¹ And when they were passed over, the Lord said to Josue:

² Choose twelve men, one of every tribe:

³ And command them to take out of the midst of the Jordan, where the feet of the priests stood, twelve very hard stones, which you shall set in the place of the camp, where you shall pitch your tents this night.

⁴ And Josue called twelve men, whom he had chosen out of the children of Israel, one out of every tribe,

⁵ And he said to them: Go before the ark of the Lord your God to the midst of the Jordan, and carry from thence every man a stone on your shoulders, according to the number of the children of Israel,

⁶ That it may be a sign among you end when your children shall ask you to morrow, saying: What mean these stones?

⁷ You shall answer them: The waters of the Jordan ran off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, when it passed over the same: therefore were these atones set for a monument of the children of Israel for ever.

⁸ The children of Israel therefore did as Josue commanded them, carrying out of the channel of the Jordan twelve stones, as the Lord had commanded him, according to the number of the children of Israel, unto the place wherein they camped, and there they set them.

⁹ And Josue put other twelve stones in the midst of the channel of the Jordan, where the priests stood that carried the ark of the covenant: and they are there until this present day.

¹⁰ Now the priests that carried the ark, stood in the midst of the Jordan till all things were accomplished which the Lord had commanded Josue to speak to the people, and Moses had said to him. And the people made haste and passed over.

¹¹ And when they had all passed over, the ark also of the Lord passed over, and the priests went before the people.

¹² The children of Ruben also and Gad, and half the tribe of Manasses, went armed before the children of Israel as Moses had commanded them.

¹³ And forty thousand fighting men by their troops, and bands, marched through the plains and fields of the city of Jericho.

¹⁴ In that day the Lord magnified Josue in the sight of all Israel, that they should fear him, as they had feared Moses, while he lived.

¹⁵ And he said to him:

¹⁶ Command the priests, that carry the ark of the covenant, to come up out of the Jordan.

¹⁷ And he commanded them, saying: Come ye up out of the Jordan.

¹⁸ And when they that carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, were come up, and began to tread on the dry ground, the waters returned into the channel, and ran as they were wont before.

¹⁹ And the people came up out of the Jordan, the tenth day of the first month, and camped in Galgal, over against the east side of the city of Jericho.

²⁰ And the twelve stones which they had taken out of the channel of the Jordan, Josue pitched in Galgal,

²¹ And said to the children of Israel: When your children shall ask their fathers, to morrow, and shall say to them: What mean these stones?

²² You shall teach them and say: Israel passed over this Jordan through the dry channel.

²³ The Lord your God drying up the waters thereof in your sight, until you passed over:

²⁴ As he had done before in the Red Sea, which he dried up till we passed through :

²⁵ That all the people of the earth may learn the most mighty hand of the Lord, that you also may fear the Lord your God for ever.

¹ Yahweh appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day.

² He lifted up his eyes and looked, and saw that three men stood opposite him. When he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to the earth,

³ and said, "My lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, please don't go away from your servant.

⁴ Now let a little water be fetched, wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.

⁵ I will get a morsel of bread so you can refresh your heart. After that you may go your way, now that you have come to your servant." They said, "Very well, do as you have said."

⁶ Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, "Quickly prepare three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes."

⁷ Abraham ran to the herd, and fetched a tender and good calf, and gave it to the servant. He hurried to dress it.

⁸ He took butter, milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them. He stood by them under the tree, and they ate.

⁹ They asked him, "Where is Sarah, your wife?" He said, "See, in the tent."

¹⁰ He said, "I will certainly return to you when the season comes round. Behold, Sarah your wife will have a son." Sarah heard in the tent door, which was behind him.

¹¹ Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age. Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.

¹² Sarah laughed within herself, saying, "After I have grown old will I have pleasure, my lord being old also?"

¹³ Yahweh said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Will I really bear a child, yet I am old?'

¹⁴ Is anything too hard for Yahweh? At the set time I will return to you, when the season comes round, and Sarah will have a son."

¹⁵ Then Sarah denied, saying, "I didn't laugh," for she was afraid. He said, "No, but you did laugh."

¹⁶ The men rose up from there, and looked toward Sodom. Abraham went with them to see them on their way.

¹⁷ Yahweh said, "Will I hide from Abraham what I do,

¹⁸ since Abraham has surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in him?

¹⁹ For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of Yahweh, to do righteousness and justice; to the end that Yahweh may bring on Abraham that which he has spoken of him."

²⁰ Yahweh said, "Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous,

²¹ I will go down now, and see whether their deeds are as bad as the reports which have come to me. If not, I will know."

²² The men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, but Abraham stood yet before Yahweh.

²³ Abraham drew near, and said, "Will you consume the righteous with the wicked?

²⁴ What if there are fifty righteous within the city? Will you consume and not spare the place for the fifty righteous who are in it?

²⁵ Be it far from you to do things like that, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be like the wicked. May that be far from you. Shouldn't the Judge of all the earth do right?"

²⁶ Yahweh said, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sake."

²⁷ Abraham answered, "See now, I have taken it on myself to speak to the Lord, who am but dust and ashes.

²⁸ What if there will lack five of the fifty righteous? Will you destroy all the city for lack of five?" He said, "I will not destroy it, if I find forty-five there."

²⁹ He spoke to him yet again, and said, "What if there are forty found there?" He said, "I will not do it for the forty's sake."

³⁰ He said, "Oh don't let the Lord be angry, and I will speak. What if there are thirty found there?" He said, "I will not do it, if I find thirty there."

³¹ He said, "See now, I have taken it on myself to speak to the Lord. What if there are twenty found there?" He said, "I will not destroy it for the twenty's sake."

³² He said, "Oh don't let the Lord be angry, and I will speak just once more. What if ten are found there?" He said, "I will not destroy it for the ten's sake."

³³ Yahweh went his way, as soon as he had finished communing with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.