Gen 18-22 | NASB2020 | STEP | Now the Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre , while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day .

Genesis 18

Birth of Isaac Promised

1 Now ^athe Lord appeared to ^{▼▼Lit him}Abraham by the ^{▼▼Or terebinths
,} ^doaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 When he raised his eyes and looked, behold, three ^emen were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed down to the ground, 3 and said, “ ^{▼▼Or O Lord}My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please do not ^{▼▼Lit pass away from Your servant}pass Your servant by. 4 Please let a little water be brought and ^hwash ^{▼▼I.e., referring to the three visitors}your feet, and make yourselves comfortable under the tree; 5 and I will ^{▼▼Lit take
,} ^kbring a piece of bread, so that you may ^{▼▼Lit sustain your heart}refresh yourselves; after that you may go on, since you have ^{▼▼Lit come to}visited your servant.” And they said, “So do as you have said.” 6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “ ^{▼▼Lit Hasten three measures}Quickly, prepare three ^{▼▼Heb seah; one seah is about 7 qt. or 7.7 liters}measures of fine flour, knead it, and make bread cakes.” 7 Abraham also ran to the herd, and took a tender and ^{▼▼Lit good}choice calf and gave it to the servant, and he hurried to prepare it. 8 He took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree ^{▼▼Lit and}as they ate.

9 Then they said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” 10 He said, “ ^rI will certainly return to you ^{▼▼Lit when the time revives}at this time next year; and behold, your wife Sarah will have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him. 11 Now ^tAbraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was ^upast ^{▼▼Lit the way of women}childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed ^{▼▼Lit within}to herself, saying, “ ^xAfter I have become old, am I to have pleasure, my ^ylord being old also?” 13 But the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I actually give birth to a child, when I am so old?’ 14 ^zIs anything too ^{▼▼Or wonderful}difficult for the Lord? At the ^abappointed time I will return to you, ^{▼▼Lit when the time revives}at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” 15 Sarah denied it, however, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”

16 Then ^adthe men rose up from there, and looked down toward Sodom; and Abraham was walking with them to send them off. 17 ^aeThe Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham ^afwhat I am about to do, 18 since Abraham will certainly become a great and ^{▼▼Or populous}mighty nation, and in him ^ahall the nations of the earth will be blessed? 19 For I have ^{▼▼Lit known
,} ^ajchosen him, so that he may ^akcommand his children and his household after him to ^alkeep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham ^amwhat He has spoken about him.” 20 And the Lord said, “ ^anThe outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. 21 I will ^aogo down now and see whether they have done entirely as the outcry, which has come to Me indicates; and if not, I will know.”

Abraham Appeals for Sodom

22 Then ^apthe men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before ^aqthe Lord. 23 Abraham approached and said, “ ^arWill You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous people within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not ^{▼▼Or forgive}spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 Far be it from You to do ^{▼▼Lit like this thing}such a thing, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not ^authe Judge of all the earth ^{▼▼Lit do justice}deal justly?” 26 So the Lord said, “ ^awIf I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will ^{▼▼Or forgive}spare the entire place on their account.” 27 And Abraham replied, “Now behold, I have ^{▼▼Or resolved}ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am only ^azdust and ashes. 28 Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the entire city because of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” 29 And he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose forty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it on account of the forty.” 30 Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” 31 And he said, “Now behold, I have ^{▼▼Or resolved}ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.” 32 Then he said, “ ^bbOh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once: suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.” 33 As soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham ^bcthe Lord departed, and Abraham returned to his place.

