18The LORD appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest part of the day.H3068H7200H436H4471H3427H168H6607H2527H3117 2He looked up and noticed three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran to meet them and welcomed them, bowing low to the ground.H5375H5869H7200H7969H582H5324H7200H7323H7125H168H6607H7812H776 3"My lord," he said, "if it pleases you, stop here for a while.H559H136H4672H2580H5869H5674H5650 4Rest in the shade of this tree while water is brought to wash your feet.H4592H4325H4994H3947H7364H7272H8172H6086 5And since you've honored your servant with this visit, let me prepare some food to refresh you before you continue on your journey." "All right," they said. "Do as you have said."H3947H6595H3899H5582H3820H310H5674H5674H5921H5650H1696H6213H559 6So Abraham ran back to the tent and said to Sarah, "Hurry! Get three large measures of your best flour, knead it into dough, and bake some bread."H85H4116H168H8283H559H4116H7969H5429H5560H7058H3888H6213H5692H6213 7Then Abraham ran out to the herd and chose a tender calf and gave it to his servant, who quickly prepared it.H85H7323H1241H3947H1121H1241H7390H2896H5414H5288H4116H6213 8When the food was ready, Abraham took some yogurt and milk and the roasted meat, and he served it to the men. As they ate, Abraham waited on them in the shade of the trees.H3947H2529H2461H1121H1241H6213H5414H6440H5975H6086H398 9"Where is Sarah, your wife?" the visitors asked. "She's inside the tent," Abraham replied.H559H346H8283H802H559H168 10Then one of them said, "I will return to you about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah, will have a son!" Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent.H559H7725H7725H6256H2416H8283H802H1121H8283H8085H168H6607H310 11Abraham and Sarah were both very old by this time, and Sarah was long past the age of having children.H85H8283H2205H935H3117H2308H8283H734H802 12So she laughed silently to herself and said, "How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master—my husband—is also so old?"H8283H6711H7130H559H310H1086H5730H113H2204 13Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, 'Can an old woman like me have a baby?'H3068H559H85H4100H8283H6711H559H552H3205H589H2204 14Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son."H6381H1697H6381H3068H4150H7725H6256H2416H8283H1121 15Sarah was afraid, so she denied it, saying, "I didn't laugh." But the LORD said, "No, you did laugh."H8283H3584H559H6711H3372H559H3808H6711 16Then the men got up from their meal and looked out toward Sodom. As they left, Abraham went with them to send them on their way.H582H6965H8259H6440H5467H85H1980H7971 17"Should I hide my plan from Abraham?" the LORD asked.H3068H559H3680H85H834H6213 18"For Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him.H85H1419H6099H1471H1471H776H1288 19I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just. Then I will do for Abraham all that I have promised."H3045H834H6680H1121H1004H310H8104H1870H3068H6213H6666H4941H3068H935H85H1696 20So the LORD told Abraham, "I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant.H3068H559H2201H5467H6017H7227H2403H3966H3513 21I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know."H3381H7200H6213H3617H6818H935H3045 22The other men turned and headed toward Sodom, but the LORD remained with Abraham.H582H6437H3212H5467H85H5975H5750H6440H3068 23Abraham approached him and said, "Will you sweep away both the righteous and the wicked?H85H5066H559H5595H6662H5973H7563 24Suppose you find fifty righteous people living there in the city—will you still sweep it away and not spare it for their sakes?H3426H2572H6662H8432H5892H5595H5375H4725H4616H2572H6662H7130 25Surely you wouldn't do such a thing, destroying the righteous along with the wicked. Why, you would be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same! Surely you wouldn't do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?"H2486H6213H1697H4191H6662H7563H6662H7563H2486H8199H776H6213H4941 26And the LORD replied, "If I find fifty righteous people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake."H3068H559H4672H5467H2572H6662H8432H5892H5375H4725 27Then Abraham spoke again. "Since I have begun, let me speak further to my Lord, even though I am but dust and ashes.H85H6030H559H2974H1696H136H595H6083H665 28Suppose there are only forty-five righteous people rather than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?" And the LORD said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five righteous people there."H2637H2568H2572H6662H7843H5892H2568H559H4672H705H2568H7843 29Then Abraham pressed his request further. "Suppose there are only forty?" And the LORD replied, "I will not destroy it for the sake of the forty."H1696H3254H559H705H4672H559H6213H705 30"Please don't be angry, my Lord," Abraham pleaded. "Let me speak—suppose only thirty righteous people are found?" And the LORD replied, "I will not destroy it if I find thirty."H559H4994H136H2734H1696H7970H4672H559H6213H4672H7970 31Then Abraham said, "Since I have dared to speak to the Lord, let me continue—suppose there are only twenty?" And the LORD replied, "Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty."H559H2974H1696H136H6242H4672H559H7843H6242 32Finally, Abraham said, "Lord, please don't be angry with me if I speak one more time. Suppose only ten are found there?" And the LORD replied, "Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten."H559H136H2734H1696H389H6471H6235H4672H559H7843H6235 33When the LORD had finished his conversation with Abraham, he went on his way, and Abraham returned to his tent.H3068H3212H834H3615H1696H85H85H7725H4725
