Genesis 18 - Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)

18 Now the Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks or terebinths of Mamre; as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day,

2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men stood at a little distance from him. He ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the ground

3 And said, My lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant, I beg of you.

4 Let a little water be brought, and you may wash your feet and recline and rest yourselves under the tree.

5 And I will bring a morsel (mouthful) of bread to refresh and sustain your hearts before you go on further—for that is why you have come to your servant. And they replied, Do as you have said.

6 So Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah and said, Quickly get ready three measures of fine meal, knead it, and bake cakes.

7 And Abraham ran to the herd and brought a calf tender and good and gave it to the young man [to butcher]; then he [Abraham] hastened to prepare it.

8 And he took curds and milk and the calf which he had made ready, and set it before [the men]; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

9 And they said to him, Where is Sarah your wife? And he said, [She is here] in the tent.

10 [a][The Lord] said, I will surely return to you when the season comes round, and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son. And Sarah was listening and heard it at the tent door which was behind Him.(A)

11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in years; it had ceased to be with Sarah as with [young] women. [She was past the age of childbearing].

12 Therefore Sarah laughed to herself, saying, After I have become aged shall I have pleasure and delight, my lord (husband), being old also?(B)

13 And the Lord asked Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I really bear a child when I am so old?

14 Is anything too hard or too wonderful [b]for the Lord? At the appointed time, when the season [for her delivery] comes around, I will return to you and Sarah shall have borne a son.(C)

15 Then Sarah denied it, saying, I did not laugh; for she was afraid. And He said, No, but you did laugh.

16 The men rose up from there and faced toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.

17 And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham [My friend and servant] what I am going to do,(D)

18 Since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed through him and shall bless themselves by him?(E)

19 For I have known (chosen, acknowledged) him [as My own], so that he may teach and command his children and the sons of his house after him to keep the way of the Lord and to do what is just and righteous, so that the Lord may bring Abraham what He has promised him.

20 And the Lord said, Because the shriek [of the sins] of Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is exceedingly grievous,

21 I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether [as vilely and wickedly] as is the cry of it which has come to Me; and if not, I will know.

22 Now the [two] men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.

23 And Abraham came close and said, Will You destroy the righteous (those upright and in right standing with God) together with the wicked?

24 Suppose there are in the city fifty righteous; will You destroy the place and not spare it for [the sake of] the fifty righteous in it?

25 Far be it from You to do such a thing—to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as do the wicked! Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth execute judgment and do righteously?

26 And the Lord said, If I find in the city of Sodom fifty righteous (upright and in right standing with God), I will spare the whole place for their sake.

27 Abraham answered, Behold now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken upon myself to speak to the Lord.

28 If five of the fifty righteous should be lacking—will You destroy the whole city for lack of five? He said, If I find forty-five, I will not destroy it.

29 And [Abraham] spoke to Him yet again, and said, Suppose [only] forty shall be found there. And He said, I will not do it for forty’s sake.

30 Then [Abraham] said to Him, Oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak [again]. Suppose [only] thirty shall be found there. And He answered, I will not do it if I find thirty there.

31 And [Abraham] said, Behold now, I have taken upon myself to speak [again] to the Lord. Suppose [only] twenty shall be found there. And [the Lord] replied, I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake.

32 And he said, Oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again only this once. Suppose ten [righteous people] shall be found there. And [the Lord] said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.

33 And the Lord went His way when He had finished speaking with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 18:10 One of the three guests was the Lord, and since God the Father was never seen in bodily form (John 1:18), only the “Angel of the covenant,” Christ Himself, can be meant here; see especially Gen. 18:22 and also the footnote on Gen. 16:7.
  2. Genesis 18:14 The word “Lord” as applied to God is obviously the most important word in the Bible, for it occurs oftener than any other important word—by actual count more than 5,000 times. Nothing is “too hard or too wonderful” for Him when He is truly made Lord.

Cross references

  1. Genesis 18:10 : Rom. 9:9-12.
  2. Genesis 18:12 : I Pet. 3:6.
  3. Genesis 18:14 : Matt. 19:26.
  4. Genesis 18:17 : Gal. 3:8.
  5. Genesis 18:18 : Gen. 12:2-3.

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18 And Jehovah appeareth unto him among the oaks of Mamre, and he is sitting at the opening of the tent, about the heat of the day; 2 and he lifteth up his eyes and looketh, and lo, three men standing by him, and he seeth, and runneth to meet them from the opening of the tent, and boweth himself tow...
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18 Forsooth in the valley of Mamre the Lord appeared to Abraham, (as he was) sitting in the door of his tabernacle, in that heat of the day. (And sometime later, by the terebinths of Mamre, the Lord appeared to Abraham, when he was sitting by the door of his tent, in the heat of the day.) 2 And when...
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Genesis 18 - World English Bible (WEB)

18 Yahweh appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and saw that three men stood near him. When he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to the earth, 3 and said, “My lord, if now I hav...
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Genesis 18 - The Voice (VOICE)

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Genesis 18 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

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Genesis 18 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

A Son Promised to Abraham and Sarah18 And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks[a] of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men stood in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed ...
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Genesis 18 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

A Son Promised to Abraham and Sarah18 And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks[a] of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men stood in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed ...
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Genesis 18 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

A Son Promised to Abraham and Sarah18 The Lord appeared to Abraham[a] by the oaks[b] of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground...
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Genesis 18 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

A Son Promised to Abraham and Sarah18 The Lord appeared to Abraham[a] by the oaks[b] of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day.(A)2 He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them and bowed down to the ground...
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Genesis 18 - New Living Translation (NLT)

A Son Is Promised to Sarah18 The 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. 2 He looked up and noticed three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran to meet them and welcomed ...
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Genesis 18 - New Life Version (NLV)

Abraham Is Promised a Son18 The Lord showed Himself to Abraham by the oak trees of Mamre, as he sat at the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them. He put his face to the ground 3 and...
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Genesis 18 - New King James Version (NKJV)

The Son of Promise(A)18 Then the Lord appeared to him by [a]the (B)terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 (C)So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; (D)and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them,...
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Genesis 18 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

The three visitors18 The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. 2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to th...
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Genesis 18 - New International Version (NIV)

The Three Visitors18 The Lord appeared to Abraham(A) near the great trees of Mamre(B) while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent(C) in the heat of the day. 2 Abraham looked up(D) and saw three men(E) standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and b...
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Genesis 18 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

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Genesis 18 - New English Translation (NET)

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