Genesis 18:1–22

The Lord’s Sixth Promise to Abraham

¹The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oak trees belonging to Mamre as he was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the hottest part of the day. ²Abraham looked up, and suddenly he saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran to meet them, and he bowed with his face touching the ground. 

³“Please, sir,” Abraham said, “stop by to visit me for a while. ⁴Why don’t we let someone bring a little water? After you wash your feet, you can stretch out and rest under the tree. ⁵Let me bring some bread so that you can regain your strength. After that you can leave, since this is why you stopped by to visit me.” 

They answered, “That’s fine. Do as you say.” 

⁶So Abraham hurried into the tent to find Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three measures of flour, knead it, and make bread.” 

⁷Then Abraham ran to the herd and took one of his best calves. He gave it to his servant, who prepared it quickly. ⁸Abraham took cheese and milk, as well as the meat, and set these in front of them. Then he stood by them under the tree as they ate. 

⁹They asked him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” 

He answered, “Over there, in the tent.” 

¹⁰The Lord said, “I promise I’ll come back to you next year at this time, and your wife Sarah will have a son.” 

Sarah happened to be listening at the entrance of the tent, which was behind him. ¹¹Abraham and Sarah were old. Sarah was past the age of childbearing. ¹²And so Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, “Now that I’ve become old, will I enjoy myself again? What’s more, my husband is old!” 

¹³The Lord asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Can I really have a child now that I’m old?’ ¹⁴Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will come back to you next year at this time, and Sarah will have a son.” 

¹⁵Because she was afraid, Sarah denied that she had laughed. 

But the Lord said, “Yes, you did laugh.” 

The Lord Tells Abraham about His Plan

¹⁶Then the men got up to leave. As Abraham was walking with them to see them off, they looked toward Sodom. ¹⁷The Lord said, “I shouldn’t hide what I am going to do from Abraham. ¹⁸After all, Abraham is going to become a great and mighty nation and through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed. ¹⁹I have chosen him so that he will direct his children and his family after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. In this way I, the Lord, will do what I have promised Abraham.” 

²⁰The Lord also said, “Sodom and Gomorrah have many complaints against them, and their sin is very serious. ²¹I must go down and see whether these complaints are true. If not, I will know it.” 

²²From there the men turned and went on toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing in front of the Lord.