Genesis 18

Genesis 18 read aloud, in a fresh direct translation from the Hebrew — plain modern English, nothing added. Translator's notes: • Genesis 18:3 — אֲדֹנָי (Adonai): chose "My lord". Alternatives: "my Lord" addressed to Adonai himself, "my lords" addressed to the three visitors together. Why: Abraham speaks in the singular to the visitors' spokesman at his tent door, and the Hebrew address is singular in form; the rendering keeps that singular address and leaves whose rank it honors for the scene itself to show. • Genesis 18:10 — כָּעֵת חַיָּה (kaet chayyah): chose "at the time of life". Alternatives: "when the season comes round", "next year at this time", "in due season". Why: the phrase is compressed — literally "at the time, living" — and its exact idiom is disputed; the rendering keeps its words and lets the set time in verse 14 carry the promise's timing. • Genesis 18:19 — יְדַעְתִּיו (yedativ): chose "I have known him". Alternatives: "I have chosen him", "I have acknowledged him". Why: the verb is the ordinary word for knowing, used here of a singled-out relationship; the rendering keeps "known" and lets the purpose clause that follows say what the knowing is for.