1And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre : and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day ; 2And he lift up his eyes and looked , and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them , he ran to meet them from the tent door , and bowed himself toward the ground , 3And said , My Lord , if now I have found favour in thy sight , pass not away , I pray thee, from thy servant : 4Let a little water , I pray you , be fetched , and wash your feet , and rest yourselves under the tree : 5And I will fetch a morsel of bread , and comfort ye your hearts ; after that ye shall pass on : for therefore are ye 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 upon the hearth . 7And Abraham ran unto the herd , and fetcht a calf tender and good , and gave it unto a young man ; 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 according to the time of life ; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son . And Sarah heard it in the tent door , which was behind him . 11Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age ; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women . 12Therefore Sarah laughed within herself , saying , After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure , my lord being old also ? 13And the LORD said unto Abraham , Wherefore did Sarah laugh , saying , Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old ? 14Is any thing too hard for the LORD ? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life , 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 the LORD said , Shall I hide from Abraham that thing 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 know him, that he will command his children and his household after him , and they shall keep the way of the LORD , to do justice and judgment ; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. 20And the LORD 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 their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom : but Abraham stood yet before the LORD . 23And Abraham drew near , and said , Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked ? 24Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city : wilt thou also destroy 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 : and that the righteous should be as the wicked , that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right ? 26And the LORD said , If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city , then I will spare all the place for their sakes. 27And Abraham answered and said , Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord , which 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 , If I find there forty and five , I will not destroy it . 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 forty’s sake. 30And he said unto him , 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 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 ten’s sake. 33And the LORD went his way , as soon as he had left communing with Abraham : and Abraham returned unto his place .