Good News Translation GNT
English Standard Version ESV
1 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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And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day.
2 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 lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth
3 he said, "Sirs, please do not pass by my home without stopping; I am here to serve you.
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and said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant.
4 Let me bring some water for you to wash your feet; you can rest here beneath this tree.
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Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree,
5 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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while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.”
6 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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And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick! Three seahs of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes.”
7 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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And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly.
8 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 he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate.
9 Then they asked him, "Where is your wife Sarah?" "She is there in the tent," he answered.
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They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.”
10 One of them said, "Nine months from now I will come back, and your wife Sarah will have a son." Sarah was behind him, at the door of the tent, listening.
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The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him.
11 Abraham and Sarah were very old, and Sarah had stopped having her monthly periods.
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Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah.
12 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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So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?”
13 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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The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’
14 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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Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.”
15 Because Sarah was afraid, she denied it. "I didn't laugh," she said. "Yes, you did," he replied. "You laughed."
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But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
16 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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Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way.
17 And the Lord said to himself, "I will not hide from Abraham what I am going to do.
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The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do,
18 His descendants will become a great and mighty nation, and through him I will bless all the nations.
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seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
19 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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For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.”
20 Then the Lord said to Abraham, "There are terrible accusations against Sodom and Gomorrah, and their sin is very great.
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Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave,
21 I must go down to find out whether or not the accusations which I have heard are true."
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I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”
22 Then the two men left and went on toward Sodom, but the Lord remained with Abraham.
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So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.
23 Abraham approached the Lord and asked, "Are you really going to destroy the innocent with the guilty?
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Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
24 If there are fifty innocent people in the city, will you destroy the whole city? Won't you spare it in order to save the fifty?
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Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it?
25 Surely you won't kill the innocent with the guilty. That's impossible! You can't do that. If you did, the innocent would be punished along with the guilty. That is impossible. The judge of all the earth has to act justly."
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Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”
26 The Lord answered, "If I find fifty innocent people in Sodom, I will spare the whole city for their sake."
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And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
27 Abraham spoke again: "Please forgive my boldness in continuing to speak to you, Lord. I am only a man and have no right to say anything.
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Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.
28 But perhaps there will be only forty-five innocent people instead of fifty. Will you destroy the whole city because there are five too few?" The Lord answered, "I will not destroy the city if I find forty-five innocent people."
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Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
29 Abraham spoke again: "Perhaps there will be only forty." He replied, "I will not destroy it if there are forty."
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Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.”
30 Abraham said, "Please don't be angry, Lord, but I must speak again. What if there are only thirty?" He said, "I will not do it if I find thirty."
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Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.”
31 Abraham said, "Please forgive my boldness in continuing to speak to you, Lord. Suppose that only twenty are found?" He said, "I will not destroy the city if I find twenty."
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He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.”
32 Abraham said, "Please don't be angry, Lord, and I will speak only once more. What if only ten are found?" He said, "I will not destroy it if there are ten."
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Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.”
33 After he had finished speaking with Abraham, the Lord went away, and Abraham returned home.
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And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.