The Three Visitors

18 Later, the Lord again appeared to Abraham near the ·great trees [^Loaks; or terebinths] of Mamre [^Can area near Hebron, named after Amorite leader; 14:13, 24]. Abraham was sitting at the entrance of his tent ·during the hottest part [^Lin the heat] of the day. ² He ·looked up [^Lraised his eyes] and saw three men standing near him. When Abraham saw them, he ran from [^Lthe entrance of] his tent to meet them. He bowed facedown on the ground before them ³ and said, “·Sir [My lord], if ·you think well of me [^LI have found grace in your eyes], please ·stay awhile with me, [^Ldo not pass by] your servant. ⁴ I will bring some water so all of you can wash your feet. You may rest under the tree, ⁵ and I will get some bread for you so you can regain your strength. Then you may ·continue your journey [^Lpass by].”

The three men said, “That is fine. Do as you said.” [^CIn the ancient Near East, hospitality towards strangers was a very imporant value.]

⁶ Abraham hurried to the tent where Sarah was and said to her, “Hurry, ·prepare [^Ltake and knead] ·twenty quarts [^Lthree seahs] of fine flour, and make ·it into loaves of bread [^Lcakes].” ⁷ Then Abraham ran to his herd and took one of his ·best [^Ltender and good/choice] calves. He gave it to a servant, who hurried ·to kill it and to prepare it for food [^Lto prepare it]. ⁸ Abraham gave the three men the calf that had been ·cooked [^Lprepared] and milk curds and milk. While they ate, he stood under the tree near them.

⁹ The men asked Abraham, “Where is your wife Sarah?”

“There, in the tent,” said Abraham.

¹⁰ Then ·the Lord [^Lhe] said, “I will certainly return to you ·about this time a year from now [or in due time; ^Labout the living time]. At that time your wife Sarah will have a son.”

Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent which was behind him. ¹¹ Abraham and Sarah were very old. Since ·Sarah was past the age when women normally have children [^Lit had stopped being with Sarah after the manner of women; ^Cshe had reached menopause], ¹² she laughed ·to herself [inwardly], “·My husband and I are too old [^LI am worn out and my husband is too old] to have ·a baby [^Lpleasure].”

¹³ Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘I am too old to have a baby’? ¹⁴ Is anything too hard for the Lord? No! I will return to you ·at the right time a year from now [or in due time; ^Labout the living time], and Sarah will have a son.”

¹⁵ Sarah was afraid, so she ·lied [denied it] and said, “I didn’t laugh.”

But the Lord said, “No. You did laugh.”

¹⁶ Then the men got up to leave and ·started out [^Llooked] toward Sodom. Abraham walked along with them a short time to send them on their way.

Abraham’s Bargain with God

¹⁷ The Lord said, “Should I ·tell [^Lhide from] Abraham what I am going to do now? ¹⁸ ·Abraham’s children [^LAbraham] will certainly become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him [12:1–3]. ¹⁹ I have ·chosen [^Lknown] him so he would command his children and his ·descendants [^Lhousehold] to ·live [^Lkeep] the way the Lord wants them to, ·to live right and be fair [^L…by doing righteousness and justice]. Then I, the Lord, will give Abraham what I promised him.”

²⁰ Then the Lord said, “·I have heard many complaints [^LThe outcry is great] against the people of Sodom and Gomorrah [14:2]. ·They are very evil [^LTheir sin is very great/heavy]. ²¹ I will go down and see if they ·are as bad as I have heard [^Lhave done according to the outcry which has come to me]. If not, I will know.”

²² So the men turned and went toward Sodom, but Abraham stood there before the Lord. ²³ Then Abraham approached him and asked, “Do you plan to ·destroy [sweep away] the ·good people [righteous] along with the ·evil ones [wicked]? ²⁴ What if there are fifty ·good people [righteous] in that city? Will you still ·destroy it [sweep it away]? Surely you will ·save [spare] the ·city [^Lplace] for the fifty ·good people [righteous] living there. ²⁵ ·Surely [^LIt would be a desecration for you!] you will not ·destroy [^Lkill; slay] the ·good people [righteous] along with the ·evil ones [wicked]; then they would be treated the same. You are the judge of all the earth. Won’t you do what is ·right [just]?”

²⁶ The Lord said, “If I find fifty ·good people [righteous] in the city of Sodom, I will ·save [spare] the whole ·city [^Lplace] because of them.”

²⁷ Then Abraham [^Lanswered and] said, “Though I am only dust and ashes, I have been brave to speak to the Lord. ²⁸ What if ·there are only forty-five good people [^Lfive of the fifty righteous are lacking] in the city? Will you destroy the whole city for the lack of five ·good people [righteous]?”

The Lord said, “If I find forty-five there, I will not destroy the city.”

²⁹ Again Abraham said to him, “If you find only forty ·good people [righteous] there, will you destroy the city?”

The Lord said, “If I find forty, I will not destroy it.”

³⁰ Then Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me, but let me ask you this. If you find only thirty ·good people [righteous] in the city, will you destroy it?”

He said, “If I find thirty ·good people [righteous] there, I will not destroy the city.”

³¹ Then Abraham said, “I have been brave to speak to the Lord. But what if there are twenty ·good people [righteous] in the city?”

He answered, “If I find twenty there, I will not destroy the city.”

³² Then Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me, but let me bother you this one last time. What if you find ten there?”

He said, “If I find ten there, I will not destroy it.”

³³ When the Lord finished speaking to Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned ·home [^Lto his place].