Genesis 19

The Doom of Sodom

1 Now the ^bdtwo angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting at the gate of Sodom. When ^beLot saw them, he stood up to meet them and ^{▼▼Lit bowed himself}bowed down with his face to the ground. 2 And he said, “Now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your servant’s house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.” They said, “No, but we shall spend the night in the public square.” 3 Yet he strongly urged them, so they turned aside to him and entered his house; ^bgand he prepared a feast for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. 4 Before they lay down, ^bhthe men of the city--the men of Sodom --surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people ^{▼▼Or without exception; lit from every end}from every quarter; 5 and they called to Lot and said to him, “ ^bjWhere are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may ^{▼▼Lit know them; i.e., have intercourse}have relations with them.” 6 But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him, 7 and said, “Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly. 8 Now look, ^blI have two daughters who have not ^{▼▼Lit known man}had relations with any man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them ^{▼▼Lit as is good in your sight}whatever you like; only do not do anything to these men, because they have come under the ^{▼▼Lit shadow}shelter of my roof.” 9 But they said, “Get out of the way!” They also said, “This one came in ^{▼▼Lit to sojourn}as a foreigner, and already ^bqhe is acting like a judge; now we will treat you worse than them!” So they pressed hard against ^{▼▼Lit the man, against Lot}Lot and moved forward to break the door. 10 But ^bsthe men reached out their ^{▼▼Lit hand}hands and brought Lot into the house ^{▼▼Lit to}with them, and shut the door. 11 Then ^bvthey struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, from the small to the great, so that they became weary of trying to find the doorway.

12 Then the two men said to Lot, “Whom else do you have here? A son-in-law and your sons and daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of the place; 13 for we are about to destroy this place, because ^bwtheir outcry has become so great before the Lord that ^bxthe Lord has sent us to destroy it.” 14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who ^{▼▼Or had married; lit were taking}were to marry his daughters, and said, “Up, ^bzget out of this place, for the Lord is destroying the city.” ^caBut he appeared to his sons-in-law ^{▼▼Lit like one who was joking}to be joking.

15 When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the ^{▼▼Or wrongdoing}punishment of the city.” 16 But he hesitated. So the men ^cdgrasped his hand and the hand of his wife and the ^{▼▼Lit hand}hands of his two daughters, because ^cfthe compassion of the Lord was upon him; and they brought him out and put him outside the city. 17 When they had brought them outside, ^{▼▼Lit he}one said, “ ^chEscape for your life! ^ciDo not look behind you, and do not stay ^{▼▼Lit in all the circle}anywhere in the ^cksurrounding area; escape to ^clthe ^{▼▼Lit mountain}mountains, or you will be swept away.” 18 But Lot said to them, “Oh no, my lords! 19 Now behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your compassion, which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the ^{▼▼Lit mountain}mountains, for the disaster will overtake me and I will die; 20 now behold, this town is near enough to flee to, and it is small. Please, let me escape there (is it not small?) ^{▼▼Lit and my soul will live}so that my life may be saved.” 21 And he said to him, “Behold, I grant you this ^{▼▼Lit thing}request also, not to overthrow the town of which you have spoken. 22 Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Therefore the town was named ^{▼▼I.e., small
,} ^crZoar.

23 The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24 Then the Lord ^csrained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord out of heaven, 25 and ^ctHe overthrew those cities, and all the surrounding area, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 But ^{▼▼Lit his}Lot’s wife, from behind him, ^cvlooked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

27 Now Abraham got up early in the morning and went to ^cwthe place where he had stood before the Lord; 28 and he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the surrounding area; and ^{▼▼Lit he saw, and behold}behold, he saw ^cythe smoke of the land ascended like the smoke of a ^{▼▼Lit kiln}furnace.

29 So it came about, when God destroyed the cities of the surrounding area, that ^daGod remembered Abraham, and ^dbsent Lot out of the midst of the destruction, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.

Lot and His Daughters

30 Now Lot went up from Zoar with his two daughters and ^dcstayed in the ^{▼▼Lit mountain}mountains, because he was afraid to stay in Zoar; and he stayed in a cave, he and his two daughters. 31 Then the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man ^{▼▼Or in the land}on earth to ^{▼▼Lit come in to
,} ^dghave relations with us according to the custom of all the earth. 32 Come, ^dhlet’s make our father drink wine, and let’s sleep with him so that we may keep ^{▼▼Lit seed from our father}our family alive through our father.” 33 So they made their father drink wine that night, and the firstborn went in and slept with her father; and he did not know when she lay down or got up. 34 On the following day, the firstborn said to the younger, “Look, I slept last night with my father; let’s make him drink wine tonight too, then you go in and sleep with him, so that we may keep ^{▼▼Lit seed from our father}our family alive through our father.” 35 So they had their father drink wine that night too, and the younger got up and slept with him; and he did not know when she lay down or got up. 36 And so both of the daughters of Lot conceived by their father. 37 The firstborn gave birth to a son, and named him ^dkMoab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. 38 As for the younger, she also gave birth to a son, and named him Ben-ammi; he is the father of ^{▼▼Heb Beney-Ammon}the sons of ^dmAmmon to this day.

