Genesis 18-21

Genesis 18

¹And 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;

²and 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 towards the earth,

³And he saith, ‘My Lord, if, I pray thee, I have found grace in thine eyes, do not, I pray thee, pass on from thy servant;

⁴let, I pray thee, a little water be accepted, and wash your feet, and recline under the tree;

⁵and I bring a piece of bread, and support ye your heart; afterwards pass on, for therefore have ye passed over unto your servant;' and they say, ‘So mayest thou do as thou has spoken.'

⁶And Abraham hasteth towards the tent, unto Sarah, and saith, ‘Hasten three measures of flour-meal, knead, and make cakes;'

⁷and Abraham ran unto the herd, and taketh a son of the herd, tender and good, and giveth unto the young man, and he hasteth to prepare it;

⁸and he taketh butter and milk, and the son of the herd which he hath prepared, and setteth before them; and he is standing by them under the tree, and they do eat.

⁹And they say unto him, ‘Where is Sarah thy wife?' and he saith, ‘Lo -- in the tent;'

¹⁰and he saith, ‘returning I return unto thee, about the time of life, and lo, to Sarah thy wife a son.'

¹¹And Sarah is hearkening at the opening of the tent, which is behind him;

¹²and Abraham and Sarah are aged, entering into days -- the way of women hath ceased to be to Sarah;

¹³and Sarah laugheth in her heart, saying, ‘After I have waxed old I have had pleasure! -- my lord also is old!'

¹⁴And Jehovah saith unto Abraham, ‘Why is this? Sarah hath laughed, saying, Is it true really -- I bear -- and I am aged? Is any thing too wonderful for Jehovah? at the appointed time I return unto thee, about the time of life, and Sarah hath a son.'

¹⁵And Sarah denieth, saying, ‘I did not laugh;' for she hath been afraid; and He saith, ‘Nay, but thou didst laugh.'

¹⁶And the men rise from thence, and look on the face of Sodom, and Abraham is going with them to send them away;

¹⁷and Jehovah said, ‘Am I concealing from Abraham that which I am doing,

¹⁸and Abraham certainly becometh a nation great and mighty, and blessed in him have been all nations of the earth?

¹⁹for I have known him, that he commandeth his children, and his house after him (and they have kept the way of Jehovah), to do righteousness and judgment, that Jehovah may bring on Abraham that which He hath spoken concerning him.'

²⁰And Jehovah saith, ‘The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah -- because great; and their sin -- because exceeding grievous:

²¹I go down now, and see whether according to its cry which is coming unto Me they have done completely -- and if not -- I know;'

²²and the men turn from thence, and go towards Sodom; and Abraham is yet standing before Jehovah.

²³And Abraham draweth nigh and saith, ‘Dost Thou also consume righteous with wicked?

²⁴peradventure there are fifty righteous in the midst of the city; dost Thou also consume, and not bear with the place for the sake of the fifty -- the righteous who are in its midst?

²⁵Far be it from Thee to do according to this thing, to put to death the righteous with the wicked; that it hath been -- as the righteous so the wicked -- far be it from Thee; doth the Judge of all the earth not do justice?'

²⁶And Jehovah saith, ‘If I find in Sodom fifty righteous in the midst of the city, then have I borne with all the place for their sake.'

²⁷And Abraham answereth and saith, ‘Lo, I pray thee, I have willed to speak unto the Lord, and I -- dust and ashes;

²⁸peradventure there are lacking five of the fifty righteous -- dost Thou destroy for five the whole of the city?' and He saith, ‘I destroy it not, if I find there forty and five.'

²⁹And he addeth again to speak unto Him and saith, ‘Peradventure there are found there forty?' and He saith, ‘I do it not, because of the forty.'

³⁰And he saith, ‘Let it not be, I Pray thee, displeasing to the Lord, and I speak: peradventure there are found there thirty?' and He saith, ‘I do it not, if I find there thirty.'

³¹And he saith, ‘Lo, I pray thee, I have willed to speak unto the Lord: peradventure there are found there twenty?' and He saith, ‘I do not destroy it, because of the twenty.'

