Genesis 18:1-33

YAHWEH appeared once again to Abraham while he lived by the oak grove of Mamre. During the hottest part of the day, as Abraham sat at his tent door, he looked up and suddenly saw three men standing nearby. As soon as he saw them, he ran from his tent to welcome them. He bowed down to the ground and said, “My Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, don’t pass me by. Stay for a while with your servant. I’ll have some water brought to you all so that you can wash your feet. Rest here a while under the tree. Since you’ve stopped by your servant’s home and honored me with your presence, I’ll have food prepared for you so that you can be refreshed; then you can go on your way.” “Very well,” they responded, “go ahead and do as you have said.” Abraham hurried back into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick, we have guests! Get three measures of fine flour, knead it, and bake some bread.” Then Abraham ran to the herd, selected a tender choice calf, and told his servant, “Hurry—prepare this calf for my guests!” Then he brought the meal they had prepared—roasted meat, bread, curds, and milk—and set it before his guests. Abraham stood by them under the tree while they ate. They asked him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” He answered, “Over there—in the tent.” Then one spoke up and said, “I will return about this time next year, when your wife Sarah will certainly have a son.” Sarah overheard it, for she was at the tent door not far behind him. Now, both Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. Sarah laughed to herself with disbelief, saying, “A woman my age—have a baby? After I’m worn out will I now enjoy marital bliss and conceive—and with my aged husband?” YAHWEH knew her thoughts and asked Abraham, “Why is Sarah laughing, saying, ‘How can a woman my age have a baby?’ Do you think there is anything too marvelous for YAHWEH? I will appear to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son!” Sarah was afraid, so she denied it, saying, “I wasn’t laughing.” But he said, “Yes, you were!” Afterward, the three men departed and walked toward Sodom, and Abraham went off with them to see them on their way. As they walked, YAHWEH said, “Should I really hide from Abraham what I intend to do? After all, he will become a great and powerful nation, and every nation on earth will seek bliss like his. It is true; I have singled him out as my own, so that he will lead his family and household to follow my ways and live by what is right and just. I will fulfill all the promises that I have spoken to him.” YAHWEH explained to Abraham, “The outcry for justice against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant that I must go down and see if their wicked actions are as great as the outrage that has come to me, and if not, then I will know.” As YAHWEH’s two companions went on toward Sodom, Abraham remained there, as YAHWEH paused before Abraham. So Abraham came forward to present his case before YAHWEH, and said, “Are you really going to sweep away the righteous while you judge the wicked? What if you find fifty righteous people in Sodom? Isn’t your mercy great enough to forgive? Why judge the entire city at the cost of the fifty righteous who live there? That’s not who you are—one who would slay the righteous with the wicked, treating them both the same way! Wouldn’t the Merciful Judge of all the earth always do what is right?” And YAHWEH said, “Alright. If I find fifty righteous in Sodom, I will spare the whole city for their sake.” Abraham spoke up again and said, “I am just a man formed from earth’s dust and ashes but allow me to be so bold as to ask you, my Lord. What if there are only five lacking, and you only find forty-five righteous in Sodom? It’s not who you are to destroy the entire city for lack of five righteous people.” And YAHWEH said, “Alright. If I find forty-five righteous in Sodom, I will spare the whole city.” “But what if there are only forty?” Abraham asked further. YAHWEH answered, “Alright. If I only find forty, I will spare the city.” Abraham paused—then he said, “Lord, please don’t be offended with me, and let me speak . . . What if there are only thirty?” YAHWEH answered, “Alright. If I find only thirty, I will spare the city.” Abraham ventured even further, asking, “Allow me to dare speak this way to you, my Lord. But what if you find there only twenty righteous?” YAHWEH answered, “Alright. For the sake of the twenty I will not destroy the city.” Then Abraham took a deep breath and asked, “Once more, please don’t let my Lord be angry with me if I make but one more request. What if you find only ten righteous?” And YAHWEH answered, “Alright. I will extend my mercy and not destroy the city for the sake of ten righteous.” YAHWEH finished speaking with Abraham. He immediately went on his way, and Abraham returned home.