The Son of Promise^(A)

18 Then the Lord appeared to him by ^[a]the ^(B)terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. ^2 (C)So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; ^(D)and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, ³ and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. ⁴ Please let ^(E)a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. ⁵ And ^(F)I will bring a morsel of bread, that ^(G)you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, ^(H)inasmuch as you have come to your servant.”

They said, “Do as you have said.”

⁶ So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes.” ⁷ And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it. ⁸ So ^(I)he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.

⁹ Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?”

So he said, “Here, ^(J)in the tent.”

¹⁰ And He said, “I will certainly return to you ^(K)according to the time of life, and behold, ^(L)Sarah your wife shall have a son.”

(Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) ¹¹ Now ^(M)Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and ^[b]Sarah ^(N)had passed the age of childbearing. ¹² Therefore Sarah ^(O)laughed within herself, saying, ^(P)“After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my ^(Q)lord being old also?”

¹³ And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ ^14 (R)Is anything too hard for the Lord? ^(S)At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”

¹⁵ But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid.

And He said, “No, but you did laugh!”

Abraham Intercedes for Sodom

¹⁶ Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them ^(T)to send them on the way. ¹⁷ And the Lord said, ^(U)“Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, ¹⁸ since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be ^(V)blessed in him? ¹⁹ For I have known him, in order ^(W)that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” ²⁰ And the Lord said, “Because ^(X)the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their ^(Y)sin is very grave, ^21 (Z)I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, ^(AA)I will know.”

²² Then the men turned away from there ^(AB)and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. ²³ And Abraham ^(AC)came near and said, ^(AD)“Would You also ^(AE)destroy the ^(AF)righteous with the wicked? ²⁴ Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? ²⁵ Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so ^(AG)that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! ^(AH)Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

²⁶ So the Lord said, ^(AI)“If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.”

²⁷ Then Abraham answered and said, “Indeed now, I who am ^(AJ)but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: ²⁸ Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?”

So He said, “If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.”

²⁹ And he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose there should be forty found there?”

So He said, “I will not do it for the sake of forty.”

³⁰ Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?”

So He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

³¹ And he said, “Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?”

So He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.”

³² Then he said, ^(AK)“Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?”

^(AL)And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.” ³³ So the Lord went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.

Announcement of the Messiah’s Reign^(A)

A Psalm of David.

¹⁴ Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: ^(A)Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear ^(B)a Son, and shall call His name ^(C)Immanuel.^[a]

Christ Born of Mary^(A)

¹⁸ Now the ^(B)birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child ^(C)of the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Then Joseph her husband, being ^[a]a just man, and not wanting ^(D)to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. ²⁰ But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, ^(E)for that which is ^[b]conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. ^21 (F)And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name ^[c]Jesus, ^(G)for He will save His people from their sins.”

²² So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ^23 (H)“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

^17 (A)And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ^(B)“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

²⁹ And suddenly they cried out, saying, “What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?”

^27 (A)All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. ^(B)Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

³³ Then those who were in the boat ^[a]came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly ^(A)You are the Son of God.”