Genesis
Chapter 18
1 God appeared to him in the fields of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the hottest part of the day.
2 He looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he noticed them, he ran from his tent to greet them and bowed down to the ground.
3 He said, “My God, if I have now found favor with you, please do not leave your servant.”
4 Please bring some water, wash your feet, and rest under the tree.
5 I will get some bread to refresh you. Then you can move on since you’ve stopped by your servant’s place. They replied, “Go ahead, just as you’ve said.”
6 Abraham hurried to the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly prepare three measures of good flour, knead it, and bake some bread on the fire.”
7 Abraham ran to his cattle, took a young and good calf, and handed it to a servant; and the servant hurried to prepare it.
8 He brought them butter, milk, and the cooked calf, placed it in front of them, and stood by them under the tree while they ate.
9 They asked him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He replied, “Look, she’s in the tent.”
10 He said, “I will definitely come back to you when the time comes; and then, Sarah your wife will have a son.” And Sarah heard this from the entrance of the tent, which was behind him.
11 Abraham and Sarah were very old, and Sarah could no longer have children.
12 So Sarah laughed quietly, thinking, “Now that I am old, can I enjoy life again, with my husband old too?”
13 God said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Can I really have a child when I am old?’”
14 Is anything too hard for God? I will come back to you at the set time next year, and Sarah will have a son.
15 Then Sarah denied it, saying, “I didn’t laugh,” because she was scared. But he said, “No, you did laugh.”
16 The men got up from there, looked toward Sodom, and Abraham walked with them to help them on their way.
17 God thought, “Should I keep what I am going to do from Abraham?”
18 Abraham will surely grow into a great and strong nation, and all the nations on earth will be blessed through him.
19 I know he will tell his children and family to follow God’s way and to do what is right and fair, so God can do for Abraham what He promised.
20 God said, “Because Sodom and Gomorrah’s cry is loud and their sin is very bad.”
21 I will go down now to see if what they have done matches the outcry that has reached me; if it doesn’t, I will find out.
22 The men looked away from there and headed toward Sodom, while Abraham still stood in front of God.
23 Abraham approached and asked, “Will you also destroy the good people along with the bad?”
24 Maybe if there are 50 good people in the city, will you still destroy it and not save it for the sake of the 50 good people inside?
25 You would never do such a thing, to kill the good people along with the bad ones, making the good and bad the same. Surely, the Judge of all the earth will do what is right.
26 And God said, If I find fifty good people in Sodom, I will save the whole city for them.
27 Abraham replied, “Look, I’ve decided to talk to God, even though I am only dust and ashes.”
28 What if five righteous people are missing from the fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for just five? And He said, If I find forty-five, I won’t destroy it.
29 He spoke to him once more, saying, “What if only forty are found there?” And He answered, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”
30 He said to him, “Please don’t be angry, God, and I will speak: Maybe there will be thirty good people found there.” And God replied, “If I find thirty there, I will not destroy it.”
31 He said, “Look, I’ve decided to talk to God. Maybe there will be twenty good people there.” God replied, “If I find twenty good people, I won’t destroy it for their sake.”
32 He said, “Please don’t be mad, God, and I will say this just one more time: What if ten good people are there?” God replied, “I won’t destroy it if I find ten.”
33 After talking with Abraham, God left, and Abraham went back to his place.