23 Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?(A) 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare[a] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?(B) 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing(C)—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous(D) and the wicked alike.(E) Far be it from you! Will not the Judge(F) of all the earth do right?”(G)

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

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,(I) 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,(J) 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.(K) What if only ten can be found there?”

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

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 18:24 Or forgive; also in verse 26

15 The eyes of the Lord(A) are on the righteous,(B)
    and his ears are attentive(C) to their cry;

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16 but the face of the Lord is against(A) those who do evil,(B)
    to blot out their name(C) from the earth.

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18 If I had cherished sin in my heart,
    the Lord would not have listened;(A)

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19 He fulfills the desires(A) of those who fear him;(B)
    he hears their cry(C) and saves them.(D)

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20 The Lord watches over(A) all who love him,(B)
    but all the wicked he will destroy.(C)

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29 The Lord is far from the wicked,
    but he hears the prayer of the righteous.(A)

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15 When you spread out your hands(A) in prayer,
    I hide(B) my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
    I am not listening.(C)

Your hands(D) are full of blood!(E)

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Sin, Confession and Redemption

59 Surely the arm(A) of the Lord is not too short(B) to save,
    nor his ear too dull to hear.(C)

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But your iniquities have separated(A)
    you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
    so that he will not hear.(B)

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If you remain in me(A) and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.(B)

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16 Therefore confess your sins(A) to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.(B) The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.(C)

17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are.(D) He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.(E) 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.(F)

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14 This is the confidence(A) we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.(B)

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15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know(A) that we have what we asked of him.(B)

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