Genesis 18:30

30 And he said, Will there be anything , Lord, if I shall speak? but if there be found there thirty? And he said, I will not destroy it for the thirty's sake.

Genesis 18:30 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 18:30

And he said unto him, Oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I
will speak
He feared, through his importunity, he should be wearisome to him and incur his displeasure; this being often the case among men, especially when inferiors are soliciting their superiors, and, not content with one favour, are pressing for more:

Peradventure there shall thirty be found there;
the abatement is larger than before; he only made an abatement of five at a time, now ten at once, and so he proceeds;

and he said, I will not do [it], if I find thirty there;
not destroy the place for their sake.

Genesis 18:30 In-Context

28 But if the fifty righteous should be diminished to forty-five, wilt thou destroy the whole city because of the five ? And he said, I will not destroy it, if I should find there forty-five.
29 And he continued to speak to him still, and said, But if there should be found there forty? And he said, I will not destroy it for the forty's sake.
30 And he said, Will there be anything , Lord, if I shall speak? but if there be found there thirty? And he said, I will not destroy it for the thirty's sake.
31 And he said, Since I am able to speak to the Lord, what if there should be found there twenty? And he said, I will not destroy it, if I should find there twenty.
32 And he said, Will there be anything , Lord, if I speak yet once? but if there should be found there ten? And he said, I will not destroy it for the ten's sake.

The Brenton translation of the Septuagint is in the public domain.