Catholic Public Domain Version (CPDV)

1 And God blessed Noah and his sons. And he said to them: “Increase, and multiply, and fill the earth.

2 And let the fear and trembling of you be upon all the animals of the earth, and upon all the birds of the air, along with all that moves across the earth. All the fish of the sea have been delivered into your hand.

3 And everything that moves and lives will be food for you. Just as with the edible plants, I have delivered them all to you,

4 except that flesh with blood you shall not eat.

5 For I will examine the blood of your lives at the hand of every beast. So also, at the hand of mankind, at the hand of each man and his brother, I will examine the life of mankind.

6 Whoever will shed human blood, his blood will be poured out. For man was indeed made to the image of God.

7 But as for you: increase and multiply, and go forth upon the earth and fulfill it.”

8 To Noah and to his sons with him, God also said this:

9 “Behold, I will establish my covenant with you, and with your offspring after you,

10 and with every living soul that is with you: as much with the birds as with the cattle and all the animals of the earth that have gone forth from the ark, and with all the wild beasts of the earth.

11 I will establish my covenant with you, and no longer will all that is flesh be put to death by the waters of a great flood, and, henceforth, there will not be a great flood to utterly destroy the earth.”

12 And God said: “This is the sign of the pact that I grant between me and you, and to every living soul that is with you, for perpetual generations.

13 I will place my arc in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the pact between myself and the earth.

14 And when I obscure the sky with clouds, my arc will appear in the clouds.

15 And I will remember my covenant with you, and with every living soul that enlivens flesh. And there will no longer be waters from a great flood to wipe away all that is flesh.

16 And the arc will be in the clouds, and I will see it, and I will remember the everlasting covenant that was enacted between God and every living soul of all that is flesh upon the earth.”

17 And God said to Noah, “This will be the sign of the covenant that I have established between myself and all that is flesh upon the earth.”

18 And so the sons of Noah, who came out of the ark, were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Now Ham himself is the father of Canaan.

19 These three are the sons of Noah. And from these all the family of mankind was spread over the whole earth.

20 And Noah, a good farmer, began to cultivate the land, and he planted a vineyard.

21 And by drinking its wine, he became inebriated and was naked in his tent.

22 Because of this, when Ham, the father of Canaan, had indeed seen the privates of his father to be naked, he reported it to his two brothers outside.

23 And truly, Shem and Japheth put a cloak upon their arms, and, advancing backwards, covered the privates of their father. And their faces were turned away, so that they did not see their father’s manhood.

24 Then Noah, awaking from the wine, when he had learned what his younger son had done to him,

25 he said, “Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants will he be to his brothers.”

26 And he said: “Blessed be the Lord God of Shem, let Canaan be his servant.

27 May God enlarge Japheth, and may he live in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant.”

28 And after the great flood, Noah lived for three hundred and fifty years.

29 And all his days were completed in nine hundred and fifty years, and then he died.

1 These are the generations of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and of the sons who were born to them after the great flood.

2 The sons of Japheth were Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.

3 And then the sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.

4 And the sons of Javan were Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Rodanim.

5 The islands of the Gentiles were divided by these into their regions, each one according to his tongue, and their families in their nations.

6 And the Sons of Ham were Cush, and Mizraim, and Put, and Canaan.

7 And the sons of Cush were Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dadan.

8 And then Cush conceived Nimrod; he began to be powerful on the earth.

9 And he was an able hunter before the Lord. From this, a proverb came forth: ‘Just like Nimrod, an able hunter before the Lord.’

10 And so, the beginning of his kingdom was Babylon, and Erech, and Accad, and Chalanne, in the land of Shinar.

11 From that land, Assur came forth, and he built Nineveh, and the streets of the city, and Calah,

12 and also Resen, between Nineveh and Calah. This is a great city.

13 And truly, Mizraim conceived Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, Naphtuhim,

14 and Pathrusim, and Casluhim, from whom came forth the Philistines and the Caphtorim.

15 Then Canaan conceived Sidon his firstborn, the Hittite,

16 and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, the Girgashite,

17 the Hivite, and the Arkite: the Sinite,

18 and the Arvadian, the Samarite, and the Hamathite. And after this, the peoples of the Canaanites became widespread.

