Genesis 18 Clementine Vulgate
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 Apparuit autem ei Dominus in convalle Mambre sedenti in ostio tabernaculi sui in ipso fervore diei.
1 Yahweh appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day.
2 Cumque elevasset oculos, apparuerunt ei tres viri stantes prope eum: quos cum vidisset, cucurrit in occursum eorum de ostio tabernaculi, et adoravit in terram.
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 Et dixit: Domine, si inveni gratiam in oculis tuis, ne transeas servum tuum:
3 and said, “My lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, please don’t go away from your servant.
4 sed afferam pauxillum aquæ, et lavate pedes vestros, et requiescite sub arbore.
4 Now let a little water be fetched, wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.
5 Ponamque buccellam panis, et confortate cor vestrum: postea transibitis: idcirco enim declinastis ad servum vestrum. Qui dixerunt: Fac ut locutus es.
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 Festinavit Abraham in tabernaculum ad Saram, dixitque ei: Accelera, tria sata similæ commisce, et fac subcinericios panes.
6 Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Quickly prepare three seahs of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes.”
7 Ipse vero ad armentum cucurrit, et tulit inde vitulum tenerrimum et optimum, deditque puero: qui festinavit et coxit illum.
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 Tulit quoque butyrum et lac, et vitulum quem coxerat, et posuit coram eis: ipse vero stabat juxta eos sub arbore.
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 Cumque comedissent, dixerunt ad eum: Ubi est Sara uxor tua? Ille respondit: Ecce in tabernaculo est.
9 They asked him, “Where is Sarah, your wife?” He said, “There, in the tent.”
10 Cui dixit: Revertens veniam ad te tempore isto, vita comite, et habebit filium Sara uxor tua. Quo audito, Sara risit post ostium tabernaculi.
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 Erant autem ambo senes, provectæque ætatis, et desierant Saræ fieri muliebria.
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age. Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.
12 Quæ risit occulte dicens: Postquam consenui, et dominus meus vetulus est, voluptati operam dabo?
12 Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old will I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”
13 Dixit autem Dominus ad Abraham: Quare risit Sara, dicens: Num vere paritura sum anus?
13 Yahweh said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Will I really bear a child when I am old?’
14 Numquid Deo quidquam est difficile? juxta condictum revertar ad te hoc eodem tempore, vita comite, et habebit Sara filium.
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 Negavit Sara, dicens: Non risi, timore perterrita. Dominus autem: Non est, inquit, ita: sed risisti.
15 Then Sarah denied it, saying, “I didn’t laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
16 Cum ergo surrexissent inde viri, direxerunt oculos contra Sodomam: et Abraham simul gradiebatur, deducens eos.
16 The men rose up from there, and looked toward Sodom. Abraham went with them to see them on their way.
17 Dixitque Dominus: Num celare potero Abraham quæ gesturus sum:
17 Yahweh said, “Will I hide from Abraham what I do,
18 cum futurus sit in gentem magnam, ac robustissimam, et benedicendæ sint in illo omnes nationes terræ?
18 since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in him?
19 Scio enim quod præcepturus sit filiis suis, et domui suæ post se ut custodiant viam Domini, et faciant judicium et justitiam: ut adducat Dominus propter Abraham omnia quæ locutus est ad eum.
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 Dixit itaque Dominus: Clamor Sodomorum et Gomorrhæ multiplicatus est, et peccatum eorum aggravatum est nimis.
20 Yahweh said, “Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous,
21 Descendam, et videbo utrum clamorem qui venit ad me, opere compleverint; an non est ita, ut sciam.
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 Converteruntque se inde, et abierunt Sodomam: Abraham vero adhuc stabat coram Domino.
22 The men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, but Abraham stood yet before Yahweh.
23 Et appropinquans ait: Numquid perdes justum cum impio?
23 Abraham came near, and said, “Will you consume the righteous with the wicked?
24 si fuerint quinquaginta justi in civitate, peribunt simul? et non parces loco illi propter quinquaginta justos, si fuerint in eo?
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 Absit a te ut rem hanc facias, et occidas justum cum impio, fiatque justus sicut impius, non est hoc tuum: qui judicas omnem terram, nequaquam facies judicium hoc.
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 Dixitque Dominus ad eum: Si invenero Sodomis quinquaginta justos in medio civitatis, dimittam omni loco propter eos.
26 Yahweh said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
27 Respondensque Abraham, ait: Quia semel cœpi, loquar ad Dominum meum, cum sim pulvis et cinis.
27 Abraham answered, “See now, I have taken it on myself to speak to the Lord, although I am dust and ashes.
28 Quid si minus quinquaginta justis quinque fuerint? delebis, propter quadraginta quinque, universam urbem? Et ait: Non delebo, si invenero ibi quadraginta quinque.
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 Rursumque locutus est ad eum: Sin autem quadraginta ibi inventi fuerint, quid facies? Ait: Non percutiam propter quadraginta.
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 Ne quæso, inquit, indigneris, Domine, si loquar: quid si ibi inventi fuerint triginta? Respondit: Non faciam, si invenero ibi triginta.
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 Quia semel, ait, cœpi loquar ad Dominum meum: quid si ibi inventi fuerint viginti? Ait: Non interficiam propter viginti.
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 Obsecro, inquit, ne irascaris, Domine, si loquar adhuc semel: quid si inventi fuerint ibi decem? Et dixit: Non delebo propter decem.
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 Abiitque Dominus, postquam cessavit loqui ad Abraham: et ille reversus est in locum suum.
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)