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Genesis 18

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1 ὤφθη δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ θεὸς πρὸς τῇ δρυὶ τῇ Μαμβρη καθημένου αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τῆς θύρας τῆς σκηνῆς αὐτοῦ μεσημβρίας 2 ἀναβλέψας δὲ τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ εἶδεν καὶ ἰδοὺ τρεῖς ἄνδρες εἱστήκεισαν ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ καὶ ἰδὼν προσέδραμεν εἰς συνάντησιν αὐτοῖς ἀπὸ τῆς θύρας τῆς σκηνῆς αὐτοῦ καὶ προσεκύνησεν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν 3 καὶ εἶπεν κύριε εἰ ἄρα εὗρον χάριν ἐναντίον σου μὴ παρέλθῃς τὸν παῖδά σου 4 λημφθήτω δὴ ὕδωρ καὶ νιψάτωσαν τοὺς πόδας ὑμῶν καὶ καταψύξατε ὑπὸ τὸ δένδρον 5 καὶ λήμψομαι ἄρτον καὶ φάγεσθε καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο παρελεύσεσθε εἰς τὴν ὁδὸν ὑμῶν οὗ εἵνεκεν ἐξεκλίνατε πρὸς τὸν παῖδα ὑμῶν καὶ εἶπαν οὕτως ποίησον καθὼς εἴρηκας 6 καὶ ἔσπευσεν Αβρααμ ἐπὶ τὴν σκηνὴν πρὸς Σαρραν καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῇ σπεῦσον καὶ φύρασον τρία μέτρα σεμιδάλεως καὶ ποίησον ἐγκρυφίας 7 καὶ εἰς τὰς βόας ἔδραμεν Αβρααμ καὶ ἔλαβεν μοσχάριον ἁπαλὸν καὶ καλὸν καὶ ἔδωκεν τῷ παιδί καὶ ἐτάχυνεν τοῦ ποιῆσαι αὐτό 8 ἔλαβεν δὲ βούτυρον καὶ γάλα καὶ τὸ μοσχάριον ὃ ἐποίησεν καὶ παρέθηκεν αὐτοῖς καὶ ἐφάγοσαν αὐτὸς δὲ παρειστήκει αὐτοῖς ὑπὸ τὸ δένδρον

1 He had a vision of the Lord, too, in the valley of Mambre, as he sat by his tent door at noon. 2 He looked up, and saw three men standing near him; and, at the sight, he ran from his tent door to meet them, bowing down to the earth.[1] 3 Lord, he said, as thou lovest me, do not pass thy servant by; 4 let me fetch a drop of water, so that you can wash your feet and rest in the shade. 5 I will bring a mouthful of food, too, so that you can refresh yourselves before you go on further; you have not come this way for nothing. And when they had agreed to what he proposed, 6 Abraham hastened into the tent to find Sara. Quick, he said, knead three measures of flour, and make girdle-cakes. 7 Meanwhile, he ran to the byre, and brought in a calf, tender and well-fed, and gave it to a servant, who made haste to cook it. 8 Then he brought out butter and milk with the calf he had cooked for them, and laid their meal ready, and stood there beside them in the shade of the trees.

1 Apparuit autem ei Dominus in convalle Mambre sedenti in ostio tabernaculi sui in ipso fervore diei. 2 Cumque elevasset oculos, apparuerunt ei tres viri stantes prope eum: quos cum vidisset, cucurrit in occursum eorum de ostio tabernaculi, et adoravit in terram. 3 Et dixit: Domine, si inveni gratiam in oculis tuis, ne transeas servum tuum: 4 sed afferam pauxillum aquæ, et lavate pedes vestros, et requiescite sub arbore. 5 Ponamque buccellam panis, et confortate cor vestrum: postea transibitis: idcirco enim declinastis ad servum vestrum. Qui dixerunt: Fac ut locutus es. 6 Festinavit Abraham in tabernaculum ad Saram, dixitque ei: Accelera, tria sata similæ commisce, et fac subcinericios panes. 7 Ipse vero ad armentum cucurrit, et tulit inde vitulum tenerrimum et optimum, deditque puero: qui festinavit et coxit illum. 8 Tulit quoque butyrum et lac, et vitulum quem coxerat, et posuit coram eis: ipse vero stabat juxta eos sub arbore.