19 And the borders of Chanaan went, as one travels, from Sidon to Gerar, even to Gaza, until one enters Sodom and Gomorrah, and from Admah and Zeboiim, even to Lesa.

20 These are the sons of Ham in their kindred, and tongues, and generations, and lands, and nations.

21 Likewise, from Shem, the father of all the sons of Heber, the elder brother of Japheth, sons were born.

22 The sons of Shem were Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.

23 The sons of Aram were Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.

24 But truly, Arphaxad conceived Shelah, from whom was born Eber.

25 And to Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth became divided, and his brother’s name was Joktan.

26 This Joktan conceived Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, Jerah

27 and Hadoram, and Uzal and Diklah,

28 and Obal and Abimael, Sheba

29 and Ophir, and Havilah and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan.

30 And their habitation extended from Messa, as one sojourns, even to Sephar, a mountain in the east.

31 These are the sons of Shem according to their kindred, and tongues, and the regions within their nations.

32 These are the families of Noah, according to their peoples and nations. The nations became divided according to these, on the earth after the great flood.

1 Now the earth was of one language and of the same speech.

2 And when they were advancing from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt in it.

3 And each one said to his neighbor, “Come, let us make bricks, and bake them with fire.” And they had bricks instead of stones, and pitch instead of mortar.

4 And they said: “Come, let us make a city and a tower, so that its height may reach to heaven. And let us make our name famous before we are divided into all the lands.”

5 Then the Lord descended to see the city and the tower, which the sons of Adam were building.

6 And he said: “Behold, the people are united, and all have one tongue. And since they have begun to do this, they will not desist from their plans, until they have completed their work.

7 Therefore, come, let us descend, and in that place confound their tongue, so that they may not listen, each one to the voice of his neighbor.”

8 And so the Lord divided them from that place into all the lands, and they ceased to build the city.

9 And for this reason, its name was called ‘Babel,’ because in that place the language of the whole earth became confused. And from then on, the Lord scattered them across the face of every region.

10 These are the generations of Shem. Shem was one hundred years old when he conceived Arphaxad, two years after the great flood.

11 And after he conceived Arphaxad, Shem lived for five hundred years, and he conceived sons and daughters.

12 Next, Arphaxad lived for thirty-five years, and then he conceived Shelah.

13 And after he conceived Shelah, Arphaxad lived for three hundred and three years, and he conceived sons and daughters.

14 Likewise, Shelah lived for thirty years, and then he conceived Eber.

15 And after he conceived Eber, Shelah lived for four hundred and three years, and he conceived sons and daughters.

16 Then Eber lived for thirty-four years, and he conceived Peleg.

17 And after he conceived Peleg, Eber lived for four hundred and thirty years, and he conceived sons and daughters.

18 Likewise, Peleg lived for thirty years, and then he conceived Reu.

19 And after he conceived Reu, Peleg lived for two hundred and nine years, and he conceived sons and daughters.

20 Then Reu lived for thirty-two years, and then he conceived Serug.

21 Likewise, after he conceived Serug, Reu lived for two hundred and seven years, and he conceived sons and daughters.

22 In truth, Serug lived for thirty years, and then he conceived Nahor.

23 And after he conceived Nahor, Serug lived for two hundred years, and he conceived sons and daughters.

24 And so Nahor lived for twenty-nine years, and then he conceived Terah.

25 And after he conceived Terah, Nahor lived for one hundred and nineteen years, and he conceived sons and daughters.

26 And Terah lived for seventy years, and then he conceived Abram, and Nahor, and Haran.

27 And these are the generations of Terah. Terah conceived Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Next Haran conceived Lot.

28 And Haran died before his father Terah, in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldeans.

29 Then Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai. And the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.

30 But Sarai was barren and had no children.

31 And so Terah took his son Abram, and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and he led them away from Ur of the Chaldeans, to go into the land of Canaan. And they approached as far as Haran, and they dwelt there.

32 And the days of Terah that passed were two hundred and five years, and then he died in Haran.

1 Then the Lord said to Abram: “Depart from your land, and from your kindred, and from your father’s house, and come into the land that I will show you.

2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and magnify your name, and you will be blessed.

