17:1 When Abram was 99 years old, 1 the Lord appeared to him and said, 2 “I am the sovereign God. 3 Walk 4 before me 5 and be blameless. 6 17:2 Then I will confirm my covenant 7 between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.” 8
17:3 Abram bowed down with his face to the ground, 9 and God said to him, 10 17:4 “As for me, 11 this 12 is my covenant with you: You will be the father of a multitude of nations. 17:5 No longer will your name be 13 Abram. Instead, your name will be Abraham 14 because I will make you 15 the father of a multitude of nations. 17:6 I will make you 16 extremely 17 fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you. 18 17:7 I will confirm 19 my covenant as a perpetual 20 covenant between me and you. It will extend to your descendants after you throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 21 17:8 I will give the whole land of Canaan – the land where you are now residing 22 – to you and your descendants after you as a permanent 23 possession. I will be their God.”
17:9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep 24 the covenantal requirement 25 I am imposing on you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 17:10 This is my requirement that you and your descendants after you must keep: 26 Every male among you must be circumcised. 27 17:11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskins. This will be a reminder 28 of the covenant between me and you. 17:12 Throughout your generations every male among you who is eight days old 29 must be circumcised, whether born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not one of your descendants. 17:13 They must indeed be circumcised, 30 whether born in your house or bought with money. The sign of my covenant 31 will be visible in your flesh as a permanent 32 reminder. 17:14 Any uncircumcised male 33 who has not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off 34 from his people – he has failed to carry out my requirement.” 35
17:15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for your wife, you must no longer call her Sarai; 36 Sarah 37 will be her name. 17:16 I will bless her and will give you a son through her. I will bless her and she will become a mother of nations. 38 Kings of countries 39 will come from her!”
17:17 Then Abraham bowed down with his face to the ground and laughed 40 as he said to himself, 41 “Can 42 a son be born to a man who is a hundred years old? 43 Can Sarah 44 bear a child at the age of ninety?” 45 17:18 Abraham said to God, “O that 46 Ishmael might live before you!” 47
17:19 God said, “No, Sarah your wife is going to bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. 48 I will confirm my covenant with him as a perpetual 49 covenant for his descendants after him. 17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. 50 I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants. 51 He will become the father of twelve princes; 52 I will make him into a great nation. 17:21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this set time next year.” 17:22 When he finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him. 53
17:23 Abraham took his son Ishmael and every male in his household (whether born in his house or bought with money) 54 and circumcised them 55 on that very same day, just as God had told him to do. 17:24 Now Abraham was 99 years old 56 when he was circumcised; 57 17:25 his son Ishmael was thirteen years old 58 when he was circumcised. 17:26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on the very same day. 17:27 All the men of his household, whether born in his household or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham 59 by the oaks 60 of Mamre while 61 he was sitting at the entrance 62 to his tent during the hottest time of the day. 18:2 Abraham 63 looked up 64 and saw 65 three men standing across 66 from him. When he saw them 67 he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low 68 to the ground. 69
18:3 He said, “My lord, 70 if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by and leave your servant. 71 18:4 Let a little water be brought so that 72 you may all 73 wash your feet and rest under the tree. 18:5 And let me get 74 a bit of food 75 so that you may refresh yourselves 76 since you have passed by your servant’s home. After that you may be on your way.” 77 “All right,” they replied, “you may do as you say.”
18:6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Take 78 three measures 79 of fine flour, knead it, and make bread.” 80 18:7 Then Abraham ran to the herd and chose a fine, tender calf, and gave it to a servant, 81 who quickly prepared it. 82 18:8 Abraham 83 then took some curds and milk, along with the calf that had been prepared, and placed the food 84 before them. They ate while 85 he was standing near them under a tree.
