- And God appeared to him by the oak of
Mambre, as he sat by the door of his tent
at noon.
- And he lifted up his eyes and
beheld and lo! three men stood before him;
and having seen them he ran to meet them
from the door of his tent, and did obeisance
to the ground.
- And he said, Lord, if
indeed I have found grace in thy sight, pass
not by thy servant.
- Let water now be
brought, and let them wash your feet, and
do ye refresh yourselves under the tree.
- And I will bring bread, and ye shall eat,
and after this ye shall depart on your journey, on account of which
refreshment ye
have turned aside to your servant. And he
said, So do, as thou hast said.
- And Abraam
hasted to the tent to Sarrha, and said to
her, Hasten, and knead three measures of
fine flour, and make cakes.
- And Abraam
ran to the kine, and took a young calf,
tender and good, and gave it to his servant,
and he hasted to dress it.
- And he took
butter and milk, and the calf which he had
dressed and he set them before them, and
they did eat, and he stood by them under
the tree.
- And he said to him, Where is Sarrha
thy wife? And he answered and said, Behold!
in the tent.
- And he said, [a] I will
return and come to thee according to this
period seasonably, and Sarrha thy wife shall
have a son; and Sarrha heard at the door of
the tent, being behind him.
- And Abraam
and Sarrha were old, advanced in days, and
the custom of women ceased with Sarrha.
- And Sarrha laughed in herself, saying,
[b] The thing has not as yet happened to me,
even until now, and my lord is old.
- And
the Lord said to Abraam, Why is it that
Sarrha has laughed in herself, saying, Shall
I then indeed bear? but I am grown old.
- Shall anything be impossible with the Lord?
At this time I will return to thee seasonably,
and Sarrha shall have a son.
- But Sarrha
denied, saying, I did not laugh, for she was
afraid. And he said to her, Nay, but thou
didst laugh.
- And the men having risen up from
thence looked towards Sodom and Gomorrha.
And Abraam went with them, attending
them on their journey.
- And the Lord said,
Shall I hide from Abraam my servant what
things I intend to do?
- But Abraam shall
become a great and populous nation, and
in him shall all the nations of the earth
be blest.
- For I know that he will order
his sons, and his house after him, and they
will keep the ways of the Lord, to do justice
and judgment, that the Lord may bring
upon Abraam all things whatsoever he has
spoken to him.
- And the Lord said, The
cry of Sodom and Gomorrha has been increased towards me, and their sins are very
great.
- I will therefore go down and see,
if they completely [c] correspond with the cry
which comes to me, and if not, that I may
know.
- And the men having departed
thence, came to Sodom; and Abraam was
still standing before the Lord.
- And Abraam
drew nigh and said, Wouldest thou destroy
the righteous with the wicked and shall the
righteous be as the wicked?
- Should there
be fifty righteous in the city, wilt thou
destroy them? wilt thou not spare the whole
place for the sake of the fifty righteous, if
they be in it?
- By no means shalt thou
do as this thing is so as to destroy the
righteous with the wicked, so the righteous
shall be as the wicked: by no means. Thou
that judgest the whole earth, shalt thou
not do right?
- And the Lord said, If there
should be in Sodom fifty righteous in the
city, I will spare the whole city and the
whole place for their sakes.
- And Abraam
answered and said, Now I have begun to
speak to my Lord, and I am earth and ashes.
- But if the fifty righteous should be diminished to forty-five, wilt thou destroy the whole
city because of the five wanting? And he
said, I will not destroy it, if I should find
there forty-five.
- And he continued to speak
to him still, and said, But if there should
be found there forty? And he said, I will
not destroy it for the forty's sake.
- And he said, will there be anything against me,
Lord, if I speak? but if there be
found there thirty? And he said, I will not
destroy it for the thirty's sake.
- And he
said, Since I am able to speak to the Lord,
what if there should be found there twenty?
And he said, I will not destroy it, if I should
find there twenty.
- And he said, Will there
be anything against me, Lord, if I speak yet
once? but if there should be found there
ten? And he said, I will not destroy it for
the ten's sake.
- And the Lord departed
when he left off speaking to Abraam, and
Abraam returned to his place.
[a] Rom. 9. 9.
[b] The difference turns on the word Heb. pleasure. Gr until now.
[c] Gr. suntelou=ntai. Heb. A.V. have done altogether.
[English translation of the Septuagint by Sir Lancelot Charles Lee
Brenton (1807-1862) originally published by Samuel Bagster & Sons,
Ltd., London, 1851]