Genesis · Bible in Basic English
Genesis 18 Bible in Basic English
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 Now the Lord came to him by the holy tree of Mamre, when he was seated in the doorway of his tent in the middle of the day;
1 Yahweh appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day.
2 And lifting up his eyes, he saw three men before him; and seeing them, he went quickly to them from the door of the tent, and went down on his face to the earth;
2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and saw that three men stood near him. When he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to the earth,
3 And said, My Lord, if now I have grace in your eyes, do not go away from your servant:
3 and said, “My lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, please don’t go away from your servant.
4 Let me get water for washing your feet, and take your rest under the tree:
4 Now let a little water be fetched, wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.
5 And let me get a bit of bread to keep up your strength, and after that you may go on your way: for this is why you have come to your servant. And they said, Let it be so.
5 I will get a piece of bread so you can refresh your heart. After that you may go your way, now that you have come to your servant.” They said, “Very well, do as you have said.”
6 Then Abraham went quickly into the tent, and said to Sarah, Get three measures of meal straight away and make cakes.
6 Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Quickly prepare three seahs of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes.”
7 And running to the herd, he took a young ox, soft and fat, and gave it to the servant and he quickly made it ready;
7 Abraham ran to the herd, and fetched a tender and good calf, and gave it to the servant. He hurried to dress it.
8 And he took butter and milk and the young ox which he had made ready and put it before them, waiting by them under the tree while they took food.
8 He took butter, milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them. He stood by them under the tree, and they ate.
9 And they said to him, Where is Sarah your wife? And he said, She is in the tent.
9 They asked him, “Where is Sarah, your wife?” He said, “There, in the tent.”
10 And he said, I will certainly come back to you in the spring, and Sarah your wife will have a son. And his words came to the ears of Sarah who was at the back of the tent-door.
10 He said, “I will certainly return to you at about this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” Sarah heard in the tent door, which was behind him.
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were very old, and Sarah was past the time for giving birth.
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age. Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.
12 And Sarah, laughing to herself, said, Now that I am used up am I still to have pleasure, my husband himself being old?
12 Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old will I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”
13 And the Lord said, Why was Sarah laughing and saying, Is it possible for me, being old, to give birth to a child?
13 Yahweh said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Will I really bear a child when I am old?’
14 Is there any wonder which the Lord is not able to do? At the time I said, in the spring, I will come back to you, and Sarah will have a child.
14 Is anything too hard for Yahweh? At the set time I will return to you, when the season comes around, and Sarah will have a son.”
15 Then Sarah said, I was not laughing; for she was full of fear. And he said, No, but you were laughing.
15 Then Sarah denied it, saying, “I didn’t laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
16 And the men went on from there in the direction of Sodom; and Abraham went with them on their way.
16 The men rose up from there, and looked toward Sodom. Abraham went with them to see them on their way.
17 And the Lord said, Am I to keep back from Abraham the knowledge of what I do;
17 Yahweh said, “Will I hide from Abraham what I do,
18 Seeing that Abraham will certainly become a great and strong nation, and his name will be used by all the nations of the earth as a blessing?
18 since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in him?
19 For I have made him mine so that he may give orders to his children and those of his line after him, to keep the ways of the Lord, to do what is good and right: so that the Lord may do to Abraham as he has said.
19 For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of Yahweh, to do righteousness and justice; to the end that Yahweh may bring on Abraham that which he has spoken of him.”
20 And the Lord said, Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is very great, and their sin is very evil,
20 Yahweh said, “Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous,
21 I will go down now, and see if their acts are as bad as they seem from the outcry which has come to me; and if they are not, I will see.
21 I will go down now, and see whether their deeds are as bad as the reports which have come to me. If not, I will know.”
22 And the men, turning from that place, went on to Sodom: but Abraham was still waiting before the Lord.
22 The men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, but Abraham stood yet before Yahweh.
23 And Abraham came near, and said, Will you let destruction come on the upright with the sinners?
23 Abraham came near, and said, “Will you consume the righteous with the wicked?
24 If by chance there are fifty upright men in the town, will you give the place to destruction and not have mercy on it because of the fifty upright men?
24 What if there are fifty righteous within the city? Will you consume and not spare the place for the fifty righteous who are in it?
25 Let such a thing be far from you, to put the upright to death with the sinner: will not the judge of all the earth do right?
25 May it be far from you to do things like that, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be like the wicked. May that be far from you. Shouldn’t the Judge of all the earth do right?”
26 And the Lord said, If there are fifty upright men in the town, I will have mercy on it because of them.
26 Yahweh said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
27 And Abraham answering said, Truly, I who am only dust, have undertaken to put my thoughts before the Lord:
27 Abraham answered, “See now, I have taken it on myself to speak to the Lord, although I am dust and ashes.
28 If by chance there are five less than fifty upright men, will you give up all the town to destruction because of these five? And he said, I will not give it to destruction if there are forty-five.
28 What if there will lack five of the fifty righteous? Will you destroy all the city for lack of five?” He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
29 And again he said to him, By chance there may be forty there. And he said, I will not do it if there are forty.
29 He spoke to him yet again, and said, “What if there are forty found there?” He said, “I will not do it for the forty’s sake.”
30 And he said, Let not the Lord be angry with me if I say, What if there are thirty there? And he said, I will not do it if there are thirty.
30 He said, “Oh don’t let the Lord be angry, and I will speak. What if there are thirty found there?” He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
31 And he said, See now, I have undertaken to put my thoughts before the Lord: what if there are twenty there? And he said, I will have mercy because of the twenty.
