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The Lord appeared to Abraham at the sacred trees of Mamre. As Abraham was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the hottest part of the day,
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he looked up and saw three men standing there. As soon as he saw them, he ran out to meet them. Bowing down with his face touching the ground,
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he said, "Sirs, please do not pass by my home without stopping; I am here to serve you.
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Let me bring some water for you to wash your feet; you can rest here beneath this tree.
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I will also bring a bit of food; it will give you strength to continue your journey. You have honored me by coming to my home, so let me serve you." They replied, "Thank you; we accept."
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Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, "Quick, take a sack of your best flour, and bake some bread."
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Then he ran to the herd and picked out a calf that was tender and fat, and gave it to a servant, who hurried to get it ready.
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He took some cream, some milk, and the meat, and set the food before the men. There under the tree he served them himself, and they ate.
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Then they asked him, "Where is your wife Sarah?" "She is there in the tent," he answered.
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One of them said, "Nine months from now I will come back, and your wife Sarah will have a son."
2 Sarah was behind him, at the door of the tent, listening.
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Abraham and Sarah were very old, and Sarah had stopped having her monthly periods.
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So Sarah laughed to herself and said, "Now that I am old and worn out, can I still enjoy sex? And besides, my husband is old too."
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Then the Lord asked Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, "Can I really have a child when I am so old?'
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Is anything too hard for the Lord? As I said, nine months from now I will return, and Sarah will have a son."
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Because Sarah was afraid, she denied it. "I didn't laugh," she said. "Yes, you did," he replied. "You laughed."
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Then the men left and went to a place where they could look down at Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on their way.
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And the Lord said to himself, "I will not hide from Abraham what I am going to do.
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His descendants will become a great and mighty nation, and through him I will bless all the nations.
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I have chosen him in order that he may command his sons and his descendants to obey me and to do what is right and just. If they do, I will do everything for him that I have promised."
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Then the Lord said to Abraham, "There are terrible accusations against Sodom and Gomorrah, and their sin is very great.
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I must go down to find out whether or not the accusations which I have heard are true."