Abraham Asks the Lord to Spare Sodom |
Genesis 18:1-33 The First Book of Moses Called Genesis |
The Lord appeared to [Abraham] in the plains of Mamre; as he sat in [his] tent door in the heat of the day & looked up & saw 3 men & ran to meet them & bowed toward the ground. [Abraham] said, My Lord, I pray You, if I have now found favor in Your sight, [don't pass on by,] from Your servant. I pray You, let a little water be [gotten to] wash your feet & rest yourselves under the tree. Therefore, I will [bring] you a morsel of bread & you comfort your hearts. After that, you shall pass on, for you [have] come to Your servant. And they said, Do as you have said. |
Abraham hurried to the tent to Sarah & said, Quickly make ready, kneaded cakes of 3 measures of fine meal, upon the hearth. Abraham ran to the herd & got a tender calf from the herd & gave it to a young man [who quickly prepared it.] He took the butter, milk & [the prepared] calf & set it before them & they did eat, as he stood by them under the tree. |
They [asked,] Where is Sarah, your wife? [Abraham] said, [Look,] she was in the tent. The [Lord] said, I will certainly return to you, according to the time of life & Sarah, your wife, shall have a son. And Sarah heard it, [while] in the tent door, behind Him. Now, Abraham & Sarah were old & well stricken [by] age & Sarah [was past the age of child bearing.] |
Therefore, Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I have [grown] old, shall I have [this] pleasure, my [husband] being old, also? And the Lord said to Agraham, [Why] did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I surely bear a child, [since] I am old? [The Lord replied,] Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, Sarah shall have a son. Sarah denied, [because] she was afraid, saying, I [didn't] laugh. [But the Lord] said, No, but you did laugh. |
[As] the 3 men rose from there & looked toward Sodom, Abraham went with them to [take them to the road.] And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham [what I’m going to] do, [since] Abraham shall surely become a great & mighty nation & all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him & he will command his children & household after him, so they all keep the [path] of the Lord, to do justice & judgment, [so] that the Lord may bring upon Abraham [what I have] spoken to him. |
The Lord said, Because the cry [against] Sodom & Gomorrah is great, because their sin is very [serious;] I will go down now & see whether they have done according to the cry [that] has come to Me & if not, I will know. Then the men turned [away] from [there] & went toward Sodom. |
But Abraham [still] stood before the Lord. Abraham [came close] & asked [the Lord,] Will You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? [Perhaps,] if there are 50 righteous within the city, would You also destroy the place & not spare [it] for the 50 righteous that are [in there?] Far be it from You, to do [something like] this, to [kill] the righteous with the wicked & that the righteous should be [treated like] the wicked. That [would] be far from You. [Shouldn't] the Judge of all the earth, do right? The Lord said, If I find 50 righteous within [Sodom,] then I will spare all the place for their sakes. And Abraham answered & said, [Look] now, I have taken it upon [myself] to speak to the Lord, [when I'm just] dust & ashes. [Perhaps, if there were 5 less than] the 50 righteous, would You destroy all the city for lack of 5? The [Lord] said to [Abraham,] If I find 45 [righteous,] I won't destroy it. |
And [Abraham] spoke to the Lord again, & said, [Perhaps,] if there were only 40 [righteous] found there? And [the Lord] said, I will not do it for 40's sake. [Then,] Abraham] said to [the Lord,] Oh, [don't] let the Lord be angry & I will speak. [Perhaps,] if 30 [should] be found there? [The Lord] said, I won't do it if I find 30 [righteous] there. |
And [Abraham asked the Lord,] [Look] now, I have taken [it upon myself] to speak to the Lord. [Perhaps] there shall be 20 found there? And [the Lord] said, I won't destroy it for the sake [of] 20. And [Abraham] said, Oh, [don't] let the Lord be angry & I will speak this once. [Perhaps,] if 10 should be found there? [The Lord] said, I won't destroy it for the sake [of] 10 [righteous]. The Lord went His way [after speaking] with Abraham & Abraham returned to his place. |