The Bible (Old and New Testaments)

Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying,

Beholde, I make my couenant with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations,

Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shalbe Abraham: for a father of many nations haue I made thee.

Also I will make thee exceeding fruitfull, and will make nations of thee: yea, Kings shall proceede of thee.

Moreouer I wil establish my couenant betweene me and thee, and thy seede after thee in their generations, for an euerlasting couenant, to be God vnto thee and to thy seede after thee.

And I will giue thee and thy seede after thee the land, wherein thou art a stranger, euen all the land of Canaan, for an euerlasting possession, and I will be their God.

Againe God said vnto Abraham, Thou also shalt keepe my couenant, thou, and thy seede after thee in their generations.

This is my couenant which ye shall keepe betweene me and you, and thy seede after thee, Let euery man childe among you be circumcised:

That is, ye shall circumcise the foreskin of your flesh, and it shalbe a signe of the couenant betweene me and you.

And euery man childe of eight dayes olde among you, shalbe circumcised in your generations, aswell he that is borne in thine house, as he that is bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seede.

He that is borne in thine house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needes be circumcised: so my couenant shall be in your flesh for an euerlasting couenant.

But the vncircumcised man childe, in whose flesh the foreskin is not circumcised, euen that person shall be cut off from his people, because he hath broken my couenant.

Afterward God said vnto Abraham, Sarai thy wife shalt thou not call Sarai, but Sarah shalbe her name.

And I will blesse her, and will also giue thee a sonne of her, yea, I will blesse her, and she shall be the mother of nations: Kings also of people shall come of her.

Then Abraham fell vpon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a childe be borne vnto him, that is an hundreth yeere olde? and shall Sarah that is ninetie yeere olde beare?

And Abraham saide vnto God, Oh, that Ishmael might liue in thy sight.

Then God saide, Sarah thy wife shall beare thee a sonne in deede, and thou shalt call his name Izhak: and I will establish my couenant with him for an euerlasting couenant, and with his seede after him.

And as concerning Ishmael, I haue heard thee: loe, I haue blessed him, and will make him fruitfull, and will multiplie him exceedingly: twelue princes shall he beget, and I will make a great nation of him.

But my couenant will I establish with Izhak, which Sarah shall beare vnto thee, the next yeere at this season.

And he left off talking with him, and God went vp from Abraham.

Then Abraham tooke Ishmael his sonne and all that were borne in his house, and all that was bought with his money, that is, euery man childe among the men of Abrahams house, and he circumcised the foreskinne of their flesh in that selfe same day, as God had comaunded him.

Abraham also himselfe was ninetie yeere olde and nine, when the foreskinne of his flesh was circumcised.

And Ishmael his sonne was thirteene yeere olde, when the foreskinne of his flesh was circumcised.

The selfe same day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his sonne:

And all the men of his house, both borne in his house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.

Againe the Lord appeared vnto him in the plaine of Mamre, as he sate in his tent doore about the heate of the day.

And he lift vp his eyes, and looked: and lo, three men stoode by him, and when he sawe them, he ranne to meete them from the tent doore, and bowed himselfe to the grounde.

And he said, Lord, if I haue now founde fauour in thy sight, goe not, I pray thee, from thy seruant.

Let a litle water, I pray you, be brought, and wash your feete, and rest your selues vnder the tree.

And I will bring a morsell of bread, that you may comfort your hearts, afterward ye shall go your wayes: for therefore are ye come to your seruant. And they said, Do euen as thou hast said.

Then Abraham made haste into the tent vnto Sarah, and saide, Make ready at once three measures of fine meale: kneade it, and make cakes vpon the hearth.

And Abraham ranne to the beastes, and tooke a tender and good calfe, and gaue it to the seruant, who hasted to make it ready.

And he tooke butter and milke, and the calfe, which he had prepared, and set before them, and stoode himselfe by them vnder the tree, and they did eate.

Then they saide to him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he answered, Beholde, she is in the tent.

