Genesis 18:25 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Far 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?"

NIV: Far 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?"

NASB: Far 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?'

CSB: You 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?"

NLT: 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?'

KJV: That 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?

NKJV: Far 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?”

The Lord has revealed to Abraham His plan to investigate and, by implication, bring judgment on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for their great sinfulness. Abraham, standing with the Lord as two angels walk toward Sodom, is asking the Lord some hard questions. Abraham's nephew Lot lives in Sodom, so Abraham seems to be angling for the city to be spared on Lot's account.

Abraham's question is similar to one we grapple with, even today. Will God really bring judgment that affects righteous people, as well as wicked people? Is there some proportion of good-to-bad that would stop God from doing so? Specifically, Abraham asked, will the Lord sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Would He not spare the city for the sake of, say, 50 righteous people?

Here in this verse, Abraham almost sounds indignant, possibly even manipulative. The very idea that the Lord would kill righteous people along with those who deserve to be punished does not fit with Abraham's idea of who God is. He twice repeats the phrase "Far be it from you!" Then he states his central argument point: Shouldn't the judge of all of the earth do what is just?

That is a question many people have asked of God down through the ages. In fact, it's the first question many people ask about the idea of an all-knowing, all-powerful, all-loving God. Is he fair? The problem, of course, is that when we ask the question, we ask in the way Abraham does here. We assume, in advance, that we—not God—can define justice and righteousness, and criticize God when He does not meet our expectations.

The following verses will reveal that Abraham is both underestimating God's justice and mercy and overestimating the goodness of humanity. God will graciously allow Abraham to "negotiate" Sodom's rescue to the presence of only ten righteous people—a standard the city will still fail.

Genesis 18:22–33 describes Abraham's negotiation with the Lord for the city of Sodom, where his nephew Lot and his family live. Previously, God spoke from a poetic human perspective, saying that He would judge Sodom and Gomorrah if their sins were as awful as they seemed. Here, Abraham recoils at the idea that the Lord would annihilate righteous people along with the wicked, beginning a sort of negotiation with God. Of course, God does not need to negotiate with man, and already knows how depraved Sodom is. This conversation with Abraham has nothing to do with changing God's mind; it has everything to do with proving, beyond all doubt, that God's actions here are just. God says He will spare Sodom for the sake of just ten righteous people; later passages show the city fails that test.

Abraham hurries to offer respect and hospitality to three men who appear near his tent. Over the course of the chapter, the men reveal themselves to be the Lord and two angels in human form. As He had told Abraham in the previous chapter, the Lord now reveals to Sarah that she will have a son within the year. Later, the Lord poetically says He will investigate the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah, where Abraham's nephew Lot lives. Abraham asks, and the Lord agrees, not to destroy Sodom if God finds 10 righteous people there.

God appeared to Abraham in the previous chapter revealing, in part, that Sarah would bear Abraham a son within a year's time. Now the Lord appears again, this time in human form and accompanied by two disguised angels. He reveals to Sarah the same promise. She laughs, and the Lord insists that even her age isn't too hard for Him to overcome. Next the Lord reveals to Abraham that He will investigate the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham receives the Lord's promise not to destroy Sodom (where Abraham's nephew lives) if He finds 10 righteous people in the city. Unfortunately, the city is beyond saving, and the next chapter details its utter destruction.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.