52 | Genesis 18:3
three men p stand ing nearby . When he saw them , he hur ried from the en trance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground .
3 He said , “ If I have found fa vor in your eyes , my lord , a do not pass your ser vant by . 4 Let a lit tle wa ter be brought , and then you may all wash your feet q and rest un der this tree . 5 Let me get you some thing to eat , r so you can be re freshed and then go on your way — now that you have come to your ser vant .” “ Very well ,” they an swered , “ do as you say .” 6 So Abra ham hur ried into the tent to Sarah . “ Quick ,” he said , “ get three se ahs b of the fin est flour and knead it and bake some bread .”
7 Then he ran to the herd and se lected a choice , ten der calf and gave it to a ser vant , who hur ried to pre pare it . 8 He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been pre pared , and set these be fore them . s While they ate , he stood near them un der a tree . 9 “ Where is your wife Sarah ?” they asked him . “ There , in the tent ,” he said . 10 Then one of them said , “ I will surely re turn to you about this time next year , and
Sarah your wife will have a son .” t
Now Sarah was lis ten ing at the en trance to the tent , which was be hind him . 11 Abraham and Sarah were al ready very old , u and Sarah was past the age of child bear ing . v 12 So Sarah laughed w to her self as she thought , “ Af ter I am worn out and my lord x is old , will I now have this pleasure ?”
13 Then the Lord said to Abra ham , “ Why did Sarah laugh and say , ‘ Will I really have a child , now that I am old ?’ 14 Is any thing too hard for the Lord ? y I will re turn to you at the ap pointed time next year , and Sarah will have a son .” 15 Sarah was afraid , so she lied and said , “ I did not laugh .” But he said , “ Yes , you did laugh .”
18:2 p ver 16 , 22 ; Ge 32:24 ; Jos 5:13 ; Jdg 13:6-11 ; Heb 13:2
18:4 q Ge 19:2 ; 43:24 18:5 r Jdg 13:15 18:8 s Ge 19:3 18:10 t Ro 9:9 *
18:11 u Ge 17:17 v Ro 4:19
18:12 w Ge 17:17 ; 21:6 x 1Pe 3:6
18:14 y Jer 32:17 , 27 ; Zec 8:6 ; Mt 19:26 ; Lk 1:37 ; Ro 4:21
18:17 z Am 3:7 a Ge 19:24
18:18 b Gal 3:8 *
18:19 c Dt 4:9-10 ; 6:7 d Jos 24:15 ; Eph 6:4
18:21 e Ge 11:5 18:22 f Ge 19:1 18:23 g Nu 16:22
Abraham Pleads for Sodom
16 When the men got up to leave , they looked down to ward Sodom , and Abra ham walked along with them to see them on their way . 17 Then the Lord said , “ Shall I hide from Abraham z what I am about to do ? a 18 Abra ham will surely be come a great and pow er ful na tion , b and all na tions on earth will be blessed through him . c 19 For I have cho sen him , so that he will di rect his chil dren c and his house hold af ter him to keep the way of the Lord d by do ing what is right and just , so that the Lord will bring about for Abra ham what he has promised him .”
20 Then the Lord said , “ The out cry against Sodom and Go mor rah is so great and their sin so griev ous 21 that I will go down e and see if what they have done is as bad as the out cry that has reached me . If not , I will know .”
22 The men turned away and went to ward Sodom , f but Abra ham re mained stand ing be fore the Lord . d 23 Then Abra ham ap proached him and said : “ Will you sweep away the righ teous with the wicked ? g 24 What if there are fifty righ teous peo ple in the city ? Will you
a 3 Or eyes , Lord b 6 That is , probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms c 18 Or will use his name in blessings ( see 48:20 ) d 22 Masoretic Text ; an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition but the Lord remained standing before Abraham
18:2 three men . See note on vv . 1 – 15 . Abraham must have viewed them as important visitors , for he runs to meet them and bows down to the ground before them . An elderly , wealthy herdsman would not normally greet visitors like this . 18:3 – 5 While Abraham treats all the visitors with respect , his initial word of invitation indicates that he views one of the men as more important than the others . 18:3 my lord . May be used to indicate respect for an important person ( e . g ., 23:6 [“ Sir ”]) or to address God in prayer ( e . g ., 20:4 ). From what is said , it is difficult to tell at what point Abraham recognized the special visitor as the Lord ( see NIV text note ). 18:5 something to eat . Abraham sets about preparing a lavish meal for his visitors . Abraham ’ s actions underline his desire to satisfy his guests as best he can . He even stands ( v . 8 ), waiting on them , while they eat the food . Stressing the importance of hospitality , Heb 13:2 possibly alludes to this occasion and also Lot ’ s actions in Gen 19:1 – 3 .
18:9 – 15 As the meal proceeds , the Lord promises that Sarah will bear Abraham a son in 12 months ( v . 10 ). 18:11 – 12 Since Sarah has passed the age of bearing children , she laughs disbelievingly at the thought of giving birth to a son . Her reaction resembles that of Abraham in 17:17 . Nothing , however , is “ too hard for the Lord ” ( 18:14 ). 18:16 – 33 Abraham Pleads for Sodom . Perhaps out of concern for his nephew Lot ( although he does not specifically mention Lot ), Abraham questions the Lord about the forthcoming destruction of Sodom . The text already mentioned that Sodom ’ s inhabitants are wicked ( 13:13 ), a point underlined by how Melchizedek contrasts with the king of Sodom ( 14:17 – 24 ). Abraham ’ s concern centers on the possibility that the total destruction of the city may include people who are righteous . Cautiously , Abraham presents various scenarios to God , reducing by stages the number of righteous people in the city . Eventually , God reassures Abraham that he will not destroy Sodom if there are ten righteous people within the city . 18:18 all nations on earth . God ’ s remarks emphasize the important role that Abraham will have in mediating God ’ s blessing to the whole world . This recalls God ’ s earlier promise in 12:2 – 3 and the covenant in ch . 17 , which portrays Abraham as the “ father of many nations ” ( 17:5 ; see note there ). 18:20 – 21 God does not take lightly his decision to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah . The Lord ’ s visit demonstrates that the destruction is punishment for their wrongdoing . There is no reason to assume on the basis of these verses that God ’ s knowledge of all that occurs on earth is somehow limited . Before God punishes , he scrutinizes the situation with the utmost rigor . 18:23 – 26 Seizing the opportunity , Abraham questions the Lord regarding the fate of the righteous in Sodom . Will God treat the good and the bad in the same way ? Abraham seeks reassurance that God will not act unfairly . See “ Justice ,” p . 2366 .