³²And he saith, ‘Let it not be, I pray Thee, displeasing to the Lord, and I speak only this time: peradventure there are found there ten?' and He saith, ‘I do not destroy it, because of the ten.'

³³And Jehovah goeth on, when He hath finished speaking unto Abraham, and Abraham hath turned back to his place.

Genesis 19

¹And two of the messengers come towards Sodom at even, and Lot is sitting at the gate of Sodom, and Lot seeth, and riseth to meet them, and boweth himself -- face to the earth,

²and he saith, ‘Lo, I pray you, my lords, turn aside, I pray you, unto the house of your servant, and lodge, and wash your feet -- then ye have risen early and gone on your way;' and they say, ‘Nay, but in the broad place we do lodge.'

³And he presseth on them greatly, and they turn aside unto him, and come in unto his house; and he maketh for them a banquet, and hath baked unleavened things; and they do eat.

⁴Before they lie down, the men of the city -- men of Sodom -- have come round about against the house, from young even unto aged, all the people from the extremity;

⁵and they call unto Lot and say to him, ‘Where are the men who have come in unto thee to-night? bring them out unto us, and we know them.'

⁶And Lot goeth out unto them, to the opening, and the door hath shut behind him,

⁷and saith, ‘Do not, I pray you, my brethren, do evil;

⁸lo, I pray you, I have two daughters, who have not known any one; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do to them as is good in your eyes; only to these men do not anything, for therefore have they come in within the shadow of my roof.'

⁹And they say, ‘Come nigh hither;' they say also, ‘This one hath come in to sojourn, and he certainly judgeth! now, we do evil to thee more than to them;' and they press against the man, against Lot greatly, and come nigh to break the door.

¹⁰And the men put forth their hand, and bring in Lot unto them, into the house, and have shut the door;

¹¹and the men who are at the opening of the house they have smitten with blindness, from small even unto great, and they weary themselves to find the opening.

¹²And the men say unto Lot, ‘Whom hast thou here still? son-in-law, thy sons also, and thy daughters, and all whom thou hast in the city, bring out from this place;

¹³for we are destroying this place, for their cry hath been great before the face of Jehovah, and Jehovah doth send us to destroy it.'

¹⁴And Lot goeth out, and speaketh unto his sons-in-law, those taking his daughters, and saith, ‘Rise, go out from this place, for Jehovah is destroying the city;' and he is as one mocking in the eyes of his sons-in-law.

¹⁵And when the dawn hath ascended, then the messengers press upon Lot, saying, ‘Rise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters who are found present, lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.'

¹⁶And he lingereth, and the men lay hold on his hand, and on the hand of his wife, and on the hand of his two daughters, through the mercy of Jehovah unto him, and they bring him out, and cause him to rest without the city.

¹⁷And it cometh to pass when he hath brought them out without, that he saith, ‘Escape for thy life; look not expectingly behind thee, nor stand thou in all the circuit; to the mountain escape, lest thou be consumed.'

¹⁸And Lot saith unto them, ‘Not so, I pray thee, my lord;

¹⁹lo, I pray thee, thy servant hath found grace in thine eyes, and thou dost make great thy kindness which thou hast done with me by saving my life, and I am unable to escape to the mountain, lest the evil cleave to me, and I have died;

²⁰lo, I pray thee, this city is near to flee thither, and it is little; let me escape, I pray thee, thither, (is it not little?) and my soul doth live.'

²¹And he saith unto him, ‘Lo, I have accepted thy face also for this thing, without overthrowing the city for which thou hast spoken;

²²haste, escape thither, for I am not able to do anything till thine entering thither;' therefore hath he calleth the name of the city Zoar.

²³The sun hath gone out on the earth, and Lot hath entered into Zoar,

²⁴and Jehovah hath rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah, from the heavens;

²⁵and He overthroweth these cities, and all the circuit, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which is shooting up from the ground.

²⁶And his wife looketh expectingly from behind him, and she is -- a pillar of salt!

²⁷And Abraham riseth early in the morning, unto the place where he hath stood before the face of Jehovah;

²⁸and he looketh on the face of Sodom and Gomorrah, and on all the face of the land of the circuit, and seeth, and lo, the smoke of the land went up as smoke of the furnace.

