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Genesis 18-19
Complete Jewish Bible
Genesis 18-19
Complete Jewish Bible
Parashah 4: Vayera (He appeared) 18:1–22:24
18 Adonai appeared to Avraham by the oaks of Mamre as he sat at the entrance to the tent during the heat of the day. 2 He raised his eyes and looked, and there in front of him stood three men. On seeing them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, prostrated himself on the ground, 3 and said, “My lord, if I have found favor in your sight, please don’t leave your servant. 4 Please let me send for some water, so that you can wash your feet; then rest under the tree, 5 and I will bring a piece of bread. Now that you have come to your servant, refresh yourselves before going on.” “Very well,” they replied, “do what you have said.”
6 Avraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly, three measures of the best flour! Knead it and make cakes.” 7 Avraham ran to the herd, took a good, tender calf and gave it to the servant, who hurried to prepare it. 8 Then he took curds, milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it all before the men; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate. 9 They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He said, “There, in the tent.” 10 He said, “I will certainly return to you around this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.” Sarah heard him from the entrance of the tent, behind him. 11 Avraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years; Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, “I am old, and so is my lord; am I to have pleasure again?” 13 Adonai said to Avraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and ask, ‘Am I really going to bear a child when I am so old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for Adonai? At the time set for it, at this season next year, I will return to you; and Sarah will have a son.” (ii) 15 Sarah denied it, saying, “I didn’t either laugh,” because she was afraid. He said, “Not so — you did laugh.”
16 The men set out from there and looked over toward S’dom, and Avraham went with them to see them on their way. 17 Adonai said, “Should I hide from Avraham what I am about to do, 18 inasmuch as Avraham is sure to become a great and strong nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed by him? 19 For I have made myself known to him, so that he will give orders to his children and to his household after him to keep the way of Adonai and to do what is right and just, so that Adonai may bring about for Avraham what he has promised him.”
20 Adonai said, “The outcry against S’dom and ‘Amora is so great and their sin so serious 21 that I will now go down and see whether their deeds warrant the outcry that has reached me; if not, I will know.” 22 The men turned away from there and went toward S’dom, but Avraham remained standing before Adonai. 23 Avraham approached and said, “Will you actually sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Maybe there are fifty righteous people in the city; will you actually sweep the place away, and not forgive it for the sake of the fifty righteous who are there? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing — to kill the righteous along with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike! Far be it from you! Shouldn’t the judge of all the earth do what is just?” 26 Adonai said, “If I find in S’dom fifty who are righteous, then I will forgive the whole place for their sake.”
27 Avraham answered, “Here now, I, who am but dust and ashes, have taken it upon myself to speak to Adonai. 28 What if there are five less than fifty righteous?” He said, “I won’t destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
29 He spoke to him yet again: “What if forty are found there?” He said, “For the sake of the forty I won’t do it.”
30 He said, “I hope Adonai won’t be angry if I speak. What if thirty are found there?” He said, “I won’t do it if I find thirty there.”
31 He said, “Here now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to Adonai. What if twenty are found there?” He said, “For the sake of the twenty I won’t destroy it.”
32 He said, “I hope Adonai won’t be angry if I speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He said, “For the sake of the ten I won’t destroy it.” 33 Adonai went on his way as soon as he had finished speaking to Avraham, and Avraham returned to his place.
19 (iii) The two angels came to S’dom that evening, when Lot was sitting at the gate of S’dom. Lot saw them, got up to greet them and prostrated himself on the ground. 2 He said, “Here now, my lords, please come over to your servant’s house. Spend the night, wash your feet, get up early, and go on your way.” “No,” they answered, “we’ll stay in the square.” 3 But he kept pressing them; so they went home with him; and he made them a meal, baking matzah for their supper, which they ate.
4 But before they could go to bed, the men of the city surrounded the house — young and old, everyone from every neighborhood of S’dom. 5 They called Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to stay with you tonight? Bring them out to us! We want to have sex with them!” 6 Lot went out to them and stood in the doorway, closing the door behind him, 7 and said, “Please, my brothers, don’t do such a wicked thing. 8 Look here, I have two daughters who are virgins. Please, let me bring them out to you, and you can do with them what seems good to you; but don’t do anything to these men, since they are guests in my house.” 9 “Stand back!” they replied. “This guy came to live here, and now he’s decided to play judge. For that we’ll deal worse with you than with them!” Then they crowded in on Lot, in order to get close enough to break down the door. 10 But the men inside reached out their hands, brought Lot into the house to them and shut the door. 11 Then they struck the men at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they couldn’t find the doorway.