Genesis 20

Abraham’s Treachery

1 Now Abraham journeyed from ^dnthere toward the land of ^dothe ^{▼▼I.e., South country}Negev, and ^{▼▼Lit dwelt}settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he lived for a time in ^drGerar. 2 And Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “ ^dsShe is my sister.” So ^dtAbimelech king of Gerar sent men and took Sarah. 3 ^duBut God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, “Behold, ^dvyou are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is ^{▼▼Lit married to a husband}married.” 4 Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, ^dxwill You kill a nation, even though ^{▼▼Lit righteous}blameless? 5 Did he himself not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she ^dzherself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In ^eathe integrity of my heart and the innocence of my ^{▼▼Lit palms}hands I have done this.” 6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also ^{▼▼Lit restrained
,} ^edkept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. 7 Now then, return the man’s wife, for ^eehe is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, know that you will certainly die, you and all who are yours.”

8 So Abimelech got up early in the morning and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ^{▼▼Lit ears}presence; and the people were greatly frightened. 9 ^egThen Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And ^{▼▼Lit what}how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom ^eia great sin? You have done to me ^{▼▼Lit deeds}things that ought not to be done.” 10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What have you ^{▼▼Lit seen}encountered, that you have done this thing?” 11 Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely there is no ^elfear of God in this place, and ^emthey will kill me because of my wife. 12 Besides, she actually is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife; 13 and it came about, when ^enGod caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is ^{▼▼Lit your}the kindness which you will show to me: ^{▼▼Lit at every place where}everywhere we go, ^eqsay of me, “He is my brother.”’” 14 ^erAbimelech then took sheep and oxen and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned his wife Sarah to him. 15 Abimelech said, “ ^esBehold, my land is before you; ^{▼▼Lit dwell}settle wherever ^{▼▼Lit it is good in your sight}you please.” 16 To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given your ^evbrother a thousand pieces of silver. ^{▼▼Lit Behold, it is}It is ^{▼▼Lit for you a covering of the eyes}your vindication before all who are with you, and before everyone you are cleared.” 17 Then ^eyAbraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his female slaves, so that they gave birth to children. 18 ^ezFor the Lord had completely closed all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

Genesis 21

Isaac Is Born

1 ^faThen the Lord took note of Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had ^{▼▼Lit spoken}promised. 2 ^fcSo Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at ^fdthe appointed time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham named his son who was born to him, the son whom Sarah bore to him, ^feIsaac. 4 Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was ^ffeight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Now Abraham was ^fga hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 Sarah said, “God has made ^fhlaughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh ^{▼▼Lit for}with me.” 7 And she said, “ ^fjWho would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have given birth to a son in his old age.”

8 And the child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.

Sarah Turns against Hagar

9 Now Sarah saw ^fkthe son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, ^flmocking Isaac. 10 Therefore she said to Abraham, “ ^fmDrive out this slave woman and her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be an heir with my son ^{▼▼Lit with Isaac}Isaac!” 11 ^foThe matter ^{▼▼Lit was very grievous in Abraham’s sight}distressed Abraham greatly because of his son Ishmael. 12 But God said to Abraham, “ ^{▼▼Lit Do not let it be grievous in your sight}Do not be distressed because of the boy and your slave woman; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her, for ^frthrough Isaac ^{▼▼Lit your seed will be called}your descendants shall be named. 13 And of ^ftthe son of the slave woman I will make a nation also, because he is your ^{▼▼Lit seed}descendant.” 14 So Abraham got up early in the morning and took bread and a ^{▼▼I.e., a skin used as a bottle}skin of water, and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder, and gave her the boy, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba.

