Genesis 18:20-30

20 Then the LORD said, "Because ¹the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave,

21 ²I will go down to see whether they have done altogether^[a] according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, ³I will know."

Abraham Intercedes for Sodom

22 ⁴So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham ⁵still stood before the LORD.

23 Then Abraham drew near and said, ⁶"Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?

24 Suppose 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?

25 Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, ⁷so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! ⁸Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?"

26 And the LORD said, ⁹"If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake."

27 Abraham answered and said, ¹⁰"Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.

28 Suppose 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."

29 Again he spoke to him and said, "Suppose forty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of forty I will not do it."

30 Then 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."

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Genesis 18:20-30 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 18

Another appearance of God to Abraham is here recorded; three persons are seen by him in an human form, whom he kindly invites to stop with him, and generously entertains them, Ge 18:1-8; they inquire concerning Sarah his wife, and one of them renews the promise of her bearing a son to him, which occasions laughter in her, for which she is reproved, Ge 18:9-15; upon their departure the Lord thought fit, for reasons given, to make known to Abraham his intention to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Ge 18:16-22; when Abraham intercedes for the preservation of those cities in a most importunate and affectionate manner, Ge 18:23-33.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 10

1. Genesis 4:10; Genesis 19:13; [Isaiah 3:9; Ezekiel 16:49, 50; James 5:4]
2. Genesis 11:5, 7; Exodus 3:8
3. Joshua 22:22
4. ver. 16; Genesis 19:1
5. ver. 1; [Psalms 106:23; Jeremiah 18:20]
6. Genesis 20:4; Numbers 16:22; 2 Samuel 24:17
7. [Job 8:20]
8. Deuteronomy 32:4; Job 8:3; Job 34:10; Romans 3:5, 6
9. Jeremiah 5:1; Ezekiel 22:30; [Isaiah 65:8]
10. [Luke 18:1]

Footnotes 1

[a]. Or they deserve destruction; Hebrew they have made a complete end

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.