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17 The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do,

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17 Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham(A) what I am about to do?(B)

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20 Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomor′rah is great and their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry which has come to me; and if not, I will know.”

22 So the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom; but Abraham still stood before the Lord. 23 Then Abraham drew near, and said, “Wilt thou indeed destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; wilt thou then destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 Far be it from thee to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from thee! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” 26 And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” 27 Abraham answered, “Behold, I have taken upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. 28 Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking? Wilt thou destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” 29 Again he spoke to him, and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” 30 Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” 31 He said, “Behold, I have taken upon myself to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” 32 Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” 33 And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.

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20 Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom(A) and Gomorrah is so great(B) and their sin so grievous(C) 21 that I will go down(D) 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(E) turned away and went toward Sodom,(F) but Abraham remained standing before the Lord.[a](G) 23 Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?(H) 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare[b] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?(I) 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing(J)—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous(K) and the wicked alike.(L) Far be it from you! Will not the Judge(M) of all the earth do right?”(N)

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

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,(P) 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,(Q) 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.(R) What if only ten can be found there?”

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

33 When the Lord had finished speaking(T) with Abraham, he left,(U) and Abraham returned home.(V)

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 18:22 Masoretic Text; an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition but the Lord remained standing before Abraham
  2. Genesis 18:24 Or forgive; also in verse 26