1And Jehovah appeared unto him by the oaks of Mamre , as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day ; 2and he lifted up his eyes and looked , and , lo , three men stood over against him : and when he saw them , he ran to meet them from the tent door , and bowed himself to the earth, 3and said, My lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight , pass not away , I pray thee , from thy servant : 4let now a little water be fetched , and wash your feet , and rest yourselves under the tree : 5and I will fetch a morsel of bread , and strengthen ye your heart ; after that ye shall pass on : forasmuch as ye are come to your servant . And they said , So do , as thou hast said . 6And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah , and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal , knead it , and make cakes . 7And Abraham ran unto the herd , and fetched a calf tender and good , and gave it unto the servant ; and he hasted to dress it . 8And he took butter , and milk , and the calf which he had dressed , and set it before them ; and he stood by them under the tree , and they did eat.
The Promise of a Son
9And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold , in the tent. 10And he said , I will certainly return unto thee when the season cometh round; and , lo , Sarah thy wife shall have a son . And Sarah heard in the tent door , which was behind him . 11Now Abraham and Sarah were old , and well stricken in age ; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women . 12And Sarah laughed within herself , saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure , my lord being old also ? 13And Jehovah said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh , saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child , who am old ? 14Is anything too hard for Jehovah ? At the set time I will return unto thee , when the season cometh round, and Sarah shall have a son . 15Then Sarah denied , saying, I laughed not ; for she was afraid . And he said, Nay ; but thou didst laugh .
Abraham's Intercession for Sodom
16And the men rose up from thence , and looked toward Sodom : and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way . 17And Jehovah said, Shall I hide from Abraham that which I do ; 18seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation , and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him ? 19For I have known him , to the end that he may command his children and his household after him , that they may keep the way of Jehovah , to do righteousness and justice ; to the end that Jehovah may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him . 20And Jehovah said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great , and because their sin is very grievous ; 21I will go down now , and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it , which is come unto me ; and if not , I will know . 22And the men turned from thence , and went toward Sodom : but Abraham stood yet before Jehovah . 23And Abraham drew near , and said, Wilt thou consume the righteous with the wicked ? 24Peradventure there are fifty righteous within the city : wilt thou consume and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein ? 25That be far from thee to do after this manner , to slay the righteous with the wicked , that so the righteous should be as the wicked ; that be far from thee : shall not the Judge of all the earth do right ? 26And Jehovah said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city , then I will spare all the place for their sake . 27And Abraham answered and said , Behold now , I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, who am but dust and ashes : 28peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous : wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five ? And he said, I will not destroy it , if I find there forty and five . 29And he spake unto him yet again , and said , Peradventure there shall be forty found there . And he said , I will not do it for the forty’s sake . 30And he said , Oh let not the Lord be angry , and I will speak : peradventure there shall thirty be found there . And he said , I will not do it , if I find thirty there . 31And he said , Behold now , I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: peradventure there shall be twenty found there . And he said , I will not destroy it for the twenty ’s sake . 32And he said , Oh let not the Lord be angry , and I will speak yet but this once : peradventure ten shall be found there . And he said , I will not destroy it for the ten ’s sake . 33And Jehovah went his way , as soon as he had left off communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place .