Abraham Welcomes Three Visitors

1 And the Lord was revealed to him in the Vale of Mamre; and he sat at the entrance of the tent while the day was hot. 2 And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, look, three men stood nearby; and he saw, and ran from the door of the tent to meet them, and bowed to the ground. 3 And he said, Lord, if now I have found favor with You, please do not pass Your servant by. 4 Accept now a little water, and wash your feet, and rest under the tree, 5 and take a mouthful of bread, and refresh yourselves, afterward you shall pass on; because for this you have come over to your servant. And they said, So do as you have spoken. 6 And Abraham hurried to the tent to Sarah, and said, Quickly take three seyin of fine flour, mix and make cakes. 7 And Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave to a young man, and he hurried to prepare it. 8 And he took butter and milk, and the calf which he had prepared, and placed it before them, and he served them under the tree, and they ate.

The Promise to Sarah

9 And they said to him, Where is Sarah your wife? And he said, Look, in the tent. 10 And He said, I will certainly return to you at this time next year, when you are alive and well, and, look, Sarah your wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard at the entrance of the tent, and it was behind Him. 11 And Abraham and Sarah were old and advanced in years, and Sarah no longer menstruated. 12 And Sarah laughed within herself, saying, Shall I have a child now that I am old and my husband is also old? 13 And the Lord said to Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Can I really give birth when I am old? 14 What word is hidden from before the Lord? At the time I will return to you at this time next year, when you are alive and well, and Sarah shall have a son. 15 And Sarah denied, saying, I did not laugh: for she was afraid. And He said, No, but you did laugh...

The Judgment of Sodom

16 And the men got up from there, and looked toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them to accompany them. 17 And the Lord said, Shall I conceal from Abraham what I am doing? 18 And Abraham shall indeed become a numerous and strong people, and all the peoples of the earth shall be blessed through him; 19 because it is known to Me that he will instruct his children, and his household after him, to keep the ways which are right before the Lord, to do righteousness and justice; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which He has spoken concerning him. 20 And the Lord said, The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is heard before Me because it is great, and their guilt is very great: 21 I will now see, and will judge, whether they do according to the report of them which has come before Me. I will deal with them thoroughly unless they repent; but if they repent, I will not punish. 22 And the men turned away from there, and went toward Sodom. And Abraham was still serving in prayer before the Lord.⁠a

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

23 And Abraham approached, and said, Will You, in anger, destroy the righteous with the guilty? 24 If perhaps there are fifty righteous within the city, will You in anger destroy and not forgive the place for the fifty righteous who are within it? 25 Your judgments are too just for You to do such a thing, to destroy the just with the guilty, and that the just should be as the guilty! Your judgments are true! Can the Judge of all the earth but do justice? 26 And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous in the middle of the city, I will spare all the place for their sake. 27 And Abraham answered and said, Look, I have done a great thing, to speak before the Lord, though I am dust and ashes! 28 Perhaps of the fifty righteous there may be five missing: shall all the city perish for the lack of five? And He said, I will not destroy, if I find there forty-five. 29 And he spoke again before Him, and said, Perhaps forty may be found there. And He said, I will not destroy it on account of the forty. 30 And he said, Please let the Lord's anger not burn, and I will speak. Perhaps thirty shall be found there. And He said, I will not destroy it if I find there thirty. 31 And he said, Look, I have done a great thing to speak before the Lord: perhaps twenty shall be found there. And He said, I will not destroy for the sake of twenty. 32 And he said, Please let the Lord's anger not burn, and I will speak only this time: perhaps ten may be found there. And He said, I will not destroy for the sake of the ten! 33 And the Glory of the Lord ascended when He had finished speaking with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.