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¹ And Yahweh appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;² and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and noticed three men stood across from him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to the earth,³ and said, My lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, don't pass away, I pray you, from your slave:⁴ let now a little water be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:⁵ and I will fetch a morsel of bread, and strengthen your heart; after that you shall pass on: since you have come to your slave. And they said, Do so, as you have said.⁶ And Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, Quickly make ready three seahs of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes.⁷ And Abraham ran to the herd, and fetched a tender and good calf, and gave it to the attendant; and he hurried 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 ate.

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 when the season comes around; and, see, Sarah your wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard in the tent door, which was behind him.¹¹ Now Abraham and Sarah were old, [and] well stricken in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.¹² And Sarah laughed inside herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?¹³ And Yahweh said to Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I certainly bear a child, who am old?¹⁴ Is anything too hard for Yahweh? At the set time I will return to you, when the season comes around, and Sarah shall have a son.¹⁵ Then Sarah denied [it], saying, I didn't laugh; for she was afraid. And he said, No; but you did laugh.

¹⁶ And the men rose up from there, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.¹⁷ And Yahweh said, Shall I hide from Abraham that which I do;¹⁸ seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?¹⁹ For I have known him, to the end that he may command his sons and his household after him, that they may keep the way of Yahweh, to do righteousness and justice; to the end that Yahweh may bring on Abraham that which he has spoken of him.²⁰ And Yahweh said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;²¹ I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to its [Sodom's] cry, which has come to me; and if not, I will know.²² And the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before Yahweh.

²³ And Abraham drew near, and said, Will you consume the righteous with the wicked?²⁴ Perhaps there are fifty righteous inside the city: will you consume and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?²⁵ Far be that from you to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be that from you: shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?²⁶ And Yahweh said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous inside the city, then I will spare all the place for their sake.²⁷ And Abraham answered and said, Seeing now that I have taken on myself to speak to the Lord, who am but dust and ashes:²⁸ perhaps there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: will you destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, I will not destroy it, if I find there forty and five.²⁹ And he spoke to him yet again, and said, Perhaps there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for the forty's sake.³⁰ And he said, Oh don't let the Lord be angry, and I will speak: perhaps there shall be thirty found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there.³¹ And he said, Seeing now that I have taken on myself to speak to the Lord: perhaps there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for the twenty's sake.³² And he said, Oh don't let the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: perhaps ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for the ten's sake.³³ And Yahweh went his way, as soon as he had left off communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned to his place.