17:25 The men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who is coming up? He does so 1 to defy Israel. But the king will make the man who can strike him down very wealthy! He will give him his daughter in marriage, and he will make his father’s house exempt from tax obligations in Israel.”
18:17 Then the Lord said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 1 18:18 After all, Abraham 2 will surely become 3 a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 4 using his name. 18:19 I have chosen him 5 so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep 6 the way of the Lord by doing 7 what is right and just. Then the Lord will give 8 to Abraham what he promised 9 him.” 18:20 So the Lord said, “The outcry against 10 Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant 11 18:21 that I must go down 12 and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests. 13 If not, 14 I want to know.”
18:22 The two men turned 15 and headed 16 toward Sodom, but Abraham was still standing before the Lord. 17 18:23 Abraham approached and said, “Will you sweep away the godly along with the wicked? 18:24 What if there are fifty godly people in the city? Will you really wipe it out and not spare 18 the place for the sake of the fifty godly people who are in it? 18:25 Far be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge 19 of the whole earth do what is right?” 20
18:26 So the Lord replied, “If I find in the city of Sodom fifty godly people, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
18:27 Then Abraham asked, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord 21 (although I am but dust and ashes), 22 18:28 what if there are five less than the fifty godly people? Will you destroy 23 the whole city because five are lacking?” 24 He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
18:29 Abraham 25 spoke to him again, 26 “What if forty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”
18:30 Then Abraham 27 said, “May the Lord not be angry 28 so that I may speak! 29 What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
The Death of Abraham
25:1 Abraham had taken 1 another 2 wife, named Keturah.
