Chapter 18 - Chapter 18

And the Lord appeared to him in the vale ofMambre as he was sitting at the door of his tent,in the very heat of the day.2 And when he had lifted up his eyes, thereappeared to him three men standing near to him:and as soon as he saw them, he ran to meet themfrom the door of his tent, and adored down tothe ground.3 And he said: Lord, if I have found favour inthy sight, pass not away from thy servant.4 But I will fetch a little water, and wash yeyour feet, and rest ye under the tree.5 And I will set a morsel of bread, andstrengthen ye your heart, afterwards you shallpass on: for therefore are you come aside to yourservant. And they said: Do as thou hast spoken.6 Abraham made haste into the tent to Sara,and said to her: Make haste, temper togetherthree measures of flour, and make cakes uponthe hearth.7 And he himself ran to the herd, and tookfrom thence a calf, very tender and very good,and gave it to a young man, who made haste andboiled it.8 He took also butter and milk, and the calfwhich he had boiled, and set before them: buthe stood by them under the tree.9 And when they had eaten, they said to him:Where is Sara thy wife? He answered: Lo she isin the tent.10 And he said to him: I will return and comeBook of Genesis 21to thee at this time, life accompanying, and Sara,thy wife, shall have a son. Which when Saraheard, she laughed behind the door of the tent.11 Now they were both old, and far advancedin years, and it had ceased to be with Sara afterthe manner of women.12 And she laughed secretly, saying: After Iam grown old, and my lord is an old man, shallI give myself to pleasure?13 And the Lord said to Abraham: Why didSara laugh, saying: Shall I, who am an oldwoman, bear a child indeed?14 Is there any thing hard to God? Accordingto appointment I will return to thee at this sametime, life accompanying, and Sara shall have ason.15 Sara denied, saying: I did not laugh: forshe was afraid. But the Lord said: Nay; but thoudidst laugh.16 And when the men rose up from thence,they turned their eyes towards Sodom: andAbraham walked with them, bringing them onthe way.17 And the Lord said: Can I hide from Abraham what I am about to do:18 Seeing he shall become a great and mightynation, and in him all the nations of the earthshall be blessed?19 For I know that he will command his children, and his household after him, to keep theway of the Lord, and do judgment and justice:that for Abraham's sake, the Lord may bring toeffect all the things he hath spoken unto him.20 And the Lord said: The cry of Sodom andGomorrha is multiplied, and their sin is becomeexceedingly grievous.21 I will go down and see whether they havedone according to the cry that is come to me; orwhether it be not so, that I may know.22 And they turned themselves from thence,and went their way to Sodom: but Abraham asyet stood before the Lord.23 And drawing nigh, he said: Wilt thou destroy the just with the wicked?24 If there be fifty just men in the city, shallthey perish withal? and wilt thou not spare thatplace for the sake of the fifty just, if they betherein?25 Far be it from thee to do this thing, and toslay the just with the wicked, and for the just tobe in like case as the wicked; this is not beseeming thee: thou who judgest all the earth, wilt notmake this judgment.26 And the Lord said to him: If I find inSodom fifty just within the city, I will spare thewhole place for their sake.27 And Abraham answered, and said: Seeing I have once begun, I will speak to my Lord,whereas I am dust and ashes.28 What if there be five less than fifty justpersons? wilt thou for five and forty destroy thewhole city: And he said: I will not destroy it, ifI find five and forty.29 And again he said to him: But if forty befound there, what wilt thou do? He said: I willnot destroy it for the sake of forty.30 Lord, saith he, be not angry, I beseech thee,if I speak: What if thirty shall be found there?He answered: I will not do it, if I find thirtythere.31 Seeing, saith he, I have once begun, I willspeak to my Lord: What if twenty be foundthere? He said: I will not destroy it for the sakeof twenty.32 I beseech thee, saith he, be not angry, Lord,if I speak yet once more: What if ten shall befound there? And he said: I will not destroy itfor the sake of ten.33 And the Lord departed, after he had leftspeaking to Abraham: and Abraham returned to his place.