18:9 Then they asked him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He replied, “There, 86 in the tent.” 18:10 One of them 87 said, “I will surely return 88 to you when the season comes round again, 89 and your wife Sarah will have a son!” 90 (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. 91 18:11 Abraham and Sarah were old and advancing in years; 92 Sarah had long since passed menopause.) 93 18:12 So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, 94 “After I am worn out will I have pleasure, 95 especially when my husband is old too?” 96
18:13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why 97 did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really 98 have a child when I am old?’ 18:14 Is anything impossible 99 for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.” 100 18:15 Then Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But the Lord said, “No! You did laugh.” 101
18:16 When the men got up to leave, 102 they looked out over 103 Sodom. (Now 104 Abraham was walking with them to see them on their way.) 105 18:17 Then the Lord said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 106 18:18 After all, Abraham 107 will surely become 108 a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 109 using his name. 18:19 I have chosen him 110 so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep 111 the way of the Lord by doing 112 what is right and just. Then the Lord will give 113 to Abraham what he promised 114 him.”
18:20 So the Lord said, “The outcry against 115 Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant 116 18:21 that I must go down 117 and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests. 118 If not, 119 I want to know.”
18:22 The two men turned 120 and headed 121 toward Sodom, but Abraham was still standing before the Lord. 122 18:23 Abraham approached and said, “Will you sweep away the godly along with the wicked? 18:24 What if there are fifty godly people in the city? Will you really wipe it out and not spare 123 the place for the sake of the fifty godly people who are in it? 18:25 Far be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge 124 of the whole earth do what is right?” 125
18:26 So the Lord replied, “If I find in the city of Sodom fifty godly people, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
18:27 Then Abraham asked, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord 126 (although I am but dust and ashes), 127 18:28 what if there are five less than the fifty godly people? Will you destroy 128 the whole city because five are lacking?” 129 He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
18:29 Abraham 130 spoke to him again, 131 “What if forty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”
18:30 Then Abraham 132 said, “May the Lord not be angry 133 so that I may speak! 134 What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
18:31 Abraham 135 said, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”
18:32 Finally Abraham 136 said, “May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”
18:33 The Lord went on his way 137 when he had finished speaking 138 to Abraham. Then Abraham returned home. 139
19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while 140 Lot was sitting in the city’s gateway. 141 When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground.
19:2 He said, “Here, my lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house. Stay the night 142 and wash your feet. Then you can be on your way early in the morning.” 143 “No,” they replied, “we’ll spend the night in the town square.” 144
19:3 But he urged 145 them persistently, so they turned aside with him and entered his house. He prepared a feast for them, including bread baked without yeast, and they ate. 19:4 Before they could lie down to sleep, 146 all the men – both young and old, from every part of the city of Sodom – surrounded the house. 147 19:5 They shouted to Lot, 148 “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sex 149 with them!”
19:6 Lot went outside to them, shutting the door behind him. 19:7 He said, “No, my brothers! Don’t act so wickedly! 150 19:8 Look, I have two daughters who have never had sexual relations with 151 a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do to them whatever you please. 152 Only don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection 153 of my roof.” 154
19:9 “Out of our way!” 155 they cried, and “This man came to live here as a foreigner, 156 and now he dares to judge us! 157 We’ll do more harm 158 to you than to them!” They kept 159 pressing in on Lot until they were close enough 160 to break down the door.
19:10 So the men inside 161 reached out 162 and pulled Lot back into the house 163 as they shut the door. 19:11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, from the youngest to the oldest, 164 with blindness. The men outside 165 wore themselves out trying to find the door. 19:12 Then the two visitors 166 said to Lot, “Who else do you have here? 167 Do you have 168 any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or other relatives in the city? 169 Get them out of this 170 place 19:13 because we are about to destroy 171 it. The outcry against this place 172 is so great before the Lord that he 173 has sent us to destroy it.”
19:14 Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were going to marry his daughters. 174 He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy 175 the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them. 176
19:15 At dawn 177 the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, 178 or else you will be destroyed when the city is judged!” 179 19:16 When Lot 180 hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them. 181 They led them away and placed them 182 outside the city. 19:17 When they had brought them outside, they 183 said, “Run 184 for your lives! Don’t look 185 behind you or stop anywhere in the valley! 186 Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!”