And he saide, I will certainely come againe vnto thee according to ye time of life: and loe, Sarah thy wife shall haue a sonne. and Sarah heard in the tent doore, which was behinde him.

(Nowe Abraham and Sarah were old and striken in age, and it ceased to be with Sarah after the maner of women)

Therefore Sarah laughed within her selfe, saying, After I am waxed olde, and my lord also, shall I haue lust?

And ye Lord saide vnto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah thus laugh, saying, Shall I certainely beare a childe, which am olde?

(Shall any thing be hard to the Lord? at the time appointed will I returne vnto thee, euen according to the time of life, and Sarah shall haue a sonne.)

But Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not: for she was afraide. And he said, It is not so: for thou laughedst.

Afterwarde the men did rise vp from thence and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.

And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I doe,

Seeing that Abraham shalbe in deede a great and a mightie nation, and all the nations of the earth shalbe blessed in him?

For I knowe him that he will commande his sonnes and his houshold after him, that they keepe the way of the Lord, to doe righteousnesse and iudgement, that the Lord may bring vpon Abraham that he hath spoken vnto him.

Then the Lord saide, Because the crie of Sodom and Gomorah is great, and because their sinne is exceeding grieuous,

I will goe downe nowe, and see whether they haue done altogether according to that crie which is come vnto me: and if not, that I may knowe.

And the men turned thence and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stoode yet before the Lord.

Then Abraham drewe neere, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?

If there be fiftie righteous within the citie, wilt thou destroy and not spare the place for the fiftie righteous that are therein?

Be it farre from thee from doing this thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be euen as the wicked, be it farre from thee. shall not the Iudge of all the worlde doe right?

And the Lord answered, If I shall finde in Sodom fiftie righteous within the citie, then will I spare all the place for their sakes.

Then Abraham answered and said, Behold nowe, I haue begun to speake vnto my Lord, and I am but dust and ashes.

If there shall lacke fiue of fiftie righteous, wilt thou destroy all the citie for fiue? And he saide, If I finde there fiue and fourtie, I will not destroy it.

And he yet spake to him againe, and saide, What if there shalbe found fourtie there? Then he answered, I will not doe it for fourties sake.

Againe he said, Let not my Lord nowe be angry, that I speake, What if thirtie be founde there? Then he saide, I will not doe it, if I finde thirtie there.

Moreouer he said, Behold, now I haue begonne to speake vnto my Lord, What if twentie be founde there? And he answered, I will not destroy it for twenties sake.

Then he saide, Let not my Lord be nowe angrie, and I will speake but this once, What if tenne be found there? And he answered, I will not destroy it for tennes sake.

And the Lord went his way when he had left communing with Abraham, and Abraham returned vnto his place.

And in the euening there came two Angels to Sodom: and Lot sate at the gate of Sodom, and Lot sawe them, and rose vp to meete them, and he bowed himselfe with his face to the ground.

And he saide, See my Lords, I pray you turne in nowe into your seruants house, and tarie all night, and wash your feete, and ye shall rise vp early and goe your wayes. Who saide, Nay, but we will abide in the streete all night.

Then he preassed vpon them earnestly, and they turned in to him, and came to his house, and he made them a feast, and did bake vnleauened bread, and they did eate.

But before they went to bed, the men of the citie, euen the men of Sodom compassed the house rounde about from the yong euen to the olde, all the people from all quarters.

Who crying vnto Lot said to him, Where are the men, which came to thee this night? bring them out vnto vs that we may knowe them.

Then Lot went out at the doore vnto them, and shut the doore after him,

And said, I pray you, my brethren, do not so wickedly.

Beholde nowe, I haue two daughters, which haue not knowen man: them will I bring out now vnto you, and doe to them as seemeth you good: onely vnto these men doe nothing: for therefore are they come vnder the shadowe of my roofe.

Then they said, Away hence, and they said, He is come alone as a stranger, and shall he iudge and rule? we will nowe deale worse with thee then with them. So they preassed sore vpon Lot himselfe, and came to breake the doore.