12 The men said to Lot, “Do you have any people here besides yourself? Whomever you have in the city — son-in-law, your sons, your daughters — bring them out of this place; 13 because we are going to destroy it. Adonai has become aware of the great outcry against them, and Adonai has sent us to destroy it.” 14 Lot went out and spoke with his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Get up and leave this place, because Adonai is going to destroy the city.” But his sons-in-law didn’t take him seriously.
15 When morning came, the angels told Lot to hurry. “Get up,” they said, “and take your wife and your two daughters who are here; otherwise you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 But he dallied, so the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand and the hands of his two daughters — Adonai was being merciful to him — and led them, leaving them outside the city. 17 When they had brought them out, he said, “Flee for your life! Don’t look behind you, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain, but escape to the hills! Otherwise you will be swept away.” 18 Lot said to them, “Please, no, my lord! 19 Here, your servant has already found favor in your sight, and you have shown me even greater mercy by saving my life. But I can’t escape to the hills, because I’m afraid the disaster will overtake me, and I will die. 20 Look, there’s a town nearby to flee to, and it’s a small one. Please let me escape there — isn’t it just a small one? — and that way I will stay alive.”
(iv) 21 He replied, “All right, I agree to what you have asked. I won’t overthrow the city of which you have spoken. 22 Hurry, and escape to that place, because I can’t do anything until you arrive there.” For this reason the city was named Tzo‘ar [small].
23 By the time Lot had come to Tzo‘ar, the sun had risen over the land. 24 Then Adonai caused sulfur and fire to rain down upon S’dom and ‘Amora from Adonai out of the sky. 25 He overthrew those cities, the entire plain, all the inhabitants of the cities and everything growing in the ground. 26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a column of salt.
27 Avraham got up early in the morning, went to the place where he had stood before Adonai, 28 and looked out toward S’dom and ‘Amora, scanning the entire plain. There before him the smoke was rising from the land like smoke from a furnace! 29 But when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Avraham and sent Lot out, away from the destruction, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.
30 Lot went up from Tzo‘ar and lived in the hills with his two daughters, because he was afraid to stay in Tzo‘ar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. 31 The firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there isn’t a man on earth to come in to us in the manner customary in the world. 32 Come, let’s have our father drink wine; then we’ll sleep with him, and that way we’ll enable our father to have descendants.”
33 So they plied their father with wine that night, and the older one went in and slept with her father; he didn’t know when she lay down or when she got up. 34 The following day, the older said to the younger, “Here, I slept last night with my father. Let’s make him drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him, and that way we’ll enable our father to have descendants.” 35 They plied their father with wine that night also, and the younger one got up and slept with him, and he didn’t know when she lay down or when she got up. 36 Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father.
37 The older one gave birth to a son and called him Mo’av; he is the ancestor of Mo’av to this day. 38 The younger also gave birth to a son, and she called him Ben-‘Ammi; he is the ancestor of the people of ‘Amon to this day.
Genesis 18-19
New International Version
Genesis 18-19
New International Version
The Three Visitors
18 The Lord appeared to Abraham(A) near the great trees of Mamre(B) while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent(C) in the heat of the day. 2 Abraham looked up(D) and saw three men(E) standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.(F)
3 He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes,(G) my lord,[a] do not pass your servant(H) by. 4 Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet(I) and rest under this tree. 5 Let me get you something to eat,(J) so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.”
“Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.”
6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three seahs[b] of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread.”(K)
7 Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf(L) and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. 8 He then brought some curds(M) and milk(N) and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them.(O) While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.
9 “Where is your wife Sarah?”(P) they asked him.
“There, in the tent,(Q)” he said.
10 Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year,(R) and Sarah your wife will have a son.”(S)
Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already very old,(T) and Sarah was past the age of childbearing.(U) 12 So Sarah laughed(V) to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord(W) is old, will I now have this pleasure?”
13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’(X) 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord?(Y) I will return to you at the appointed time next year,(Z) and Sarah will have a son.”(AA)
15 Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.”
But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.”