19:18 But Lot said to them, “No, please, Lord! 187 19:19 Your 188 servant has found favor with you, 189 and you have shown me great 190 kindness 191 by sparing 192 my life. But I am not able to escape to the mountains because 193 this disaster will overtake 194 me and I’ll die. 195 19:20 Look, this town 196 over here is close enough to escape to, and it’s just a little one. 197 Let me go there. 198 It’s just a little place, isn’t it? 199 Then I’ll survive.” 200
19:21 “Very well,” he replied, 201 “I will grant this request too 202 and will not overthrow 203 the town you mentioned. 19:22 Run there quickly, 204 for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” (This incident explains why the town was called Zoar.) 205
19:23 The sun had just risen 206 over the land as Lot reached Zoar. 207 19:24 Then the Lord rained down 208 sulfur and fire 209 on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord. 210 19:25 So he overthrew those cities and all that region, 211 including all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation that grew 212 from the ground. 19:26 But Lot’s 213 wife looked back longingly 214 and was turned into a pillar of salt.
19:27 Abraham got up early in the morning and went 215 to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 19:28 He looked out toward 216 Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of that region. 217 As he did so, he saw the smoke rising up from the land like smoke from a furnace. 218
19:29 So when God destroyed 219 the cities of the region, 220 God honored 221 Abraham’s request. He removed Lot 222 from the midst of the destruction when he destroyed 223 the cities Lot had lived in.
19:30 Lot went up from Zoar with his two daughters and settled in the mountains because he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. 19:31 Later the older daughter said 224 to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere nearby 225 to have sexual relations with us, 226 according to the way of all the world. 19:32 Come, let’s make our father drunk with wine 227 so we can have sexual relations 228 with him and preserve 229 our family line through our father.” 230
19:33 So that night they made their father drunk with wine, 231 and the older daughter 232 came and had sexual relations with her father. 233 But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. 234 19:34 So in the morning the older daughter 235 said to the younger, “Since I had sexual relations with my father last night, let’s make him drunk again tonight. 236 Then you go and have sexual relations with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” 237 19:35 So they made their father drunk 238 that night as well, and the younger one came and had sexual relations with him. 239 But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. 240
19:36 In this way both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 19:37 The older daughter 241 gave birth to a son and named him Moab. 242 He is the ancestor of the Moabites of today. 19:38 The younger daughter also gave birth to a son and named him Ben-Ammi. 243 He is the ancestor of the Ammonites of today.
20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev 244 region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident 245 in Gerar, 20:2 Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her.
20:3 But God appeared 246 to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead 247 because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.” 248
20:4 Now Abimelech had not gone near her. He said, “Lord, 249 would you really slaughter an innocent nation? 250 20:5 Did Abraham 251 not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, 252 ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience 253 and with innocent hands!”
20:6 Then in the dream God replied to him, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience. 254 That is why I have kept you 255 from sinning against me and why 256 I did not allow you to touch her. 20:7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed 257 he is a prophet 258 and he will pray for you; thus you will live. 259 But if you don’t give her back, 260 know that you will surely die 261 along with all who belong to you.”
20:8 Early in the morning 262 Abimelech summoned 263 all his servants. When he told them about all these things, 264 they 265 were terrified. 20:9 Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? What sin did I commit against you that would cause you to bring such great guilt on me and my kingdom? 266 You have done things to me that should not be done!” 267 20:10 Then Abimelech asked 268 Abraham, “What prompted you to do this thing?” 269
20:11 Abraham replied, “Because I thought, 270 ‘Surely no one fears God in this place. They will kill me because of 271 my wife.’ 20:12 What’s more, 272 she is indeed my sister, my father’s daughter, but not my mother’s daughter. She became my wife. 20:13 When God made me wander 273 from my father’s house, I told her, ‘This is what you can do to show your loyalty to me: 274 Every place we go, say about me, “He is my brother.”’”
20:14 So Abimelech gave 275 sheep, cattle, and male and female servants to Abraham. He also gave his wife Sarah back to him. 20:15 Then Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you; live wherever you please.” 276
20:16 To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver 277 to your ‘brother.’ 278 This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.” 279
20:17 Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, as well as his wife and female slaves so that they were able to have children. 20:18 For the Lord 280 had caused infertility to strike every woman 281 in the household of Abimelech because he took 282 Sarah, Abraham’s wife.