3 I will bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse you, and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

4 And so Abram departed just as the Lord had instructed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

5 And he took his wife Sarai, and Lot, the son of his brother, and all the substance which they had come to possess, and the lives which they had acquired in Haran, and they departed in order to go to the land of Canaan. And when they arrived in it,

6 Abram passed through the land even to the place of Shechem, as far as the famous steep valley. Now at that time, the Canaanite was in the land.

7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and he said to him, “To your offspring, I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

8 And passing on from there to a mountain, which was opposite the east of Bethel, he pitched his tent there, having Bethel to the west, and Hai on the east. He also built an altar there to the Lord, and he called upon his name.

9 And Abram traveled, going out and continuing further on, toward the south.

10 But a famine occurred in the land. And Abram descended to Egypt, to sojourn there. For famine prevailed over the land.

11 And when he was close to entering Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai: “I know you to be a beautiful woman.

12 And when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘She is his wife.’ And they will put me to death, and retain you.

13 Therefore, I beg you to say that you are my sister, so that it may be well with me because of you, and so that my soul may live by your favor.”

14 And so, when Abram had arrived in Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was exceedingly beautiful.

15 And the princes reported it to Pharaoh, and they praised her to him. And the woman was inducted into the house of Pharaoh.

16 In truth, they treated Abram well because of her. And he had sheep and oxen and male donkeys, and men servants, and women servants, and female donkeys, and camels.

17 But the Lord scourged Pharaoh and his house with great wounds because of Sarai, the wife of Abram.

18 And Pharaoh called Abram, and he said to him: “What is this that you have done to me? Why did you not tell me she was your wife?

19 For what reason did you claim her to be your sister, so that I would take her to me as a wife? Now therefore, behold your mate, receive her and go.”

20 And Pharaoh instructed his men about Abram. And they led him away with his wife and all that he had.

1 Therefore, Abram ascended from Egypt, he and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, toward the southern region.

2 But he was very wealthy by the possession of gold and silver.

3 And he returned by the way that he came, from the meridian into Bethel, all the way to the place where before he had pitched his tent, between Bethel and Hai.

4 There, at the place of the altar he had made before, he again called upon the name of the Lord.

5 But Lot also, who was with Abram, had flocks of sheep, and cattle, and tents.

6 Neither was the land able to contain them, so that they might dwell together. Indeed, their substance was so great that they could not live in common.

7 And then there also arose a conflict between the shepherds of Abram and of Lot. Now at that time the Canaanite and the Perizzite lived in that land.

8 Therefore, Abram said to Lot: “I ask you, let there be no quarrel between me and you, and between my shepherds and your shepherds. For we are brothers.

9 Behold, the entire land is before your eyes. Withdraw from me, I beg you. If you will go to the left, I will take the right. If you choose the right, I will pass to the left.”

10 And so Lot, lifting up his eyes, saw all the region around the Jordan, which was thoroughly irrigated, before the Lord overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It was like the Paradise of the Lord, and it was like Egypt, approaching toward Zoar.

11 And Lot chose for himself the region around the Jordan, and he withdrew by way of the east. And they were divided, one brother from the other.

12 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan. In truth, Lot stayed in the towns that were around the Jordan, and he lived in Sodom.

13 But the men of Sodom were very wicked, and they were sinners before the Lord beyond measure.

14 And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot was divided from him: “Lift up your eyes, and gaze out from the place where you are now, to the north and to the meridian, to the east and to the west.

15 All the land that you see, I will give to you, and to your offspring even forever.

16 And I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth. If any man is able to number the dust of the earth, he will be able to number your offspring as well.

17 Arise and walk through the land in its length, and breadth. For I will give it to you.”

18 Therefore, moving his tent, Abram went and dwelt by the steep valley of Mamre, which is in Hebron. And he built an altar there to the Lord.

1 Now it happened in that time that Amraphel, king of Shinar, and Arioch, king of Pontus, and Chedorlaomer, king of the Elamites, and Tidal, king of the Nations,

2 went to war against Bera, king of Sodom, and against Birsha, king of Gomorrah, and against Shinab, king of Admah, and against Shemeber, king of Zeboiim, and against the king of Bela, that is Zoar.

