The Lord appeared to Abraham by the terebinths of Mamre. As Abraham was sitting at the opening of his tent in the heat of the day , he looked up and saw three men standing in front of him. He ran from the opening of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground . 'Sirs,' he said, ' if I have deserved your favor, do mot pass by my humble self without a visit. Let me send for some water so that you may wash your feet and rest under a tree ;and let me fetch a little food so that you may refresh yourselves. Afterwards you may wash your feet and rest under a tree ;and let me fetch a little food so that you may refresh yourselves.Afterwards you may continue the journey which has brought you my way .'They said,'Do by all means as you say .'So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, 'Take three measures of flour quickly ,knead it and make some cakes. 'then Abraham ran to the cattle ,chose a fine tender calf and gave it to a servant ,who hurriedly prepared it. He took curds and milk and the calf he had prepared,set it before then ,and waited on then himself under the tree while they ate .They asked him where Sarah his wife was ,and he said, 'There,in the tent.'The stranger said ,'About this time next year I will be sure to come back to you, and Sarah your wife shall have a son .'Now Sarah was listening at the opening of the tent;and he was close beside it .Both Abraham and Sarah had grown very old ,and Saah was past the age of child-bearing.So Sarah laughed to herself and said ,'I an past bearing children now that I am out of my time ,and my husband is old .'The Lord said to Abraham ,'Why did Sarah laugh.Is anything impossible for the Lord?In due season I will come back to you ,about this time next year,and Sarah shall have a son .'
The men set out and looked down towards Sodom ,and Abraham went with then to start them on their way ....So the Lord said,'There is a great outcry over Sodom and Gomorrah ;their sin is very grave .I must go down and see whether their deeds warrant the outcry which has reached me .I an resolved to know the truth.'When the men turned and went towards Sodom ,Abraham remained standing before the Lord .Abraham drew near him and said ,'Wilt thou really sweep away good and bad together ?Suppose there are fifty good men in the city ;wilt thou really sweep it away ,and not pardon the place because of the fifty good men ?Far be if from three to do this -to kill good and bad together;for then the good would suffer with the bad .Far be if from thee.Shall not the judge of all the earth do what is just ?'The Lord said ,'If I find in the city of Sodom fifty good men ,I will pardon the whole place for their sake'...Abraham said,'I pray thee not to be angry ,O Lord,if I speak just once more:suppose ten can be found there?'He said,'For the sake of the ten I will not destroy it .'
(2)
The two angels came to Sodom in the evening ,and LOT WAS SITTING IN THE GATEWAY OF THE CITY .When he saw them he said, 'I pray you, sirs, turn aside to my humble home ,spend the night there and wash your feet ;you can rise early and continue your journey .''No ,'they answered,'we will spend the night in the street. 'But Lot was so insistent that they did turn aside and enter his house .He prepared a meal for them, baking unleavened cakes ,and they ate them. Before they lay down to sleep ,the men of Sodom, both young and old surrounded the house -everyone without exception. 'Bring them out ,'they shouted,'so that we can have intercourse with them .'
Lot went out into the doorway to them ,closed the door behind him and said ,'No ,my friends ,do mot be so wicked.Look,I have two daughters,both virgins;let me bring them mot touch these men ,because they have come under the shelter of my roof.'They said,'Out of our way !This man has come and settled here as an alien ,and does he now take it They crowded in on the man Lot and pressed close to smash in ,and closed the door .Then they struck the men in the door way with blindness,both small and great ,so that they could not find the door.
The two men said to Lot ,'Have you anyone else here,sons-in-law,sons,or daughters,or any who belong to you in the city ?Get them out of this place,,because we are going to destroy it .
As soon as it was dawn ,the angels urged Lot to go .When he lingered,they took him by the hand,with his wife and his daughters,and ,because the Lord had spared him ,led him on until he was outside the city .When they had brought them out ,they said,'Flee for your lives;do not look back and do not stop anywhere in the Plain.Flee to the hills or you will be swept away .'And then the Lord rained down fire and brimstone from the skies on Sodom and Gomorrah.He over-threw those and everything growing in the ground .But Lot's wife,behind him ,looked back,and she turned into a pillar of salt .