19That evening the two angels came to the entrance of the city of Sodom. Lot was sitting there, and when he saw them, he stood up to meet them. Then he welcomed them and bowed with his face to the ground.H935H8147H4397H5467H6153H3876H3427H8179H5467H3876H7200H6965H7125H7812H639H776 2"My lords," he said, "come to my home to wash your feet, and be my guests for the night. You may then get up early in the morning and be on your way again." "Oh no," they replied. "We'll just spend the night out here in the city square."H559H113H5493H5650H1004H3885H7364H7272H7925H1980H1870H559H3885H7339H3885 3But Lot insisted, so at last they went home with him. Lot prepared a feast for them, complete with fresh bread made without yeast, and they ate.H6484H3966H5493H935H1004H6213H4960H644H4682H398 4But before they retired for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house.H7901H582H5892H582H5467H5437H1004H5437H2205H5288H5971H7097 5They shouted to Lot, "Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!"H7121H3876H559H582H935H3915H3318H3045 6So Lot stepped outside to talk to them, shutting the door behind him.H3876H3318H6607H5462H1817H310 7"Please, my brothers," he begged, "don't do such a wicked thing.H559H251H7489 8Look, I have two virgin daughters. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do with them as you wish. But please, leave these men alone, for they are my guests and are under my protection."H8147H1323H3045H376H3318H6213H2896H5869H411H582H6213H408H1697H935H6738H6982 9"Stand back!" they shouted. "This fellow came to town as an outsider, and now he's acting like our judge! We'll treat you far worse than those other men!" And they lunged toward Lot to break down the door.H559H5066H1973H559H259H935H1481H8199H8199H7489H6484H3966H376H3876H5066H7665H1817 10But the two angels reached out, pulled Lot into the house, and bolted the door.H582H7971H3027H935H3876H1004H5462H1817 11Then they blinded all the men, young and old, who were at the door of the house, so they gave up trying to get inside.H5221H582H6607H1004H5575H6996H1419H3811H4672H6607 12Meanwhile, the angels questioned Lot. "Do you have any other relatives here in the city?" they asked. "Get them out of this place—your sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else.H582H559H3876H6311H4310H2860H1121H1323H834H5892H3318H4725 13For we are about to destroy this city completely. The outcry against this place is so great it has reached the LORD, and he has sent us to destroy it."H587H7843H853H4725H6818H1431H854H6440H3068H3068H7971H7843 14So Lot rushed out to tell his daughters' fiances, "Quick, get out of the city! The LORD is about to destroy it." But the young men thought he was only joking.H3876H3318H1696H2860H3947H1323H559H6965H3318H4725H3068H7843H5892H6711H5869H2860 15At dawn the next morning the angels became insistent. "Hurry," they said to Lot. "Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out right now, or you will be swept away in the destruction of the city!"H3644H7837H5927H4397H213H3876H559H6965H3947H802H8147H1323H4672H5595H5771H5892 16When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the LORD was merciful.H4102H582H2388H3027H3027H802H3027H8147H1323H3068H2551H3318H3240H2351H5892 17When they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, "Run for your lives! And don't look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away!"H3318H2351H559H4422H5921H5315H5027H310H5975H3603H4422H2022H5595 18"Oh no, my lord!" Lot begged.H3876H559H113 19"You have been so gracious to me and saved my life, and you have shown such great kindness. But I cannot go to the mountains. Disaster would catch up to me there, and I would soon die.H5650H4672H2580H5869H1431H2617H6213H5978H2421H5315H3201H4422H2022H7451H1692H4191 20See, there is a small village nearby. Please let me go there instead; don't you see how small it is? Then my life will be saved."H5892H7138H5127H1931H4705H4422H4705H5315H2421 21"All right," the angel said, "I will grant your request. I will not destroy the little village.H559H2009H5375H6440H1697H2015H5892H834H1696 22But hurry! Escape to it, for I can do nothing until you arrive there." (This explains why that village was known as Zoar, which means "little place.")H4116H4422H3201H6213H1697H935H8034H5892H7121H6820 23Lot reached the village just as the sun was rising over the horizon.H8121H3318H776H3876H935H6820 24Then the LORD rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah.H3068H4305H5467H6017H1614H784H3068H8064 25He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, wiping out all the people and every bit of vegetation.H2015H411H5892H3603H3427H5892H6780H127 26But Lot's wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt.H802H5027H310H5333H4417 27Abraham got up early that morning and hurried out to the place where he had stood in the LORD's presence.H85H7925H1242H4725H5975H6440H3068 28He looked out across the plain toward Sodom and Gomorrah and watched as columns of smoke rose from the cities like smoke from a furnace.H8259H6440H5467H6017H6440H776H3603H7200H7008H776H5927H7008H3536 29But God had listened to Abraham's request and kept Lot safe, removing him from the disaster that engulfed the cities on the