¹ And the Lord appeared to him in the vale of Mambre as 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: and as soon as he saw them he ran to meet them from the door of his tent, and adored down to the ground.

³ And he said: Lord, if I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away from thy servant:

⁴ But I will fetch a little water, and wash ye your feet, and rest ye under the tree.

⁵ And I will set a morsel of bread, and strengthen ye your heart, afterwards you shall pass on: for therefore are you come aside to your servant. And they said: Do as thou hast spoken.

⁶ Abraham made haste into the tent to Sera, and said to her: Make haste, temper together three measures of flour, and make cakes upon the hearth.

⁷ And he himself ran to the herd, and took from thence a calf very tender and very good, and gave it to a young man: who made haste and boiled it.

⁸ He took also butter and milk, and the calf which he had boiled, and set before them: but he stood by them under the tree.

⁹ And when they had eaten, they said to him: Where is Sara thy wife? He answered: Lo, she is in the tent.

¹⁰ And he said to him: I will return and come to thee at this time, life accompanying and Sara thy wife shall have a son. Which when Sara heard, she laughed behind the door of the tent.

¹¹ Now they were both old, and far advanced in years, and it had ceased to be with Sara after the manner of women.

¹² And she laughed secretly, saying: After I am grown old, and my lord is an old man, shall I give myself to pleasure?

¹³ And the Lord said to Abraham: Why did Sera laugh, saying: Shall I who am an old woman bear a child indeed ?

¹⁴ Is there any thing hard to God? according to appointment I will return to thee at this same time, life accompanying, and Sara shall have a son.

¹⁵ Sara denied, saying: I did not laugh: for she was afraid. But the Lord said, Nay: but thou didst laugh:

¹⁶ And when the men rose up from thence, they turned their eyes towards Sodom: and Abraham walked with them, bringing them on the way.

¹⁷ And the Lord said: Can I hide from Abraham what I am about to do:

¹⁸ "Seeing he shall become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth shall be blessed?

¹⁹ For I know that he will command his children, and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord, and do judgment and justice: that for Abraham's sake the Lord may bring to effect all the things he hath spoken unto him.

²⁰ And the Lord said: The cry of Sodom and Gomorrha is multiplied, and their sin is become exceedingly grievous.

²¹ I will go down and see whether they have done according to the cry that is come to me: or whether it be not so, that I may know.

²² And they turned themselves from thence, and went their way to Sodom: but Abraham as yet stood before the Lord.

²³ And drawing nigh he said: Wilt thou destroy the just with the wicked?

²⁴ If there be fifty just men in the city, shall they perish withal? and wilt thou not spare that place for the sake of the fifty just, if they be therein?

²⁵ Far be it from thee to do this thing, and to slay the just with the wicked, and for the just to be in like case as the wicked, this is not beseeming thee: thou who judgest all the earth, wilt not make this judgment.

²⁶ And the Lord said to him: If I And in Sodom fifty just within the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.

²⁷ And Abraham answered, and said: Seeing I have once begun, I will speak to my Lord, whereas I am dust and ashes.

²⁸ What if there be Ave less than fifty just persons? wilt thou for five and forty destroy the whole city? And he said: I will not destroy it, if I find five and forty.

²⁹ And again he said to him: But if forty be found there, what wilt thou do? He said: I will not destroy it for the sake of forty.

³⁰ Lord, saith he, be not angry, I beseech thee, if I speak: What if thirty shall be found there? He answered: I will not do it, if I And thirty there.

³¹ Seeing, saith he, I have once begun, I will speak to my Lord. What if twenty be found there? He said: I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.

³² I beseech thee, saith he, be not angry, Lord, if I speak yet once more: What if tell should be found there ? And he said: I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.

³³ And the Lord departed, after he had left speaking to Abraham: and Abraham returned to his place.

¹ Yahweh said to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I may show these my signs in the midst of them,

² and that you may tell in the hearing of your son, and of your son's son, what things I have done to Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that you may know that I am Yahweh."

³ Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and said to him, "This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says: 'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me.

⁴ Or else, if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country,

⁵ and they shall cover the surface of the earth, so that one won't be able to see the earth. They shall eat the residue of that which has escaped, which remains to you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which grows for you out of the field.

⁶ Your houses shall be filled, and the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians; as neither your fathers nor your fathers' fathers have seen, since the day that they were on the earth to this day.'" He turned, and went out from Pharaoh.

⁷ Pharaoh's servants said to him, "How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve Yahweh, their God. Don't you yet know that Egypt is destroyed?"

⁸ Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh, and he said to them, "Go, serve Yahweh your God; but who are those who will Go?"

⁹ Moses said, "We will go with our young and with our old; with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast to Yahweh."

¹⁰ He said to them, "Yahweh be with you if I will let you go with your little ones! See, evil is clearly before your faces.

¹¹ Not so! Go now you who are men, and serve Yahweh; for that is what you desire!" They were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.

¹² Yahweh said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up on the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail has left."

¹³ Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and Yahweh brought an east wind on the land all that day, and all the night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.

¹⁴ The locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the borders of Egypt. They were very grievous. Before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such.

¹⁵ For they covered the surface of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened, and they ate every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left. There remained nothing green, either tree or herb of the field, through all the land of Egypt.

¹⁶ Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste, and he said, "I have sinned against Yahweh your God, and against you.

¹⁷ Now therefore please forgive my sin again, and pray to Yahweh your God, that he may also take away from me this death."

¹⁸ He went out from Pharaoh, and prayed to Yahweh.

¹⁹ Yahweh turned an exceeding strong west wind, which took up the locusts, and drove them into the Red Sea. There remained not one locust in all the borders of Egypt.

²⁰ But Yahweh hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he didn't let the children of Israel go.

²¹ Yahweh said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt."

²² Moses stretched forth his hand toward the sky, and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days.

²³ They didn't see one another, neither did anyone rise from his place for three days; but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.

²⁴ Pharaoh called to Moses, and said, "Go, serve Yahweh. Only let your flocks and your herds stay behind. Let your little ones also Go with you."

²⁵ Moses said, "You must also give into our hand sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God.

²⁶ Our livestock also shall go with us. Not a hoof shall be left behind, for of it we must take to serve Yahweh our God; and we don't know with what we must serve Yahweh, until we come there."

²⁷ But Yahweh hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he wouldn't let them go.

²⁸ Pharaoh said to him, "Get away from me! Be careful to see my face no more; for in the day you see my face you shall die!"

²⁹ Moses said, "You have spoken well. I will see your face again no more."