1 AND the LORD revealed himself to him by the oak of Mamre, as he was sitting at the door of the tent in the heat of the day;

2 And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, three men stood at a distance from him; and when he saw them, he ran from the door of the tent to meet them and bowed himself to the ground,

3 And said, O LORD, if now I have found mercy in thy sight, do not pass away from thy servant;

4 Let me bring a little water and wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree;

5 And take a morsel of bread and sustain your hearts; after that you shall go on your way, since you have come to your servant. And they said, So do as you have said.

6 So Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine flour, knead it, and make cakes on a griddle.

7 And Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf fat and good, and gave it to a servant, and he hastened to prepare it.

8 And he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set them 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, Behold, she is in the tent.

10 And the LORD said, I will certainly return to you at this time next year, and 1o, Sarah your wife shall be with child, and shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door which was behind her.

11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well advanced in years; and Sarah was beyond the age of childbearing.

12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am grown old, shall I renew my youth, my lord being old also?

13 And the LORD said to Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I truly bear a child, when I am so old?

14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at this season, and Sarah your wife shall be with child, and shall have a son.

15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I did not laugh; because 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 see them off.

17 And the LORD said, Shall I hide from my servant Abraham the thing which I am going to do,

18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed through him?

19 For I know him well, and that he will command his children and his household after him, to keep the ways of the LORD, to do justice and righteousness; for the LORD shall fulfil for Abraham the thing that he has spoken concerning him.

20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah has come before me and their sins are very grievous,

21 I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to their cry which has come before me; and if not, I will know.

22 So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom; but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.

23 And Abraham drew near and said, Wilt thou in thine anger destroy the righteous with the sinners?

24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; wilt thou in thine anger destroy it, and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous that are in it?

25 Far be it from thee to do such a thing as this, to slay the innocent with the guilty, far be it from thee, O thou Judge of the whole earth! Such a judgment should never be carried out.

26 And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole country for their sake.

27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold, I have ventured to speak before the LORD, and yet I am but dust and ashes;

28 Suppose there shall lack five of the fifty righteous; wilt thou destroy the whole city for the lack of five men? And he said, If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.

29 And Abraham spoke to him and said, Suppose there shall be forty found there? And he said, I will not destroy it, if I find there forty.

30 Then Abraham said, Oh let not the LORD be displeased and I will speak: Suppose there shall thirty be found there? And he said, I will not destroy it, if I find thirty there.

31 And he said, Behold, I have ventured to speak before the LORD; suppose there shall be twenty found there? And he said, I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.

32 And he said, Oh, let not the LORD be displeased, and I will speak only once more; suppose ten shall be found there? And he said, I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.

33 And the LORD went his way when he had finished communing with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.