Genesis 18:23-25

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 ¹  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 ²  of the whole earth do what is right?” ³ 

Genesis 18:32

18:32 Finally Abraham ⁴  said, “May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”

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¹ tn Heb “lift up,” perhaps in the sense of “bear with” (cf. NRSV “forgive”).

² tn Or “ruler.”

³ sn Will not the judge of the whole earth do what is right? For discussion of this text see J. L. Crenshaw, “Popular Questioning of the Justice of God in Ancient Israel,” ZAW 82 (1970): 380-95, and C. S. Rodd, “Shall Not the Judge of All the Earth Do What Is Just?” ExpTim 83 (1972): 137-39.

⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.