9 εἶπεν δὲ πρὸς αὐτόν ποῦ Σαρρα ἡ γυνή σου ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν ἰδοὺ ἐν τῇ σκηνῇ 10 εἶπεν δέ ἐπαναστρέφων ἥξω πρὸς σὲ κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον εἰς ὥρας καὶ ἕξει υἱὸν Σαρρα ἡ γυνή σου Σαρρα δὲ ἤκουσεν πρὸς τῇ θύρᾳ τῆς σκηνῆς οὖσα ὄπισθεν αὐτοῦ 11 Αβρααμ δὲ καὶ Σαρρα πρεσβύτεροι προβεβηκότες ἡμερῶν ἐξέλιπεν δὲ Σαρρα γίνεσθαι τὰ γυναικεῖα 12 ἐγέλασεν δὲ Σαρρα ἐν ἑαυτῇ λέγουσα οὔπω μέν μοι γέγονεν ἕως τοῦ νῦν ὁ δὲ κύριός μου πρεσβύτερος 13 καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρὸς Αβρααμ τί ὅτι ἐγέλασεν Σαρρα ἐν ἑαυτῇ λέγουσα ἆρά γε ἀληθῶς τέξομαι ἐγὼ δὲ γεγήρακα 14 μὴ ἀδυνατεῖ παρὰ τῷ θεῷ ῥῆμα εἰς τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον ἀναστρέψω πρὸς σὲ εἰς ὥρας καὶ ἔσται τῇ Σαρρα υἱός 15 ἠρνήσατο δὲ Σαρρα λέγουσα οὐκ ἐγέλασα ἐφοβήθη γάρ καὶ εἶπεν οὐχί ἀλλὰ ἐγέλασας

9 When they finished eating, they asked, Where is thy wife Sara? She is here, he answered, in the tent. 10 I will come back, said he who was speaking to him, next year without fail; and, live she till then, thy wife Sara shall have a son.[2] Sara, behind the tent door, overheard it and laughed; 11 both were old, and past their prime, so that Sara was no longer subject to the lot of womanhood. 12 What, she said, laughing to herself at the thought, am I to have dalliance with this lord of mine, grown old as I too have grown old? 13 Whereupon the Lord said to Abraham, Why does Sara laugh, and ask whether she is indeed to become a mother in her old age? 14 Can any task be too difficult for the Lord? At this time of year, the time I have appointed, I will come back to thee; live she till then, Sara shall have a son. 15 And when Sara, overcome with terror, denied the charge of laughing, Ah, he said, but thou didst laugh.

9 Cumque comedissent, dixerunt ad eum: Ubi est Sara uxor tua? Ille respondit: Ecce in tabernaculo est. 10 Cui dixit: Revertens veniam ad te tempore isto, vita comite, et habebit filium Sara uxor tua. Quo audito, Sara risit post ostium tabernaculi. 11 Erant autem ambo senes, provectæque ætatis, et desierant Saræ fieri muliebria. 12 Quæ risit occulte dicens: Postquam consenui, et dominus meus vetulus est, voluptati operam dabo? 13 Dixit autem Dominus ad Abraham: Quare risit Sara, dicens: Num vere paritura sum anus? 14 Numquid Deo quidquam est difficile? juxta condictum revertar ad te hoc eodem tempore, vita comite, et habebit Sara filium. 15 Negavit Sara, dicens: Non risi, timore perterrita. Dominus autem: Non est, inquit, ita: sed risisti.

16 ἐξαναστάντες δὲ ἐκεῖθεν οἱ ἄνδρες κατέβλεψαν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον Σοδομων καὶ Γομορρας Αβρααμ δὲ συνεπορεύετο με{T'} αὐτῶν συμπροπέμπων αὐτούς 17 ὁ δὲ κύριος εἶπεν μὴ κρύψω ἐγὼ ἀπὸ Αβρααμ τοῦ παιδός μου ἃ ἐγὼ ποιῶ 18 Αβρααμ δὲ γινόμενος ἔσται εἰς ἔθνος μέγα καὶ πολύ καὶ ἐνευλογηθήσονται ἐν αὐτῷ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη τῆς γῆς 19 ᾔδειν γὰρ ὅτι συντάξει τοῖς υἱοῖς αὐτοῦ καὶ τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ με{T'} αὐτόν καὶ φυλάξουσιν τὰς ὁδοὺς κυρίου ποιεῖν δικαιοσύνην καὶ κρίσιν ὅπως ἂν ἐπαγάγῃ κύριος ἐπὶ Αβρααμ πάντα ὅσα ἐλάλησεν πρὸς αὐτόν 20 εἶπεν δὲ κύριος κραυγὴ Σοδομων καὶ Γομορρας πεπλήθυνται καὶ αἱ ἁμαρτίαι αὐτῶν μεγάλαι σφόδρα 21 καταβὰς οὖν ὄψομαι εἰ κατὰ τὴν κραυγὴν αὐτῶν τὴν ἐρχομένην πρός με συντελοῦνται εἰ δὲ μή ἵνα γνῶ 22 καὶ ἀποστρέψαντες ἐκεῖθεν οἱ ἄνδρες ἦλθον εἰς Σοδομα Αβρααμ δὲ ἦν ἑστηκὼς ἐναντίον κυρίου

