Genesis 18

18 ¹ Now our Father appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. ^a a v1 Throughout the Old Testament our Father appears in forms his children can meet — as men, in fire and cloud, as a messenger. The One who comes to Abraham here is our Father, who has always pursued his children with love. ² He looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed down to the ground. ³ He said, "My Sovereign Father, if I have found favor with you, please do not pass by your servant. ⁴ Let a little water be brought, that you may wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree. ⁵ And I will bring you a bite of bread so you can refresh yourselves, and then be on your way, now that you have come to your servant." They said, "Do as you have said."

⁶ So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, "Quick, take about twenty-five pounds of fine flour, knead it, and make bread." ⁷ Then he ran to the herd, picked out a choice, tender calf, and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. ⁸ He took curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set them before the men. And he stood near them under the tree while they ate.

⁹ They asked him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" "There, in the tent," he said.

¹⁰ Then our Father said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son." Now Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, which was behind him.

¹¹ Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. ¹² So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, "After I am worn out, and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?"

¹³ Then our Father said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really bear a child, now that I am old?' ¹⁴ Is anything too hard for the Sovereign Father? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.

¹⁵ Sarah was afraid, so she denied it, saying, "I did not laugh." But he said, "Yes, you did laugh."

Looking Toward Sodom

¹⁶ Then the men set out from there and looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way.

¹⁷ Now our Father said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, ¹⁸ since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him? ¹⁹ For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep my way by doing what is right and just, so that I may fulfill what I have promised Abraham. ²⁰ Then our Father said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin so grievous, ²¹ that I will go down to see whether what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. And if not, I will know."

²² So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before our Father. ²³ Then Abraham drew near and said, "Will you really sweep away the righteous along with the wicked? ²⁴ Suppose there are fifty righteous in the city. Will you really sweep it away and not spare the city for the sake of the fifty righteous in it? ²⁵ Surely you would never do such a thing — to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous are treated the same as the wicked! Surely not! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?"

²⁶ Our Father said, "If I find fifty righteous in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole city for their sake."

²⁷ Then Abraham replied, "I have dared to speak to my Sovereign Father, though I am only dust and ashes. ²⁸ Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city because of five?" And our Father said, "If I find forty-five there, I will not destroy it."

²⁹ Again Abraham spoke to him: "Suppose only forty are found there." And he said, "For the sake of forty I will not do it."

³⁰ Then Abraham said, "May my Sovereign Father not be angry, but let me speak. Suppose only thirty are found there." And he said, "I will not do it if I find thirty there."

³¹ Abraham said, "Now that I have ventured to speak to my Sovereign Father, suppose only twenty are found there." And he said, "For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it."

³² Then he said, "May my Sovereign Father not be angry, but let me speak just once more. Suppose only ten are found there." And our Father said, "For the sake of ten I will not destroy it."

³³ When our Father had finished speaking with Abraham, he went on his way, and Abraham returned to his place.