3 All these came together in the wooded valley, which is now the Sea of Salt.

4 For they had served Chedorlaomer for twelve years, and in the thirteenth year they withdrew from him.

5 Therefore, in the fourteenth year, Chedorlaomer arrived, and the kings who were with him. And they struck the Rephaim at Ashteroth of the two horns, and the Zuzim with them, and the Emim at Shaveh-Kiriathaim.

6 and the Chorreans in the mountains of Seir, even to the plains of Paran, which is in wilderness.

7 And they returned and arrived at the fountain of Mishpat, which is Kadesh. And they struck the entire region of the Amalekites, and the Amorites who dwelt in Hazazontamar.

8 And the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and indeed the king of Bela, which is Zoar, went forth. And they directed their point against them in the wooded valley,

9 namely, against Chedorlaomer, king of the Elamites, and Tidal, king of the Nations, and Amraphel, king of Shinar, and Arioch, king of Pontus: four kings against five.

10 Now the wooded valley had many pits of bitumen. And so the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah turned back and they fell there. And those who remained, fled to the mountain.

11 Then they took all the substance of the Sodomites and the Gomorrahites, and all that pertained to food, and they went away,

12 along with both Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, who lived in Sodom, and his substance.

13 And behold, one who had escaped reported it to Abram the Hebrew, who lived in the steep valley of Mamre the Amorite, who was the brother of Eshcol, and the brother of Aner. For these had formed an agreement with Abram.

14 When Abram had heard this, namely, that his brother Lot had been taken captive, he numbered three hundred and eighteen of his own armed men and he went in pursuit all the way to Dan.

15 And dividing his company, he rushed upon them in the night. And he struck them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.

16 And he brought back all the substance, and Lot his brother, with his substance, likewise the women and the people.

17 Then the king of Sodom went out to meet him, after he returned from the slaughter at Chedorlaomer, and the kings who were with him at the valley of Shaveh, which is the valley of the king.

18 Then in truth, Melchizedek, the king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine, for he was a priest of the Most High God;

19 he blessed him, and he said: “Blessed be Abram by the Most High God, who created heaven and earth.

20 And blessed be the Most High God, through whose protection the enemies are in your hands.” And he gave him tithes from everything.

21 Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me these souls, and take the rest for yourself.”

22 And he responded to him: “I lift up my hand to the Lord God, the Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth,

23 that from one thread within a blanket, even to a single shoelace, I will not take anything from that which is yours, lest you say, ‘I have enriched Abram,’

24 except that which the young men have eaten, and the shares for the men who came with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. These will take their shares.”

1 And so, these things having been transacted, the word of the Lord came to Abram by a vision, saying: “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your protector, and your reward is exceedingly great.”

2 And Abram said: “Lord God, what will you give to me? I may go without children. And the son of the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus.”

3 And Abram added: “Yet to me you have not given offspring. And behold, my servant born in my house will be my heir.”

4 And immediately the word of the Lord came to him, saying: “This one will not be your heir. But he who will come from your loins, the same will you have for your heir.”

5 And he brought him outside, and he said to him, “Take in the heavens, and number the stars, if you can.” And he said to him, “So also will your offspring be.”

6 Abram believed God, and it was reputed to him unto justice.

7 And he said to him, “I am the Lord who led you away from Ur of the Chaldeans, so as to give you this land, and so that you would possess it.”

8 But he said, “Lord God, in what way may I be able to know that I will possess it?”

9 And the Lord responded by saying: “Take for me a cow of three years, and a she-goat of three years, and a ram of three years, also a turtle-dove and a pigeon.”

10 Taking all these, he divided them through the middle, and placed both parts opposite one another. But the birds he did not divide.

11 And birds descended upon the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

12 And when the sun was setting, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a dread, great and dark, invaded him.

13 And it was said to him: “Know beforehand that your future offspring will be sojourners in a land not their own, and they will subjugate them in servitude and afflict them for four hundred years.

14 Yet truly, I will judge the nation that they will serve, and after this they will depart with great substance.

15 But you will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age.

16 But in the fourth generation, they will return here. For the iniquities of the Amorites are not yet completed, even to this present time.”

17 Then, when the sun had set, there came a dark mist, and there appeared a smoking furnace and a lamp of fire passing between those divisions.

