^18:27Then Abraham asked, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord⁶⁸ (although I am but dust and ashes),⁶⁹^18:28what if there are five less than the fifty godly people? Will you destroy⁷⁰ the whole city because five are lacking?”⁷¹ He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”

^18:29Abraham⁷² spoke to him again,⁷³ “What if forty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”

^18:30Then Abraham⁷⁴ said, “May the Lord not be angry⁷⁵ so that I may speak!⁷⁶ What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

^18:31Abraham⁷⁷ said, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”

^18:32Finally Abraham⁷⁸ 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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Footnotes

68 The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in vv. 30, 31, 32 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
69 The disjunctive clause is a concessive clause here, drawing out the humility as a contrast to the Lord.
70 The Hebrew verb שָׁחַת (shakhat, “to destroy”) was used earlier to describe the effect of the flood.
71 Heb “because of five.”
72 Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
73 The construction is a verbal hendiadys—the preterite (“he added”) is combined with an adverb “yet” and an infinitive “to speak.”
74 Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
75 Heb “let it not be hot to the Lord.” This is an idiom which means “may the Lord not be angry.”
76 After the jussive, the cohortative indicates purpose/result.
77 Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
78 Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.