15 When the water in the skin was used up, she ^{▼▼Lit cast}left the boy under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went and sat down opposite him, about a bowshot away, for she said, “May I not ^{▼▼Lit look at the death of the child}see the boy die!” And she sat opposite him, and ^fyraised her voice and wept. 17 God ^fzheard the boy crying; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “ ^{▼▼Lit What to you; an idiom}What is the matter with you, Hagar? ^gbDo not fear, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. 18 Get up, lift up the boy, and hold him by ^{▼▼Lit your}the hand, ^gdfor I will make a great nation of him.” 19 Then God ^geopened her eyes, and she saw ^gfa well of water; and she went and filled the ^{▼▼See note v 14}skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

20 And ^ghGod was with the boy, and he grew; and he lived in the wilderness and became an archer. 21 ^giHe lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

Covenant with Abimelech

22 Now it came about at that time that ^gjAbimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, “ ^gkGod is with you in all that you do; 23 so now, ^glswear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring or with my descendants, but according to the kindness that I have shown to you, you shall show to me and to the land in which you have resided.” 24 Abraham said, “I swear it.” 25 But Abraham ^{▼▼Lit rebuked}complained to Abimelech because of the well of water which the servants of Abimelech ^gnhad seized. 26 And Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor did I hear of it ^{▼▼Lit except}until today.”

27 So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and ^gpthe two of them made a covenant. 28 But Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. 29 Then Abimelech said to Abraham, “What do these seven ewe lambs mean, which you have set by themselves?” 30 He said, “You shall take these seven ewe lambs from my hand so that it may be a ^gqwitness for me, that I dug this well.” 31 Therefore he called that place ^{▼▼I.e., well of an oath
,} ^gsBeersheba, because there the two of them took an oath. 32 So they made a covenant at Beersheba; and Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, got up and returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there ^gthe called on the name of the Lord, the ^guEverlasting God. 34 And Abraham resided ^gvin the land of the Philistines for many days.

Genesis 22

The Offering of Isaac

1 Now it came about after these things, that ^gwGod tested Abraham, and said to him, “ ^gxAbraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 Then He said, “Take now ^gyyour son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of ^gzMoriah, and offer him there as a ^haburnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.” 3 So Abraham got up early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and set out and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the boy will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.” 6 And Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and ^hblaid it on his son Isaac, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. 7 Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the ^hclamb for the burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will ^{▼▼Lit see}provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.

9 Then they came to ^hethe place of which God had told him; and Abraham built ^hfthe altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and ^hglaid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 And Abraham reached out with his hand and took the knife to ^{▼▼I.e., following prescribed ritual}slaughter his son. 11 But ^hithe angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not reach out your hand against the boy, and do not do anything to him; for now ^hjI know that you ^{▼▼Or revere; lit are a fearer of God}fear God, since you have not withheld ^hlyour son, your only son, from Me.” 13 Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram caught in the thicket by its horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering in the place of his son. 14 And Abraham named that place ^{▼▼Heb YHWH-jireh; lit the Lord will see}The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “On the mountain of the Lord ^hnit will ^{▼▼Lit be seen}be provided.”

15 Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, 16 and said, “ ^hpBy Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly ^hqmultiply your ^{▼▼Or descendants}seed as the stars of the heavens and as ^hsthe sand, which is on the seashore; and ^htyour ^{▼▼Or descendants}seed shall possess the gate of ^{▼▼Lit his}their enemies. 18 And ^hwin your ^{▼▼Or descendants}seed all the nations of the earth shall ^{▼▼Or bless themselves}be blessed, because you have ^hzobeyed My voice.” 19 ^iaSo Abraham returned to his young men, and they got up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham lived in Beersheba.

20 Now it came about after these things, that Abraham was told, saying, “Behold, ^ibMilcah ^{▼▼Lit she also}also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21 Uz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel (the father of Aram), 22 Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel”-- 23 and it was Bethuel who fathered ^idRebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. 24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, ^{▼▼Lit she also}also gave birth to Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.