18 On that day, God formed a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your offspring I will give this land, from the river of Egypt, even to the great river Euphrates:

19 the land of the Kenites and the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites

20 and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, likewise the Rephaim,

21 and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

1 Now Sarai, the wife of Abram, had not conceived children. But, having an Egyptian handmaid named Hagar,

2 she said to her husband: “Behold, the Lord has closed me, lest I give birth. Enter to my handmaid, so that perhaps I may receive sons of her at least.” And when he agreed to her supplication,

3 she took Hagar the Egyptian, her handmaid, ten years after they began to live in the land of Canaan, and she gave her to her husband as a wife.

4 And he entered to her. But when she saw that she had conceived, she despised her mistress.

5 And Sarai said to Abram: “You have acted unfairly against me. I gave my handmaid into your bosom, who, when she saw that she had conceived, held me in contempt. May the Lord judge between me and you.”

6 Abram responded to her by saying, “Behold, your handmaid is in your hand to treat as it pleases you.” And so, when Sarai afflicted her, she took flight.

7 And when the Angel of the Lord had found her, near the fountain of water in the wilderness, which is on the way to Shur in the desert,

8 he said to her: “Hagar, handmaid of Sarai, where have you come from? And where will you go?” And she answered, “I flee from the face of Sarai, my mistress.”

9 And the Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and humble yourself under her hand.”

10 And again he said, “I will multiply your offspring continuously, and they will not be numbered because of their multitude.”

11 But thereafter he said: “Behold, you have conceived, and you will give birth to a son. And you shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has heard your affliction.

12 He will be a wild man. His hand will be against all, and all hands will be against him. And he will pitch his tents away from the region of all his brothers.”

13 Then she called upon the name of the Lord who had spoken to her: “You are the God who has seen me.” For she said, “Certainly, here I have seen the back of the one who sees me.”

14 Because of this, she called that well: ‘The well of the one who lives and who sees me.’ The same is between Kadesh and Bered.

15 And Hagar gave birth to a son for Abram, who called his name Ishmael.

16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael for him.

1 In truth, after he began to be ninety-nine years of age, the Lord appeared to him. And he said to him: “I am the Almighty God. Walk in my sight and become complete.

2 And I will set my covenant between me and you. And I will multiply you very exceedingly.”

3 Abram fell prone on his face.

4 And God said to him: “I AM, and my covenant is with you, and you will be the father of many nations.

5 No longer will your name be called Abram. But you will be called Abraham, for I have established you as the father of many nations.

6 And I will cause you to increase very greatly, and I will set you among the nations, and kings will come forth from you.

7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you, and with your offspring after you in their generations, by a perpetual covenant: to be God to you and to your offspring after you.

8 And I will give to you and to your offspring, the land of your sojourn, all the land of Canaan, as an eternal possession, and I will be their God.”

9 Again God said to Abraham: “And you therefore shall keep my covenant, and your offspring after you in their generations.

10 This is my covenant, which you shall observe, between me and you, and your offspring after you: All the males among you shall be circumcised.

11 And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, so that it may be a sign of the covenant between me and you.

12 An infant of eight days will be circumcised among you, every male in your generations. So also servants born to you, as well as those bought, shall be circumcised, even those who are not of your stock.

13 And my covenant shall be with your flesh as an eternal covenant.

14 The male, the flesh of whose foreskin will not be circumcised, that soul shall be eliminated from his people. For he has made my covenant void.”

15 God said also to Abraham: “Your wife Sarai, you shall not call Sarai, but Sarah.

16 And I will bless her, and from her I will give you a son, whom I will bless, and he will be among the nations, and the kings of the peoples will rise from him.”

17 Abraham fell on his face, and he laughed, saying in his heart: “Do you think a son can be born to a one hundred year old man? And will Sarah give birth at the age of ninety?”

18 And he said to God, “If only Ishmael would live in your sight.”

19 And God said to Abraham: “Your wife Sarah shall give birth to a son, and you shall call his name Isaac, and I will establish my covenant with him as a perpetual covenant, and with his offspring after him.

20 Likewise, concerning Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I will bless and enlarge him, and I will multiply him greatly. He will produce twelve leaders, and I will make him into a great nation.

21 Yet in truth, I will establish my covenant with Isaac, to whom Sarah will give birth for you at this time next year.”

22 And when he had finished speaking with him, God ascended from Abraham.

23 Then Abraham took his son Ishmael, and all who were born in his house, and all whom he had bought, every male among the men of his house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin promptly, the very same day, just as God had instructed him.

