1 And the LORD appeared to him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2 And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw [them], he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, 3 And said, My Lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: 4 Let a little water, I pray you, be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: 5 And I will bring a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that you shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. 6 And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead [it], and make cakes upon the hearth. 7 And Abraham ran to the herd, and brought a calf tender and good, and gave [it] to a young man; and he hasted to dress it. 8 And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set [it] before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they ate. 9 And they said to him, Where [is] Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. 10 And he said, I will certainly return to thee according to the time of life; and lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard [it] in the tent door, which [was] behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah [were] old [and] far advanced in age; [and] it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am become old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? 13 And the LORD said to Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I certainly bear a child, who am old? 14 Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return to thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. 15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh. 16 And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. 17 And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; 18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they will keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. 20 And the LORD 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 whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come to me; and if not, I will know. 22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went towards Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD. 23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24 Peradventure there are fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that [are] in it? 25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? 26 And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. 27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I, who [am] dust and ashes, have taken upon me to speak to the LORD. 28 Peradventure there will lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for [lack of] five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy [it]. 29 And he spoke to him yet again, and said, Peradventure there will be forty found there. And he said, I will not do [it] for forty's sake. 30 And he said, Oh, let not the LORD be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there will thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do [it], if I find thirty there. 31 And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak to the LORD: Peradventure there will be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy [it] for twenty's sake. 32 And he said, Oh let not the LORD be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten will be found there. And he said, I will not destroy [it] for ten's sake. 33 And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned to his place.
Genesis · Noah Webster's Bible (1833)
Genesis 18 Noah Webster's Bible (1833)
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
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)