Old/New Testament
Three Special Visitors
18 The Lord appeared to Abraham[a] by the oaks[b] of Mamre while[c] he was sitting at the entrance[d] to his tent during the hottest time of the day. 2 Abraham[e] looked up[f] and saw[g] three men standing across from[h] him. When he saw them[i] he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low[j] to the ground.[k]
3 He said, “My lord,[l] if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by and leave your servant.[m] 4 Let a little water be brought so that[n] you may all[o] wash your feet and rest under the tree. 5 And let me get[p] a bit of food[q] so that you may refresh yourselves[r] since you have passed by your servant’s home. After that you may be on your way.”[s] “All right,” they replied, “you may do as you say.”
6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Take[t] three measures[u] of fine flour, knead it, and make bread.”[v] 7 Then Abraham ran to the herd and chose a fine, tender calf, and gave it to a servant,[w] who quickly prepared it.[x] 8 Abraham[y] then took some curds and milk, along with the calf that had been prepared, and placed the food[z] before them. They ate while[aa] he was standing near them under a tree.
9 Then they asked him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He replied, “There,[ab] in the tent.” 10 One of them[ac] said, “I will surely return[ad] to you when the season comes round again,[ae] and your wife Sarah will have a son!”[af] (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him.[ag] 11 Abraham and Sarah were old and advancing in years;[ah] Sarah had long since passed menopause.)[ai] 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking,[aj] “After I am worn out will I have pleasure,[ak] especially when my husband is old too?”[al]
13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why[am] did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really[an] have a child when I am old?’ 14 Is anything impossible[ao] for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.”[ap] 15 Then Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But the Lord said, “No! You did laugh.”[aq]
Abraham Pleads for Sodom
16 When the men got up to leave,[ar] they looked out over[as] Sodom. (Now[at] Abraham was walking with them to see them on their way.)[au] 17 Then the Lord said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?[av] 18 After all, Abraham[aw] will surely become[ax] a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth may receive blessing[ay] through him. 19 I have chosen him[az] so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep[ba] the way of the Lord by doing[bb] what is right and just. Then the Lord will give[bc] to Abraham what he promised[bd] him.”
20 So the Lord said, “The outcry against[be] Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant[bf] 21 that I must go down[bg] and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests.[bh] If not,[bi] I want to know.”
22 The two men turned[bj] and headed[bk] toward Sodom, but Abraham was still standing before the Lord.[bl] 23 Abraham approached and said, “Will you really sweep away the godly along with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty godly people in the city? Will you really wipe it out and not spare[bm] the place for the sake of the fifty godly people who are in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge[bn] of the whole earth do what is right?”[bo]
26 So the Lord replied, “If I find in the city of Sodom fifty godly people, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
27 Then Abraham asked, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord[bp] (although I am but dust and ashes),[bq] 28 what if there are five less than the fifty godly people? Will you destroy[br] the whole city because five are lacking?”[bs] He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
29 Abraham[bt] spoke to him again,[bu] “What if forty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”
30 Then Abraham[bv] said, “May the Lord not be angry[bw] so that I may speak![bx] What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
31 Abraham[by] said, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”
32 Finally Abraham[bz] said, “May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”
33 The Lord went on his way[ca] when he had finished speaking[cb] to Abraham. Then Abraham returned home.[cc]
The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
19 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while[cd] Lot was sitting in the city’s gateway.[ce] When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground.
2 He said, “Here, my lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house. Stay the night[cf] and wash your feet. Then you can be on your way early in the morning.”[cg] “No,” they replied, “we’ll spend the night in the town square.”[ch]
3 But he urged[ci] them persistently, so they turned aside with him and entered his house. He prepared a feast for them, including bread baked without yeast, and they ate. 4 Before they could lie down to sleep,[cj] all the men—both young and old, from every part of the city of Sodom—surrounded the house.[ck] 5 They shouted to Lot,[cl] “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can take carnal knowledge of[cm] them!”
6 Lot went outside to them, shutting the door behind him. 7 He said, “No, my brothers! Don’t act so wickedly![cn] 8 Look, I have two daughters who have never been intimate with[co] a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do to them whatever you please.[cp] Only don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection[cq] of my roof.”[cr]
9 “Out of our way!”[cs] they cried, “This man came to live here as a foreigner,[ct] and now he dares to judge us![cu] We’ll do more harm[cv] to you than to them!” They kept pressing in on Lot[cw] until they were close enough[cx] to break down the door.
