¹⁶ Then ^(A)the men rose up from there, and looked down toward Sodom; and Abraham was walking with them to send them off. ^17 (B)The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham ^(C)what I am about to do, ¹⁸ since Abraham will certainly become a great and ^[a]mighty nation, and in him ^(D)all the nations of the earth will be blessed? ¹⁹ For I have ^[b](E)chosen him, so that he may ^(F)command his children and his household after him to ^(G)keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham ^(H)what He has spoken about him.” ²⁰ And the Lord said, “^(I)The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. ²¹ I will ^(J)go down now and see whether they have done entirely as the outcry, which has come to Me indicates; and if not, I will know.”

Abraham Appeals for Sodom

²² Then ^(K)the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before ^(L)the Lord. ²³ Abraham approached and said, “^(M)Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴ Suppose there are fifty righteous people within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not ^[c]spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? ²⁵ Far be it from You to do ^[d]such a thing, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not ^(N)the Judge of all the earth ^[e]deal justly?” ²⁶ So the Lord said, “^(O)If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will ^[f]spare the entire place on their account.” ²⁷ And Abraham replied, “Now behold, I have ^[g]ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am only ^(P)dust and ashes. ²⁸ Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the entire city because of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” ²⁹ And he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose forty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it on account of the forty.” ³⁰ Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” ³¹ And he said, “Now behold, I have ^[h]ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.” ³² Then he said, “^(Q)Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once: suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.” ³³ As soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham ^(R)the Lord departed, and Abraham returned to his place.