Genesis 18:14-32
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 18
14Is anything too difficult for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.' 15Sarah denied it, however, saying, 'I did not laugh'; for she was afraid. And He said, 'No, but you did laugh.'
16Then the men rose up from there, and looked down toward Sodom; and Abraham was walking with them to send them off.
17The Lord said, 'Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do,
18since Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed?
19For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.'
20And the Lord said, 'The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave.
21I will 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.'
22Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the Lord.
23Abraham approached and said, 'Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
24Suppose there are fifty righteous people within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it?
25Far be it from You to do 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 the Judge of all the earth deal justly?'
26So the Lord said, 'If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the entire place on their account.'
27And Abraham replied, 'Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am only dust and ashes.
28Suppose 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.'
29And 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.'
30Then 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.'
31And he said, 'Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?' And He said, 'I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.'
32Then he said, '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.'
King James Version
Chapter 18
14Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. 15Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh. 16And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. 17And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; 18Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.
20And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
21I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.
22And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord.
23And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
24Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?
25That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
Christian Standard Bible
16The men got up from there and looked out over Sodom, and Abraham was walking with them to see them off.
17Then the Lord said, "Should I hide what I am about to do from Abraham?
18Abraham is to become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him.
19For I have chosen 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."
20Then the Lord said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is immense, and their sin is extremely serious.
21I will go down to see if what they have done justifies the cry that has come up to me. If not, I will find out."
22The men turned from there and went toward Sodom while Abraham remained standing before the Lord.
23Abraham stepped forward and said, "Will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
24What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away instead of sparing the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people who are in it?
25You 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 the whole earth do what is just?"
New Living Translation
17Should I hide my plan from Abraham?' the Lord asked.
18For Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him.
19I 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.'
20So the Lord told Abraham, 'I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant.
21I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know.'
22The other men turned and headed toward Sodom, but the Lord remained with Abraham.
23Abraham approached him and said, 'Will you sweep away both the righteous and the wicked?
24Suppose you find fifty righteous people living there in the city — will you still sweep it away and not spare it for their sakes?
25Surely 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?'
English Standard Version
Chapter 18
14Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son." 15But Sarah denied it, saying, "I did not laugh," for she was afraid. He said, "No, but you did laugh."
16Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way.
17The Lord said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do,
18seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
19For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him."
20Then the Lord said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave,
21I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know."
22So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.
23Then Abraham drew near and said, "Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
24Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it?
25Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?"
26And the Lord said, "If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake."
27Abraham answered and said, "Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.
28Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?" And he said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there."
29Again he spoke to him and said, "Suppose forty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of forty I will not do it."
30Then he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there." He answered, "I will not do it, if I find thirty there."
31He said, "Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it."
32Then he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there." He answered, "For the sake of ten I will not destroy it."
New International Version
16When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way.
17Then the Lord said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?
18Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.
19For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him."
20Then the Lord said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous
21that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."
22The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord.
23Then Abraham approached him and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
24What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?
25Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?"
New King James Version
16Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way.
17And the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing,
18since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
19For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”
20And the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave,
21I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”
22Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.
23And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
24Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it?
25Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”