16 And now the men rose up, and turned towards Sodom, Abraham going with them to put them on their way. 17 And the Lord said, Should I hide my purpose from Abraham, 18 this man who is destined to give birth to a people so great and so powerful? This man through whom all the nations of the world are to find a blessing? 19 Have I not chosen him as one who will teach his children[3] and all his race after him to follow the paths which the Lord shews them, and to do what is just and right, winning him the fulfilment of all the Lord has promised him? 20 So the Lord told him, The ill repute of Sodom and Gomorrha goes from bad to worse, their sin is grievous out of all measure; 21 I must needs go down to see for myself whether they have deserved the ill report that has reached me or not; I must know for certain. 22 And Abraham stood there in the Lord’s presence, as the men turned and went on towards Sodom.

16 Cum ergo surrexissent inde viri, direxerunt oculos contra Sodomam: et Abraham simul gradiebatur, deducens eos. 17 Dixitque Dominus: Num celare potero Abraham quæ gesturus sum: 18 cum futurus sit in gentem magnam, ac robustissimam, et benedicendæ sint in illo omnes nationes terræ? 19 Scio enim quod præcepturus sit filiis suis, et domui suæ post se ut custodiant viam Domini, et faciant judicium et justitiam: ut adducat Dominus propter Abraham omnia quæ locutus est ad eum. 20 Dixit itaque Dominus: Clamor Sodomorum et Gomorrhæ multiplicatus est, et peccatum eorum aggravatum est nimis. 21 Descendam, et videbo utrum clamorem qui venit ad me, opere compleverint; an non est ita, ut sciam. 22 Converteruntque se inde, et abierunt Sodomam: Abraham vero adhuc stabat coram Domino.

23 καὶ ἐγγίσας Αβρααμ εἶπεν μὴ συναπολέσῃς δίκαιον μετὰ ἀσεβοῦς καὶ ἔσται ὁ δίκαιος ὡς ὁ ἀσεβής 24 ἐὰν ὦσιν πεντήκοντα δίκαιοι ἐν τῇ πόλει ἀπολεῖς αὐτούς οὐκ ἀνήσεις πάντα τὸν τόπον ἕνεκεν τῶν πεντήκοντα δικαίων ἐὰν ὦσιν ἐν αὐτῇ 25 μηδαμῶς σὺ ποιήσεις ὡς τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο τοῦ ἀποκτεῖναι δίκαιον μετὰ ἀσεβοῦς καὶ ἔσται ὁ δίκαιος ὡς ὁ ἀσεβής μηδαμῶς ὁ κρίνων πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν οὐ ποιήσεις κρίσιν 26 εἶπεν δὲ κύριος ἐὰν εὕρω ἐν Σοδομοις πεντήκοντα δικαίους ἐν τῇ πόλει ἀφήσω πάντα τὸν τόπον δ{I'} αὐτούς 27 καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς Αβρααμ εἶπεν νῦν ἠρξάμην λαλῆσαι πρὸς τὸν κύριον ἐγὼ δέ εἰμι γῆ καὶ σποδός 28 ἐὰν δὲ ἐλαττονωθῶσιν οἱ πεντήκοντα δίκαιοι πέντε ἀπολεῖς ἕνεκεν τῶν πέντε πᾶσαν τὴν πόλιν καὶ εἶπεν οὐ μὴ ἀπολέσω ἐὰν εὕρω ἐκεῖ τεσσαράκοντα πέντε 29 καὶ προσέθηκεν ἔτι λαλῆσαι πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ εἶπεν ἐὰν δὲ εὑρεθῶσιν ἐκεῖ τεσσαράκοντα καὶ εἶπεν οὐ μὴ ἀπολέσω ἕνεκεν τῶν τεσσαράκοντα 30 καὶ εἶπεν μή τι κύριε ἐὰν λαλήσω ἐὰν δὲ εὑρεθῶσιν ἐκεῖ τριάκοντα καὶ εἶπεν οὐ μὴ ἀπολέσω ἐὰν εὕρω ἐκεῖ τριάκοντα 31 καὶ εἶπεν ἐπειδὴ ἔχω λαλῆσαι πρὸς τὸν κύριον ἐὰν δὲ εὑρεθῶσιν ἐκεῖ εἴκοσι καὶ εἶπεν οὐ μὴ ἀπολέσω ἕνεκεν τῶν εἴκοσι 32 καὶ εἶπεν μή τι κύριε ἐὰν λαλήσω ἔτι ἅπαξ ἐὰν δὲ εὑρεθῶσιν ἐκεῖ δέκα καὶ εἶπεν οὐ μὴ ἀπολέσω ἕνεκεν τῶν δέκα 33 ἀπῆλθεν δὲ κύριος ὡς ἐπαύσατο λαλῶν τῷ Αβρααμ καὶ Αβρααμ ἀπέστρεψεν εἰς τὸν τόπον αὐτοῦ

