Genesis 18:23

23 Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?

Genesis 18:23 in Other Translations

23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?

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

23 Abraham approached him and said, “Will you sweep away both the righteous and the wicked?

23 Abraham confronted him, "Are you serious? Are you planning on getting rid of the good people right along with the bad?

23 Abraham stepped forward and said, "Will You really sweep away the righteous with the wicked?

Genesis 18:23 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 18:23

And Abraham drew near
To the Lord; he approached nearer to him, to have more close and intimate conversation with him on the subject of the destruction of Sodom, which he perceived, by what had been said, was like to be; he drew nigh to God in prayer; so the Targum of Jonathan,

``and Abraham prayed and said;''

he drew nigh with faith and freedom, and an holy boldness and confidence, and yet with great reverence of the divine Majesty, and in all humility, under a deep sense of his own meanness and unworthiness: and said, wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
having in his mind righteous Lot, who dwelt in Sodom, whom he knew to be a just man, though he had departed from him, and was dwelling in such a wicked place; and he might charitably hope there were more in so large a city and in the parts adjacent, at least that were not so flagitious and abominably wicked as the greater part were, and who, in comparison of them, were sober and moral people.

Genesis 18:23 In-Context

21 that 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.”

22 The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD.

23 Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?

24 What 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?

25 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?”

Cross References

• 1. Exodus 23:7; Lev 4:3,22,27; Numbers 16:22; Deuteronomy 27:25; 2 Samuel 24:17; Psalms 11:4-7; Psalms 94:21; Ezekiel 18:4; 2 Peter 2:9