Genesis 18:26 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the Lord said, "If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake."

NIV: The Lord said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake."

NASB: So the Lord said, 'If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the entire place on their account.'

CSB: The Lord said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake."

NLT: And the Lord replied, 'If I find fifty righteous people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake.'

KJV: And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.

NKJV: So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.”

Abraham's tone in the previous verses seems indignant, and even scheming. God is discussing the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah, implying that judgment was coming on those cities for their outrageous depravity. Abraham's nephew Lot lived in Sodom. Abraham pointedly asked the Lord if He would sweep the righteous away with the wicked. What if 50 righteous people lived in Sodom? Would God still destroy the city? Abraham made it personal: Far be it from you! Shouldn't the judge of all the world be fair? This, of course, implies that Abraham has the right to judge God's character according to his own perspective.

How would God respond to such a comment from a limited, sinful mortal? Knowing nothing else about God, or the Scriptures, one would half-expect God to crush Abraham for being so insolent about His character. Instead, the Lord responds in the most gracious way we could imagine. He simply agrees: If I find 50 righteous people, I will spare the whole place. This, as with His prior comments about "investigating" the cities, are merely for our benefit. God does not need our approval or our understanding. And yet, in this incident, He gently allows us to see that His decision, in this case, is entirely just.

The following verses will reveal, though, that Abraham's not done. He's up to something, most likely related to his concerns for his nephew, Lot.

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.