Genesis 18:1–22

Three Men Visit Abraham

18The Lord appeared to Abraham near the large trees of Mamre. Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent. It was the hottest time of the day.

²Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. He quickly left the entrance to his tent to meet them. He bowed low to the ground.

³He said, “My lord, if you are pleased with me, don’t pass me by. ⁴Let a little water be brought. All of you can wash your feet and rest under this tree.

⁵“Let me get you something to eat to give you strength. Then you can go on your way. I want to do this for you now that you have come to me.”

“All right,” they answered. “Go ahead and do it.”

⁶So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick!” he said. “Get about half a bushel of fine flour. Mix it and bake some bread.”

⁷Then he ran to the herd. He picked out a choice, tender calf. He gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. ⁸Then he brought some butter and milk and the calf that had been prepared. He served them to the three men.

While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.

⁹“Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him.

“Over there, in the tent,” he said.

¹⁰Then the Lord said, “You can be sure that I will return to you about this time next year. Your wife Sarah will have a son.”

Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent behind him. ¹¹Abraham and Sarah were already very old. Sarah was too old to have a baby. ¹²So she laughed to herself. She thought, “I’m worn out, and my husband is old. Can I really know the joy of having a baby?”

¹³Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Will I really have a baby, now that I am old?’ ¹⁴Is anything too hard for me? I will return to you at the appointed time next year. Sarah will have a son.”

¹⁵Sarah was afraid. So she lied and said, “I didn’t laugh.”

But the Lord said, “Yes, you did.”

Abraham Makes an Appeal for Sodom

¹⁶The men got up to leave. They looked down toward Sodom. Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way.

¹⁷Then the Lord said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? ¹⁸He will certainly become a great and powerful nation. All nations on earth will be blessed because of him.

¹⁹“I have chosen him. He must direct his children. He must see that the members of his family after him live the way I want them to. So he must direct them to do what is right and fair. Then I, the Lord, will do for Abraham what I have promised him.”

²⁰The Lord said, “The cries against Sodom and Gomorrah are very great. Their sin is so bad ²¹that I will go down and see for myself. I want to see if what they have done is as bad as the cries that have reached me. If it is not, then I will know.”

²²The men turned away. They went toward Sodom. But Abraham remained standing in front of the Lord.