But the men put forth their hand and pulled Lot into the house to them and shut to ye doore.

Then they smote the men that were at the doore of the house with blindnes both small and great, so that they were wearie in seeking the doore.

Then the men said vnto Lot, Whom hast thou yet here? either sonne in lawe, or thy sonnes, or thy daughters, or whatsoeuer thou hast in the citie, bring it out of this place.

For we will destroy this place, because the crye of them is great before the Lord, and the Lord hath sent vs to destroy it.

Then Lot went out and spake vnto his sonnes in lawe, which maried his daughters, and said, Arise, get you out of this place: for the Lord will destroy the citie: but he seemed to his sonnes in lawe as though he had mocked.

And when the morning arose, the Angels hasted Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife and thy two daughters which are here, lest thou be destroyed in the punishment of the citie.

And as he prolonged the time, the men caught both him and his wife, and his two daughters by the hands (the Lord being mercifull vnto him) and they brought him foorth, and set him without the citie.

And when they had brought them out, the Angel said, Escape for thy life: looke not behinde thee, neither tarie thou in all the plaine: escape into ye mountaine, least thou be destroyed.

And Lot saide vnto them, Not so, I pray thee, my Lord.

Behold now, thy seruant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercie, which thou hast shewed vnto me in sauing my life: and I cannot escape in the mountaine, least some euill take me, and I die.

See nowe this citie hereby to flee vnto, which is a litle one: Oh let me escape thither: is it not a litle one, and my soule shall liue?

Then he said vnto him, Beholde, I haue receiued thy request also concerning this thing, that I will not ouerthrow this citie, for the which thou hast spoken.

Haste thee, saue thee there: for I can doe nothing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the citie was called Zoar.

The sunne did rise vpon the earth, when Lot entred into Zoar.

Then the Lord rained vpon Sodom and vpon Gomorah brimstone, and fire from the Lord out of heauen,

And ouerthrewe those cities and all the plaine, and all the inhabitants of the cities; and that that grewe vpon the earth.

Now his wife behind him looked backe, and she became a pillar of salt.

And Abraham rising vp earely in ye morning went to the place, where he had stand before the Lord,

And looking towarde Sodom and Gomorah and toward all the land of the plaine, behold, he sawe the smoke of the lande mounting vp as the smoke of a fornace.

But yet when God destroyed the cities of the plaine, God thought vpon Abraham, and sent Lot out from the middes of the destruction, when he ouerthrewe the cities, wherein Lot dwelled.

Then Lot went vp from Zoar, and dwelt in the mountaine with his two daughters: for he feared to tarie in Zoar, but dwelt in a caue, he, and his two daughters.

And the elder saide vnto the yonger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth, to come in vnto vs after the maner of all ye earth.

Come, wee will make our father drinke wine, and lie with him, that we may preserue seede of our father.

So they made their father drinke wine that night, and the elder went and lay with her father: but he perceiued not, neither whe she lay downe, neither when she rose vp.

And on the morowe the elder saide to the yonger, Behold, yester night lay I with my father: let vs make him drinke wine this night also, and goe thou and lie with him, that we may preserue seede of our father.

So they made their father drinke wine that night also, and the yonger arose, and lay with him, but he perceiued not, when she lay downe, neither when she rose vp.

Thus were both the daughters of Lot with childe by their father.

And the elder bare a sonne, and she called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites vnto this day.

And the yonger bare a sonne also, and she called his name Ben-ammi: the same is the father of the Ammonites vnto this day.

Afterward Abraham departed thence toward the South countrey and dwelled betweene Cadesh and Shur, and soiourned in Gerar.

And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister. Then Abimelech King of Gerar sent and tooke Sarah.

But God came to Abimelech in a dreame by night, and said to him, Beholde, thou art but dead, because of the woman, which thou hast taken: for she is a mans wife.

(Notwithstanding Abimelech had not yet come neere her) And he said, Lord, wilt thou slay euen the righteous nation?