31 He said, “See now, I have taken it on myself to speak to the Lord. What if there are twenty found there?” He said, “I will not destroy it for the twenty’s sake.”
32 And he said, O let not the Lord be angry and I will say only one word more: by chance there may be ten there. And he said, I will have mercy because of the ten.
32 He said, “Oh don’t let the Lord be angry, and I will speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He said, “I will not destroy it for the ten’s sake.”
33 And the Lord went on his way when his talk with Abraham was ended, and Abraham went back to his place.
33 Yahweh went his way as soon as he had finished communing with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Abraham
Called by God, he left home in faith to become the father of a chosen people.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 12–25
Sarah
Wife of Abraham who bore Isaac in her old age, long after hope seemed gone.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 17-21
Cross references (32)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Genesis 14:13; Genesis 13:18; Genesis 48:3; Acts 7:2; Genesis 26:2
- 2 Hebrews 13:2; Genesis 18:22; Genesis 19:1; Judges 13:3; Genesis 23:7
- 4 Genesis 43:24; Genesis 24:32; Genesis 19:2; Luke 7:44; 1 Samuel 25:41
- 5 Psalm 104:15; Judges 6:18; Judges 13:15; Matthew 6:11; Judges 19:5
- 6 Matthew 13:33; Galatians 5:13; Romans 12:13; Hebrews 13:2; Luke 10:38–40
- 7 Judges 13:15–16; Matthew 22:4; Luke 15:27; Amos 6:4; Luke 15:30
- 8 Genesis 19:3; Acts 10:41; Judges 13:15; John 12:2; Revelation 3:20
- 9 Titus 2:5; Genesis 24:67; Genesis 4:9; Genesis 31:33
- 10 Genesis 21:2; Genesis 17:21; Romans 9:8–9; Genesis 17:19; 2 Kings 4:16–17
- 11 Genesis 17:17; Hebrews 11:11–12; Luke 1:36; Romans 4:18–21; Leviticus 15:19
- 12 1 Peter 3:6; Genesis 17:17; Luke 1:18–20; Genesis 21:6–7; Luke 1:34–35
- 13 John 2:25
- 14 Luke 1:37; Matthew 19:26; Mark 10:27; Jeremiah 32:27; Ephesians 3:20
- 15 Proverbs 28:13; 1 John 1:8; Ephesians 4:23; Psalm 44:21; John 18:25–27
- 16 Acts 21:5; Acts 15:3; Acts 20:38; 3 John 6; Romans 15:24
- 17 Amos 3:7; Psalm 25:14; John 15:15; Genesis 19:24; James 2:23
- 18 Galatians 3:8; Genesis 26:4; Galatians 3:14; Genesis 12:2–3; Genesis 22:17–18
- 19 1 Timothy 3:4–5; Deuteronomy 6:6–7; Deuteronomy 4:9–10; Ephesians 6:4; 2 Timothy 3:15
- 20 Genesis 19:13; Ezekiel 16:49–50; Isaiah 3:9; Genesis 13:13; Genesis 4:10
- 21 Exodus 3:8; Genesis 11:5; Joshua 22:22; Zephaniah 1:12; Deuteronomy 8:2
- 22 Genesis 19:1; 1 Timothy 2:1; Acts 7:55; Ezekiel 22:30; Jeremiah 18:20
- 23 Numbers 16:22; 2 Samuel 24:17; Genesis 20:4; Genesis 18:25; Psalm 11:4–7
- 24 Jeremiah 5:1; Isaiah 1:9; Matthew 7:13–14; Genesis 18:32; Acts 27:24
- 25 Job 8:20; Job 8:3; Isaiah 3:10–11; Psalm 58:11; Deuteronomy 32:4
- 26 Jeremiah 5:1; Matthew 24:22; Isaiah 65:8; Ezekiel 22:30; Isaiah 10:22
- 27 Isaiah 6:5; Genesis 3:19; Luke 5:8; Isaiah 64:8; Job 30:19
- 28 Genesis 18:26; Job 23:3–4; Numbers 14:17–19; Genesis 18:29; 1 Kings 20:32–33
- 29 Ephesians 6:18; Hebrews 4:16
- 30 Psalm 10:17; Job 40:4; Isaiah 55:8–9; Hebrews 12:28–29; Psalm 89:7
- 31 Luke 11:8; Matthew 7:7; Hebrews 10:20–22; Hebrews 4:16; Luke 18:1
- 32 James 5:15–17; Judges 6:39; Matthew 7:7; 1 John 5:15–16; Ephesians 3:20
- 33 Genesis 32:26; Genesis 18:22; Genesis 18:16; Genesis 31:55
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
Abraham was specially honoured, and was called the friend of God; yet he, earnestly regarding the glory of God, humbly declared, "I am but dust and ashes." Moreover, it is thus written of Job, "Job was a righteous man, and blameless, truthful, God-fearing, and one that kept himself from all evil." But bringing an accusation against himself, he said, "No …
Still suffer me to speak before Thy mercy--me, "dust and ashes." Suffer me to speak, for, behold, it is Thy mercy I address, and not derisive man.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)
So likewise He doth in Abraham's case, saying, "I will by no means hide from Abraham my servant;" to make thee know that man's kindly affection, and his care for Sodom.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
A great and honourable man was Abraham, but only great in comparison with men; and when he came before God, then speaking the truth candidly he saith, I am earth and ashes.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)
I should seem tedious were I to recount all the ancient miracles, which were wrought in attestation of God's promises which He made to Abraham thousands of years ago, that in his seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed. For who can but marvel that Abraham's barren wife should have given birth to a son at an …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)