²⁸ Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”

³² So they ^(A)tied sackcloth around their waists and put ropes on their heads and went to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please, let me live.’” And he said, “Does he still live? He is my brother.” ³³ Now the men were watching for a sign, and they quickly took it up from him and said, “Yes, your brother Ben-hadad.” Then he said, “Go and bring him.” Then Ben-hadad came out to him, and he caused him to come up into the chariot.

¹⁷ And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, ^18 (A)‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, ^(B)visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ ¹⁹ Please ^(C)pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just ^(D)as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.”

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.”

²⁶ And the Lord said, ^(A)“If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”