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And the LORDappeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tentdoor in the heat of the day;
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And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, threemenstood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tentdoor, and bowed himself toward the ground,
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And said, My Lord, if now I have foundfavour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:
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Let a littlewater, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:
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And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after thatye shall pass on: for therefore are yecometo your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.
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And Abrahamhastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quicklythreemeasures of finemeal, knead it, and makecakes upon the hearth.
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And Abrahamran unto the herd, and fetcht a calftender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.
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And he tookbutter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.
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And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.
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And he said, I will certainlyreturn unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarahheard it in the tentdoor, which was behind him.
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Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
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Therefore Sarahlaughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being oldalso?
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And the LORDsaid unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarahlaugh, saying, Shall I of a suretybear a child, which am old?
14Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the timeappointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
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Then Sarahdenied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.
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And the men rose up from thence, and lookedtowardSodom: and Abrahamwent with them to bring them on the way.
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And the LORDsaid, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;
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Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mightynation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
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For I knowhim, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to dojustice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abrahamthat which he hath spoken of him.
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And the LORDsaid, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is verygrievous;
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I will go down now, and see whether they have donealtogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.
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And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abrahamstoodyetbefore the LORD.
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And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteouswith the wicked?
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Peradventure there befiftyrighteouswithin the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the placefor the fiftyrighteous that are therein?
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That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earthdoright?
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And the LORDsaid, If I find in Sodomfiftyrighteouswithin the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.
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And Abrahamanswered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:
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Peradventure there shall lackfive of the fiftyrighteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.
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And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be fortyfound there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake.
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And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I findthirty there.
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And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twentyfound there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake.
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And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speakyet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake.
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And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had leftcommuning with Abraham: and Abrahamreturned unto his place.