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.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 18:18 Or populous
  2. Genesis 18:19 Lit known
  3. Genesis 18:24 Or forgive
  4. Genesis 18:25 Lit like this thing
  5. Genesis 18:25 Lit do justice
  6. Genesis 18:26 Or forgive
  7. Genesis 18:27 Or resolved
  8. Genesis 18:31 Or resolved

Abraham Intercedes for Sodom

16 Then the men got up from their meal and looked out toward Sodom. As they left, Abraham went with them to send them on their way.

17 “Should I hide my plan from Abraham?” the Lord asked. 18 “For Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. 19 I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. Then I will do for Abraham all that I have promised.”

20 So the Lord told Abraham, “I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant. 21 I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know.”

22 The other men turned and headed toward Sodom, but the Lord remained with Abraham. 23 Abraham approached him and said, “Will you sweep away both the righteous and the wicked? 24 Suppose you find fifty righteous people living there in the city—will you still sweep it away and not spare it for their sakes? 25 Surely you wouldn’t do such a thing, destroying the righteous along with the wicked. Why, you would be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same! Surely you wouldn’t do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”

26 And the Lord replied, “If I find fifty righteous people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake.”

27 Then Abraham spoke again. “Since I have begun, let me speak further to my Lord, even though I am but dust and ashes. 28 Suppose there are only forty-five righteous people rather than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?”

And the Lord said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five righteous people there.”

29 Then Abraham pressed his request further. “Suppose there are only forty?”

And the Lord replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the forty.”

30 “Please don’t be angry, my Lord,” Abraham pleaded. “Let me speak—suppose only thirty righteous people are found?”

And the Lord replied, “I will not destroy it if I find thirty.”

31 Then Abraham said, “Since I have dared to speak to the Lord, let me continue—suppose there are only twenty?”

And the Lord replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”

32 Finally, Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me if I speak one more time. Suppose only ten are found there?”

And the Lord replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”

33 When the Lord had finished his conversation with Abraham, he went on his way, and Abraham returned to his tent.

Read full chapter