Abraham Pleads for Sodom
16 When the men(AB) got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. 17 Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham(AC) what I am about to do?(AD) 18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation,(AE) and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.[c] 19 For I have chosen him(AF), so that he will direct his children(AG) and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord(AH) by doing what is right and just,(AI) so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”(AJ)
20 Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom(AK) and Gomorrah is so great(AL) and their sin so grievous(AM) 21 that I will go down(AN) and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”
22 The men(AO) turned away and went toward Sodom,(AP) but Abraham remained standing before the Lord.[d](AQ) 23 Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?(AR) 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare[e] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?(AS) 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing(AT)—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous(AU) and the wicked alike.(AV) Far be it from you! Will not the Judge(AW) of all the earth do right?”(AX)
26 The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.(AY)”
27 Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes,(AZ) 28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?”
“If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”
29 Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?”
He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.”
30 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry,(BA) but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?”
He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
31 Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?”
He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”
32 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more.(BB) What if only ten can be found there?”
He answered, “For the sake of ten,(BC) I will not destroy it.”
33 When the Lord had finished speaking(BD) with Abraham, he left,(BE) and Abraham returned home.(BF)
Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed
19 The two angels(BG) arrived at Sodom(BH) in the evening, and Lot(BI) was sitting in the gateway of the city.(BJ) When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.(BK) 2 “My lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet(BL) and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.”
“No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.”(BM)
3 But he insisted(BN) so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house.(BO) He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast,(BP) and they ate.(BQ) 4 Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom(BR)—both young and old—surrounded the house. 5 They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”(BS)
6 Lot went outside to meet them(BT) and shut the door behind him 7 and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. 8 Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”(BU)
9 “Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner,(BV) and now he wants to play the judge!(BW) We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.
10 But the men(BX) inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. 11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness(BY) so that they could not find the door.
12 The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you?(BZ) Get them out of here, 13 because we(CA) are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great(CB) that he has sent us to destroy it.”(CC)
14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry[f] his daughters. He said, “Hurry and get out of this place, because the Lord is about to destroy the city!(CD)” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.(CE)
15 With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away(CF) when the city is punished.(CG)”
16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters(CH) and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them.(CI) 17 As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives!(CJ) Don’t look back,(CK) and don’t stop anywhere in the plain!(CL) Flee to the mountains(CM) or you will be swept away!”
18 But Lot said to them, “No, my lords,[g] please! 19 Your[h] servant has found favor in your[i] eyes,(CN) and you[j] have shown great kindness(CO) to me in sparing my life. But I can’t flee to the mountains;(CP) this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. 20 Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.”
21 He said to him, “Very well, I will grant this request(CQ) too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. 22 But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it.” (That is why the town was called Zoar.[k](CR))
23 By the time Lot reached Zoar,(CS) the sun had risen over the land. 24 Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur(CT) on Sodom and Gomorrah(CU)—from the Lord out of the heavens.(CV) 25 Thus he overthrew those cities(CW) and the entire plain,(CX) destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land.(CY) 26 But Lot’s wife looked back,(CZ) and she became a pillar of salt.(DA)
27 Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord.(DB) 28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.(DC)
29 So when God destroyed the cities of the plain,(DD) he remembered(DE) Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe(DF) that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.(DG)
Lot and His Daughters
30 Lot and his two daughters left Zoar(DH) and settled in the mountains,(DI) for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. 31 One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth. 32 Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line(DJ) through our father.”(DK)
33 That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.(DL)
34 The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.”(DM) 35 So they got their father to drink wine(DN) that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.(DO)
36 So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father.(DP) 37 The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab[l];(DQ) he is the father of the Moabites(DR) of today. 38 The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi[m]; he is the father of the Ammonites[n](DS) of today.
Footnotes
- Genesis 18:3 Or eyes, Lord
- Genesis 18:6 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
- Genesis 18:18 Or will use his name in blessings (see 48:20)
- Genesis 18:22 Masoretic Text; an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition but the Lord remained standing before Abraham
- Genesis 18:24 Or forgive; also in verse 26
- Genesis 19:14 Or were married to
- Genesis 19:18 Or No, Lord; or No, my lord
- Genesis 19:19 The Hebrew is singular.
- Genesis 19:19 The Hebrew is singular.
- Genesis 19:19 The Hebrew is singular.
- Genesis 19:22 Zoar means small.
- Genesis 19:37 Moab sounds like the Hebrew for from father.
- Genesis 19:38 Ben-Ammi means son of my father’s people.
- Genesis 19:38 Hebrew Bene-Ammon
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