²⁹And it cometh to pass, in God's destroying the cities of the circuit, that God remembereth Abraham, and sendeth Lot out of the midst of the overthrow in the overthrowing of the cities in which Lot dwelt.

³⁰And Lot goeth up out of Zoar, and dwelleth in the mountain, and his two daughters with him, for he hath been afraid of dwelling in Zoar, and he dwelleth in a cave, he and his two daughters.

³¹And the first-born saith unto the younger, ‘Our father is old, and a man there is not in the earth to come in unto us, as is the way of all the earth;

³²come, we cause our father to drink wine, and lie with him, and preserve from our father -- a seed.'

³³And they cause their father to drink wine on that night; and the first-born goeth in, and lieth with her father, and he hath not known in her lying down, or in her rising up.

³⁴And it cometh to pass, on the morrow, that the first-born saith unto the younger, ‘Lo, I have lain yesterday-night with my father: we cause him to drink wine also to-night, and go thou in, lie with him, and we preserve from our father -- a seed.'

³⁵And they cause their father to drink wine on that night also, and the younger riseth and lieth with him, and he hath not known in her lying down, or in her rising up.

³⁶And the two daughters of Lot conceive from their father,

³⁷and the first-born beareth a son, and calleth his name Moab; he is father of Moab unto this day;

³⁸as to the younger, she also hath born a son, and calleth his name Ben-Ammi: he is father of the Beni-Ammon unto this day.

Genesis 20

¹And Abraham journeyeth from thence toward the land of the south, and dwelleth between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourneth in Gerar;

²and Abraham saith concerning Sarah his wife, ‘She is my sister;' and Abimelech king of Gerar sendeth and taketh Sarah.

³And God cometh in unto Abimelech in a dream of the night, and saith to him, ‘Lo, thou art a dead man, because of the woman whom thou hast taken -- and she married to a husband.'

⁴And Abimelech hath not drawn near unto her, and he saith, ‘Lord, also a righteous nation dost thou slay?

⁵hath not he himself said to me, She is my sister! and she, even she herself, said, He is my brother; in the integrity of my heart, and in the innocency of my hands, I have done this.'

⁶And God saith unto him in the dream, ‘Yea, I -- I have known that in the integrity of thy heart thou hast done this, and I withhold thee, even I, from sinning against Me, therefore I have not suffered thee to come against her;

⁷and now send back the man's wife, for he is inspired, and he doth pray for thee, and live thou; and if thou do not send back, know that dying thou dost die, thou, and all that thou hast.'

⁸And Abimelech riseth early in the morning, and calleth for all his servants, and speaketh all these words in their ears; and the men fear exceedingly;

⁹and Abimelech calleth for Abraham, and saith to him, ‘What hast thou done to us? and what have I sinned against thee, that thou hast brought upon me, and upon my kingdom, a great sin? works which are not done thou hast done with me.'

¹⁰Abimelech also saith unto Abraham, ‘What hast thou seen that thou hast done this thing?'

¹¹And Abraham saith, ‘Because I said, ‘Surely the fear of God is not in this place, and they have slain me for the sake of my wife;

¹²and also, truly she is my sister, daughter of my father, only not daughter of my mother, and she becometh my wife;

¹³and it cometh to pass, when God hath caused me to wander from my father's house, that I say to her, This is thy kindness which thou dost with me: at every place whither we come, say of me, He is my brother.'

¹⁴And Abimelech taketh sheep and oxen, and servants and handmaids, and giveth to Abraham, and sendeth back to him Sarah his wife;

¹⁵and Abimelech saith, ‘Lo, my land is before thee, where it is good in thine eyes, dwell;'

¹⁶and to Sarah he hath said, ‘Lo, I have given a thousand silverlings to thy brother; lo, it is to thee a covering of eyes, to all who are with thee;' and by all this she is reasoned with.

¹⁷And Abraham prayeth unto God, and God healeth Abimelech and his wife, and his handmaids, and they bear:

¹⁸for Jehovah restraining had restrained every womb of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.

