there.)

³³ The Lord went forth, after that he [had] ceased to speak to Abraham, and Abraham turned again into his place. (And then the Lord went forth, after that he had ceased to speak with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his home.)