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¹ And the LORD appeared to him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;² And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw [them], he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,³ And said, My Lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:⁴ Let a little water, I pray you, be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:⁵ And I will bring a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that you shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.⁶ And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead [it], and make cakes upon the hearth.⁷ And Abraham ran to the herd, and brought a calf tender and good, and gave [it] to a young man; and he hasted 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 thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.¹⁰ And he said, I will certainly return to thee according to the time of life; and lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard [it] in the tent door, which [was] behind him.¹¹ Now Abraham and Sarah [were] old [and] far advanced in age; [and] it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.¹² Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am become old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?¹³ And the LORD said to Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I certainly bear a child, who am old?¹⁴ Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return to thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.¹⁵ Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.

¹⁶ And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.¹⁷ And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing 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 know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they will keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.²⁰ And the LORD 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 the cry of it, which is come to me; and if not, I will know.²² And the men turned their faces from thence, and went towards Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.

²³ And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?²⁴ Peradventure there are fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that [are] in it?²⁵ That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?²⁶ And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.²⁷ And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I, who [am] dust and ashes, have taken upon me to speak to the Lord.²⁸ Peradventure there will lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for [lack of] five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy [it].²⁹ And he spoke to him yet again, and said, Peradventure there will be forty found there. And he said, I will not do [it] for forty's sake.³⁰ And he said, Oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there will thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do [it], if I find thirty there.³¹ And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak to the Lord: Peradventure there will be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy [it] for twenty's sake.³² And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten will be found there. And he said, I will not destroy [it] for ten's sake.³³ And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned to his place.