10 So the men inside[cy] reached out[cz] and pulled Lot back into the house[da] as they shut the door. 11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, from the youngest to the oldest,[db] with blindness. The men outside[dc] wore themselves out trying to find the door. 12 Then the two visitors[dd] said to Lot, “Who else do you have here?[de] Do you have[df] any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or other relatives in the city?[dg] Get them out of this[dh] place 13 because we are about to destroy[di] it. The outcry against this place[dj] is so great before the Lord that he[dk] has sent us to destroy it.”
14 Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were going to marry his daughters.[dl] He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy[dm] the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them.[dn]
15 At dawn[do] the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here,[dp] or else you will be destroyed when the city is judged!”[dq] 16 When Lot[dr] hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them.[ds] They led them away and placed them[dt] outside the city. 17 When they had brought them outside, they[du] said, “Run[dv] for your lives! Don’t look[dw] behind you or stop anywhere in the valley![dx] Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!”
18 But Lot said to them, “No, please, Lord![dy] 19 Your[dz] servant has found favor with you,[ea] and you have shown me great[eb] kindness[ec] by sparing[ed] my life. But I am not able to escape to the mountains because[ee] this disaster will overtake[ef] me and I’ll die.[eg] 20 Look, this town[eh] over here is close enough to escape to, and it’s just a little one.[ei] Let me go there.[ej] It’s just a little place, isn’t it?[ek] Then I’ll survive.”[el]
21 “Very well,” he replied,[em] “I will grant this request too[en] and will not overthrow[eo] the town you mentioned. 22 Run there quickly,[ep] for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” (This incident explains why the town was called Zoar.)[eq]
23 The sun had just risen[er] over the land as Lot reached Zoar.[es] 24 Then the Lord rained down[et] sulfur and fire[eu] on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord.[ev] 25 So he overthrew those cities and all that region,[ew] including all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation that grew from the ground.[ex] 26 But Lot’s[ey] wife looked back longingly[ez] and was turned into a pillar of salt.
27 Abraham got up early in the morning and went[fa] to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 28 He looked out toward[fb] Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of that region.[fc] As he did so, he saw the smoke rising up from the land like smoke from a furnace.[fd]
29 So when God destroyed[fe] the cities of the region,[ff] God honored[fg] Abraham’s request. He removed Lot[fh] from the midst of the destruction when he destroyed[fi] the cities Lot had lived in.
30 Lot went up from Zoar with his two daughters and settled in the mountains because he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. 31 Later the older daughter said[fj] to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man in the country[fk] to sleep with us,[fl] the way everyone does. 32 Come, let’s make our father drunk with wine[fm] so we can go to bed with[fn] him and preserve[fo] our family line through our father.”[fp]
33 So that night they made their father drunk with wine,[fq] and the older daughter[fr] came in and went to bed with[fs] her father. But he was not aware of when she lay down with him or when she got up. 34 So in the morning the older daughter[ft] said to the younger, “Since I went to bed with[fu] my father last night, let’s make him drunk[fv] again tonight. Then you go in and go to bed with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.”[fw] 35 So they made their father drunk[fx] that night as well, and the younger one came and went to bed with him.[fy] But he was not aware of when she lay down with him or when she got up.
36 In this way both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 37 The older daughter[fz] gave birth to a son and named him Moab.[ga] He is the ancestor of the Moabites of today. 38 The younger daughter also gave birth to a son and named him Ben Ammi.[gb] He is the ancestor of the Ammonites of today.
Pure-hearted Giving
6 “Be[a] careful not to display your righteousness merely to be seen by people.[b] Otherwise you have no reward with your Father in heaven. 2 Thus whenever you do charitable giving,[c] do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in synagogues[d] and on streets so that people will praise them. I tell you the truth,[e] they have their reward! 3 But when you do your giving, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your gift may be in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.[f]
Private Prayer
5 “Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray while standing in synagogues[g] and on street corners so that people can see them. Truly I say to you, they have their reward! 6 But whenever you pray, go into your inner room,[h] close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.[i] 7 When[j] you pray, do not babble repetitiously like the Gentiles, because they think that by their many words they will be heard. 8 Do[k] not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 So pray this way:[l]
Our Father[m] in heaven, may your name be honored,[n]
10 may your kingdom come,[o]
may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread,[p]
12 and forgive us our debts,[q] as we ourselves[r] have forgiven our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation,[s] but deliver us from the evil one.[t]
14 “For if you forgive others[u] their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive you your sins.
Proper Fasting
16 “When[v] you fast, do not look sullen like the hypocrites, for they make their faces unattractive[w] so that people will see them fasting. I tell you the truth,[x] they have their reward! 17 When[y] you fast, anoint your head[z] and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others when you are fasting, but only to your Father who is in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.
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