24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin.

25 And his son Ishmael had completed thirteen years at the time of his circumcision.

26 On the very same day, Abraham was circumcised with his son Ishmael.

27 And all the men of his house, those born in his house, as well as those who were bought, even the foreigners, were circumcised with him.

1 Then the Lord appeared to him, in the steep valley of Mamre, when he was sitting at the door of his tent, in the very heat of the day.

2 And when he had lifted up his eyes, there appeared to him three men, standing near him. When he had seen them, he ran to meet them from the door of his tent, and he reverenced them on the ground.

3 And he said: “If I, O lord, have found grace in your eyes, do not pass by your servant.

4 But I will bring a little water, and you may wash your feet and rest under the tree.

5 And I will set out a meal of bread, so that you may strengthen your heart; after this you will pass on. It is for this reason that you have turned aside to your servant.” And they said, “Do as you have spoken.”

6 Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and he said to her, “Quickly, mix together three measures of the finest wheat flour and make loaves baked under the ashes.”

7 In truth, he himself ran to the herd, and he took a calf from there, very tender and very good, and he gave it to a servant, who hurried and boiled it.

8 Likewise, he took butter and milk, and the calf which he had boiled, and he placed it before them. Yet truly, he himself stood near them under the tree.

9 And when they had eaten, they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He answered, “Behold, she is in the tent.”

10 And he said to him, “When returning, I will come to you at this time, with life as a companion, and your wife Sarah will have a son.” Hearing this, Sarah laughed behind the door of the tent.

11 Now they were both old, and in an advanced state of life, and it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.

12 And she laughed secretly, saying, “After I have grown old, and my lord is elderly, shall I give myself to the work of delight?”

13 Then the Lord said to Abraham: “Why did Sarah laugh, saying: ‘How can I, an old woman, actually give birth?’

14 Is anything difficult for God? According to the announcement, he will return to you at this same time, with life as a companion, and Sarah will have a son.”

15 Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh.” For she was terribly afraid. But the Lord said, “It is not so; for you did laugh.”

16 Therefore, when the men had risen up from there, they directed their eyes against Sodom. And Abraham traveled with them, leading them.

17 And the Lord said: “How could I hide what I am about to do from Abraham,

18 since he will become a great and very robust nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed?

19 For I know that he will instruct his sons, and his household after him, to keep to the way of the Lord, and to act with judgment and justice, so that, for the sake of Abraham, the Lord may bring about all the things that he has spoken to him.”

20 And so the Lord said, “The outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah has been multiplied, and their sin has become exceedingly grievous.

21 I will descend and see whether they have fulfilled the work of the outcry that has reached me, or whether it is not so, in order that I may know.”

22 And they turned themselves from there, and they went toward Sodom. Yet in truth, Abraham still stood in the sight of the Lord.

23 And as they drew near, he said: “Will you destroy the just with the impious?

24 If there were fifty of the just in the city, will they perish with the rest? And will you not spare that place for the sake of fifty of the just, if they were in it?

25 Far be it from you to do this thing, and to kill the just with the impious, and for the just to be treated like the impious. No, this is not like you. You judge all the earth; you would never make such a judgment.”

26 And the Lord said to him, “If I find in Sodom fifty of the just in the midst of the city, I will release the entire place because of them.”

27 And Abraham responded by saying: “Since now I have begun, I will speak to my Lord, though I am dust and ashes.

28 What if there were five less than fifty of the just? Would you, despite the forty-five, eliminate the entire city?” And he said, “I will not eliminate it, if I find forty-five there.”

29 And again he said to him, “But if forty were found there, what would you do?” He said, “I will not strike, for the sake of the forty.”

30 “I ask you,” he said, “not to be angry, Lord, if I speak. What if thirty were found there?” He responded, “I will not act, if I find thirty there.”

31 “Since now I have begun,” he said, “I will speak to my Lord. What if twenty were found there?” He said, “I will not put to death, for the sake of the twenty.”

32 “I beg you,” he said, “not to be angry, Lord, if I speak yet once more. What if ten were found there?” And he said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”

33 And the Lord departed, after he had ceased speaking to Abraham, who then returned to his place.