¹⁶ I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her.^(A) I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations;^(B) kings of peoples will come from her.”

¹⁷ Abraham fell facedown;^(C) he laughed^(D) and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old?^(E) Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?”^{(F) 18} And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael^(G) might live under your blessing!”^(H)

¹⁹ Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son,^(I) and you will call him Isaac.^[a](J) I will establish my covenant with him^(K) as an everlasting covenant^(L) for his descendants after him. ²⁰ And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers.^(M) He will be the father of twelve rulers,^(N) and I will make him into a great nation.^{(O) 21} But my covenant^(P) I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you^(Q) by this time next year.”^{(R) 22} When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.^(S)

²³ On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household^(T) or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him.^{(U) 24} Abraham was ninety-nine years old^(V) when he was circumcised,^{(W) 25} and his son Ishmael^(X) was thirteen; ²⁶ Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that very day. ²⁷ And every male in Abraham’s household^(Y), including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.

¹⁰ Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year,^(A) and Sarah your wife will have a son.”^(B)

Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. ¹¹ Abraham and Sarah were already very old,^(C) and Sarah was past the age of childbearing.^{(D) 12} So Sarah laughed^(E) to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord^(F) is old, will I now have this pleasure?”

¹³ Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’^{(G) 14} Is anything too hard for the Lord?^(H) I will return to you at the appointed time next year,^(I) and Sarah will have a son.”^(J)

¹⁵ Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.”

But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.”

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ When the men^(K) got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. ¹⁷ Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham^(L) what I am about to do?^{(M) 18} Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation,^(N) and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.^{[a] 19} For I have chosen him^(O), so that he will direct his children^(P) and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord^(Q) by doing what is right and just,^(R) so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”^(S)

²⁰ Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom^(T) and Gomorrah is so great^(U) and their sin so grievous^{(V) 21} that I will go down^(W) and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”

²² The men^(X) turned away and went toward Sodom,^(Y) but Abraham remained standing before the Lord.^{[b](Z) 23} Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?^{(AA) 24} What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare^[c] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?^{(AB) 25} Far be it from you to do such a thing^(AC)—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous^(AD) and the wicked alike.^(AE) Far be it from you! Will not the Judge^(AF) of all the earth do right?”^(AG)

²⁶ The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.^(AH)”

²⁷ Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes,^{(AI) 28} what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?”

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

²⁹ Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?”

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

³⁰ Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry,^(AJ) but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?”

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

³¹ Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?”

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

³² Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more.^(AK) What if only ten can be found there?”

He answered, “For the sake of ten,^(AL) I will not destroy it.”

³³ When the Lord had finished speaking^(AM) with Abraham, he left,^(AN) and Abraham returned home.^(AO)

The Birth of Isaac

21 Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah^(A) as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised.^(B)

²⁸ Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise.^(A)

¹¹ And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age,^(A) was enabled to bear children^(B) because she^[a] considered him faithful^(C) who had made the promise.