Genesis 21

¹And Jehovah hath looked after Sarah as He hath said, and Jehovah doth to Sarah as He hath spoken;

²and Sarah conceiveth, and beareth a son to Abraham, to his old age, at the appointed time that God hath spoken of with him;

³and Abraham calleth the name of his son who is born to him, whom Sarah hath born to him -- Isaac;

⁴and Abraham circumciseth Isaac his son, being a son of eight days, as God hath commanded him.

⁵And Abraham is a son of a hundred years in Isaac his son being born to him,

⁶and Sarah saith, ‘God hath made laughter for me; every one who is hearing laugheth for me.'

⁷She saith also, ‘Who hath said to Abraham, Sarah hath suckled sons, that I have born a son for his old age?'

⁸And the lad groweth, and is weaned, and Abraham maketh a great banquet in the day of Isaac's being weaned;

⁹and Sarah seeth the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she hath borne to Abraham, mocking,

¹⁰and she saith to Abraham, ‘Cast out this handmaid and her son; for the son of this handmaid hath no possession with my son -- with Isaac.'

¹¹And the thing is very wrong in the eyes of Abraham, for his son's sake;

¹²and God saith unto Abraham, ‘Let it not be wrong in thine eyes because of the youth, and because of thy handmaid: all that Sarah saith unto thee -- hearken to her voice, for in Isaac is a seed called to thee.

¹³As to the son of the handmaid also, for a nation I set him, because he is thy seed.'

¹⁴And Abraham riseth early in the morning, and taketh bread, and a bottle of water, and giveth unto Hagar (placing it on her shoulder), also the lad, and sendeth her out; and she goeth on, and goeth astray in the wilderness of Beer-Sheba;

¹⁵and the water is consumed from the bottle, and she placeth the lad under one of the shrubs.

¹⁶And she goeth and sitteth by herself over-against, afar off, about a bow-shot, for she said, ‘Let me not look on the death of the lad;' and she sitteth over-against, and lifteth up her voice, and weepeth.

¹⁷And God heareth the voice of the youth; and the messenger of God calleth unto Hagar from the heavens, and saith to her, ‘What to thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath hearkened unto the voice of the youth where he is;

¹⁸rise, lift up the youth, and lay hold on him with thy hand, for for a great nation I set him.'

¹⁹And God openeth her eyes, and she seeth a well of water, and she goeth and filleth the bottle with water, and causeth the youth to drink;

²⁰and God is with the youth, and he groweth, and dwelleth in the wilderness, and is an archer;

²¹and he dwelleth in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother taketh for him a wife from the land of Egypt.

²²And it cometh to pass at that time that Abimelech speaketh -- Phichol also, head of his host -- unto Abraham, saying, ‘God is with thee in all that thou art doing;

²³and now, swear to me by God here: thou dost not lie to me, or to my continuator, or to my successor; according to the kindness which I have done with thee thou dost with me, and with the land in which thou hast sojourned.'

²⁴And Abraham saith, ‘I -- I do swear.'

²⁵And Abraham reasoned with Abimelech concerning the matter of a well of water which Abimelech's servants have taken violently away,

²⁶and Abimelech saith, ‘I have not known who hath done this thing, and even thou didst not declare to me, and I also, I have not heard save to-day.'

²⁷And Abraham taketh sheep and oxen, and giveth to Abimelech, and they make, both of them, a covenant;

²⁸and Abraham setteth seven Lambs of the flock by themselves.

²⁹And Abimelech saith unto Abraham, ‘What are they -- these seven lambs which thou hast set by themselves?'

³⁰And he saith, ‘For -- the seven lambs thou dost accept from my hand, so that it becometh a witness for me that I have digged this well;'

³¹therefore hath he called that place ‘Beer-Sheba,' for there have both of them sworn.

³²And they make a covenant in Beer-Sheba, and Abimelech riseth -- Phichol also, head of his host -- and they turn back unto the land of the Philistines;

³³and Abraham planteth a tamarask in Beer-Sheba, and preacheth there in the name of Jehovah, God age-during;

³⁴and Abraham sojourneth in the land of the Philistines many days.