1 And the Lord appeared to him by the ^ooaks¹ of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. ^pWhen he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth 3 and said, “O Lord,² if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. 4 Let a ^qlittle water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, 5 while I bring a morsel of bread, that ^ryou may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—^ssince you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” 6 And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick! Three seahs³ of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes.” 7 And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly. 8 Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

9 They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is ^tin the tent.” 10 The Lord said, “I will surely return to you ^uabout this time next year, and ^vSarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. 11 Now ^wAbraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. 12 ^xSo Sarah laughed to herself, saying, ^y“After I am worn out, and ^zmy lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” 13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ 14 ^aIs anything too hard¹ for the Lord? ^bAt the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15 But Sarah denied it,² saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”