XVIII. And the Lord appeared unto him in the aplains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2 and he lift up his eyes and looked, and lo, bthree men stood by him: cand when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, 3 and said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: 4 let da little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: 5 and eI will fetch a morsel of bread, and * comfort ye your hearts; after that you shall pass on: ffor therefore * are you come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. 6 And 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. 7 And 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. 8 And 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. 9 And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, gin the tent. 10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee haccording to the time of life; and lo, iSarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. 11 Now kAbraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah lafter the manner of women. 12 Therefore Sarah mlaughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my nlord being old also? 13 And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? 14 oIs any thing too hard for the Lord? pAt the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. 15 Then Sarah qdenied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.

16 And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them rto bring them on the way. 17 And the Lord said, sShall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; 18 seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be tblessed in him? 19 For I know him, uthat he will command his children and his whousehold 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. 20 And the Lord said, Because xthe cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; 21 yI 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, zI will know. 22 And the men turned their faces from thence, aand went toward Sodom: but Abraham bstood yet before the Lord.

23 And Abraham cdrew near, and said, dWilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? 25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and ethat the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: fShall not the Judge of all the earth do right? 26 And the Lord said, gIf I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. 27 And Abraham answered and said, hBehold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but idust and ashes: 28 Peradventure 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. 29 And 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. 30 And 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. 31 And 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. 32 And he said, kOh 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. 33 And the Lord went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.