18:2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three a men
stood by him: and when he saw [them], he ran to meet them
from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,
(a) That is, three angels in the shape of men.
18:3 And said, My b Lord, if now I have found favour in thy
sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:
(b) Speaking to the one who appeared to be most majestic,
for he thought they were men.
18:4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and c wash
your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:
(c) For men used to go bare footed in those parts because
of the heat.
18:5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your
hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye
d come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou
hast said.
(d) As sent by God that I should do my duty to you.
18:8 And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had
dressed, and set [it] before them; and he stood by them
under the tree, and e they did eat.
(e) For as God gave them bodies for a time, so he gave them
the abilities of them, to walk, to eat and drink, and
such like.
18:10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according
to the time of f life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall
have a son. And Sarah heard [it] in the tent door, which
[was] behind him.
(f) That is, about this time when she shall be alive, or
when the child shall come into this life.
18:12 Therefore Sarah g laughed within herself, saying, After
I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old
also?
(g) For she believed the order of nature, rather than
believing the promise of God.
18:17 And the h LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that
thing which I do;
(h) Jehovah the Hebrew word we call Lord, shows that this
angel was Christ: for this word is only applied to
God.
18:19 For I know him, i that he will command his children and
his household after him, and they shall keep the way of
the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may
bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.
(i) He shows that fathers ought both to know God's
judgments, and to declare them to their children.
18:21 I will k go down now, and see whether they have done
altogether according to the l cry of it, which is come
unto me; and if not, I will know.
(k) God speaks after the fashion of men: that is, I will
enter into judgment with good advise.
(l) For our sins cry for vengeance, though no one accuses
us.
18:26 And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom m fifty righteous
within the city, then I will spare all the place for their
sakes.
(m) God declares that his judgments were done with great
mercy, even though all were so corrupt that not only
fifty but ten righteous men could not be found there,
and also that the wicked are spared for the sake of
the righteous.
18:27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken
upon me to speak unto the Lord, which [am n but] dust
and ashes:
(n) By this we learn, that the nearer we approach to God,
the more our miserable estate appears, and the more we
are humbled.
18:32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will
speak yet but this o once: Peradventure ten shall be
found there. And he said, I will not destroy [it] for
ten's sake.
(o) If God did not refuse the prayer for the wicked
Sodomites, even to the sixth request, how much more
will he grant the prayers of the godly for the
afflicted Church?