23 Abraham drew close to him, and asked, Wilt thou, then, sweep away the innocent with the guilty? 24 Suppose there are fifty innocent men in the city, must they too perish? Wilt thou not spare the place to save fifty such innocent men that dwell there? 25 Never that, thou wilt not destroy the innocent with the guilty, as if innocence and guilt were all one; that is not thy way, that is not how the Judge of the whole earth executes justice! 26 And the Lord told him, If I find fifty innocent citizens in Sodom, I will spare the whole place to save them. 27 And Abraham answered, Dust and ashes though I be, I have taken it upon me to speak to my Lord, and speak I will. 28 What if there should be five wanting to make up the tale of fifty innocent men? Wilt thou bring the whole city to ruin because there are five less than fifty? No, he said, if I meet with forty-five such, I will not bring it to ruin. 29 But he plied him once more, What wilt thou do, then, if forty are found there? I will hold my hand, said he, to save forty. 30 Then he said, Lord, do not be angry with me for pleading thus; what if thirty are found there? If I find thirty, he said, I will not do it. 31 I have taken it upon me, said he, to speak to my Lord, and speak I will; what if twenty are found there? I will grant it life, he said, to save twenty. 32 And he said, Do not be angry with me, Lord, I entreat thee, for making one more plea still; what if ten are found there? I will spare it from destruction, he said, to save ten. 33 So God finished speaking to Abraham, and left him, and Abraham turned and went home.

23 Et appropinquans ait: Numquid perdes justum cum impio? 24 si fuerint quinquaginta justi in civitate, peribunt simul? et non parces loco illi propter quinquaginta justos, si fuerint in eo? 25 Absit a te ut rem hanc facias, et occidas justum cum impio, fiatque justus sicut impius, non est hoc tuum: qui judicas omnem terram, nequaquam facies judicium hoc. 26 Dixitque Dominus ad eum: Si invenero Sodomis quinquaginta justos in medio civitatis, dimittam omni loco propter eos. 27 Respondensque Abraham, ait: Quia semel cœpi, loquar ad Dominum meum, cum sim pulvis et cinis. 28 Quid si minus quinquaginta justis quinque fuerint? delebis, propter quadraginta quinque, universam urbem? Et ait: Non delebo, si invenero ibi quadraginta quinque. 29 Rursumque locutus est ad eum: Sin autem quadraginta ibi inventi fuerint, quid facies? Ait: Non percutiam propter quadraginta. 30 Ne quæso, inquit, indigneris, Domine, si loquar: quid si ibi inventi fuerint triginta? Respondit: Non faciam, si invenero ibi triginta. 31 Quia semel, ait, cœpi loquar ad Dominum meum: quid si ibi inventi fuerint viginti? Ait: Non interficiam propter viginti. 32 Obsecro, inquit, ne irascaris, Domine, si loquar adhuc semel: quid si inventi fuerint ibi decem? Et dixit: Non delebo propter decem. 33 Abiitque Dominus, postquam cessavit loqui ad Abraham: et ille reversus est in locum suum.

[1] We have no means of knowing, in what form this revelation was made to Abraham; but it seems clear that the divine visit represented itself to him under a human guise. One of the three travellers he recognizes, without asking, as Almighty God himself; though it appears sometimes as if angels were allowed to speak to men in the person of God; cf. Jos. 5.13; 6.2. The other two are clearly the same angels who are described as visiting Sodom in ch. 19.

[2] ‘Live she till then’; this appears to be the meaning of the Latin. The Hebrew text has simply ‘a living time’; an obscure phrase which is generally interpreted as meaning ‘when spring comes back’.

[3] The Latin here gives, ‘I know that he will teach his children’; the meaning of the Hebrew text is rather, ‘I have acknowledged him (as my own) in order that he may teach his children’.

Knox Translation Copyright © 2013 Westminster Diocese
Nihil Obstat. Father Anton Cowan, Censor.
Imprimatur. +Most Rev. Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. 8th January 2012.
Re-typeset and published in 2012 by Baronius Press Ltd