Genesis 18:16-25

Holman Christian Standard Bible

Abraham’s Plea for Sodom

¹⁶ The men got up from there and looked out over Sodom, and Abraham was walking with them to see them off. ¹⁷ Then the Lord said, “Should I hide what I am about to do from Abraham?^{(A) 18} Abraham is to become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him.^{(B) 19} For I have chosen^[a] him so that he will command his children and his house after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. This is how the Lord will fulfill to Abraham what He promised him.” ²⁰ Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is immense, and their sin is extremely serious. ²¹ I will go down^(C) to see if what they have done justifies the cry that has come up to Me. If not, I will find out.”

²² The men turned from there and went toward Sodom^(D) while Abraham remained standing before the Lord.^{[b] 23} Abraham stepped forward and said, “Will You really sweep away the righteous with the wicked?^{(E) 24} What if there are 50 righteous people in the city? Will You really sweep it away instead of sparing the place for the sake of the 50 righteous people who are in it? ²⁵ You could not possibly do such a thing: to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. You could not possibly do that! Won’t the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”^(F)