plain.H430H7843H5892H3603H430H2142H85H7971H3876H8432H2018H2015H5892H2004H3876H3427 30Afterward Lot left Zoar because he was afraid of the people there, and he went to live in a cave in the mountains with his two daughters.H3876H5927H6820H3427H2022H8147H1323H3372H3427H6820H3427H4631H8147H1323 31One day the older daughter said to her sister, "There are no men left anywhere in this entire area, so we can't get married like everyone else. And our father will soon be too old to have children.H1067H559H6810H1H2204H376H776H935H1870H776 32Come, let's get him drunk with wine, and then we will have sex with him. That way we will preserve our family line through our father."H3212H8248H1H8248H3196H7901H2421H2233H1 33So that night they got him drunk with wine, and the older daughter went in and had intercourse with her father. He was unaware of her lying down or getting up again.H8248H1H8248H3196H3915H1067H935H7901H1H3045H7901H6965 34The next morning the older daughter said to her younger sister, "I had sex with our father last night. Let's get him drunk with wine again tonight, and you go in and have sex with him. That way we will preserve our family line through our father."H4283H1067H559H6810H7901H570H1H8248H3196H3915H935H7901H2421H2233H1 35So that night they got him drunk with wine again, and the younger daughter went in and had intercourse with him. As before, he was unaware of her lying down or getting up again.H8248H1H8248H3196H1931H3915H6810H6965H7901H3045H7901H6965 36As a result, both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their own father.H8147H1323H3876H2029H1 37When the older daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Moab. He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Moabites.H1067H3205H1121H7121H8034H4124H1931H1H4124H3117 38When the younger daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Ben-ammi. He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Ammonites.H6810H3205H1121H7121H8034H1151H1H1121H5983H3117
20Abraham moved south to the Negev and lived for a while between Kadesh and Shur, and then he moved on to Gerar. While living there as a foreigner,H85H5265H5045H776H3427H6946H7793H1481H1642 2Abraham introduced his wife, Sarah, by saying, "She is my sister." So King Abimelech of Gerar sent for Sarah and had her brought to him at his palace.H85H559H413H8283H802H269H40H4428H1642H7971H3947H8283 3But that night God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, "You are a dead man, for that woman you have taken is already married!"H430H935H40H2472H3915H559H4191H802H3947H1167H1166 4But Abimelech had not slept with her yet, so he said, "Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation?H40H7126H559H136H2026H6662H1471 5Didn't Abraham tell me, 'She is my sister'? And she herself said, 'Yes, he is my brother.' I acted in complete innocence! My hands are clean."H559H1931H269H1931H1571H1931H559H251H8537H3824H5356H3709H6213 6In the dream God responded, "Yes, I know you are innocent. That's why I kept you from sinning against me, and why I did not let you touch her.H430H559H2472H1571H3045H6213H8537H3824H2820H2398H5414H5060 7Now return the woman to her husband, and he will pray for you, for he is a prophet. Then you will live. But if you don't return her to him, you can be sure that you and all your people will die."H7725H376H802H5030H6419H1157H2421H7725H3045H4191H4191 8Abimelech got up early the next morning and quickly called all his servants together. When he told them what had happened, his men were terrified.H40H7925H1242H7121H5650H1696H1697H241H582H3966H3372 9Then Abimelech called for Abraham. "What have you done to us?" he demanded. "What crime have I committed that deserves treatment like this, making me and my kingdom guilty of this great sin? No one should ever do what you have done!H40H7121H85H559H6213H2398H935H4467H1419H2401H6213H4639H6213 10Whatever possessed you to do such a thing?"H40H559H85H4100H7200H6213H1697 11Abraham replied, "I thought, 'This is a godless place. They will want my wife and will kill me to get her.'H85H559H559H7535H3374H430H4725H2026H802H1697 12And she really is my sister, for we both have the same father, but different mothers. And I married her.H546H269H1323H1H1323H517H802 13When God called me to leave my father's home and to travel from place to place, I told her, 'Do me a favor. Wherever we go, tell the people that I am your brother.'"H430H8582H1H1004H559H2617H6213H4725H935H559H251 14Then Abimelech took some of his sheep and goats, cattle, and male and female servants, and he presented them to Abraham. He also returned his wife, Sarah, to him.H40H3947H6629H1241H5650H8198H5414H85H7725H8283H802 15Then Abimelech said, "Look over my land and choose any place where you would like to live."H40H559H776H6440H3427H2896H5869 16And he said to Sarah, "Look, I am giving your 'brother' 1,000 pieces of silver in the presence of all these witnesses. This is to compensate you for any wrong I may have done to you. This will settle any claim against me, and your reputation is cleared."H8283H559H5414H251H505H3701H3682H5869H3198 17Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants, so they could have children.H85H6419H430H430H7495H40H802H519H3205 18For the LORD had caused all the women to be infertile because of what happened with Abraham's wife, Sarah.H3068H6113H6113H7358H1004H40H1697H8283H85H802
Dublin, OH
of your best flour, knead it into dough, and bake some bread."H85
