Genesis 18:16-33

Evangelical Heritage Version

¹⁶ The men got up from there and looked down toward Sodom. Abraham went with them to see them on their way. ¹⁷ The Lord said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, ¹⁸ since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in him? ¹⁹ For I have chosen him,^[a] so that he may command his children and his household who follow after him to keep the way of the Lord by carrying out righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may deliver to Abraham what he has promised him.”

²⁰ So the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very flagrant, ²¹ I will go down now and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has come to me. If not, I will know.”

²² The two men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord. ²³ Abraham approached him and said, “Will you really sweep away the righteous along with the wicked? ²⁴ What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep them away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? ²⁵ You would never do such a thing, killing the righteous along with the wicked, treating the righteous the same as the wicked. You would never do such a thing. The Judge of all the earth should do right, shouldn’t he?”

²⁶ The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people within the city of Sodom, then I will spare the entire place for their sake.”

²⁷ Abraham answered, “See now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it on myself to speak to my Lord. ²⁸ What if there are five fewer than fifty righteous? Will you destroy the entire city if the number is five short?”

He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”

²⁹ He spoke to him yet again and said, “What if only forty are found there?”

He said, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”

³⁰ He said, “Please, do not be angry, my Lord, but I will speak again. What if thirty are found there?”

He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

³¹ He said, “See now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to my Lord. What if there are twenty found there?”

He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”

³² He said, “Please, do not be angry, my Lord, but I will speak just once more. What if ten are found there?”

He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”

³³ As soon as he had finished speaking with Abraham, the Lord went on his way, and Abraham returned to his place.