¹⁷Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham^d what I am about to do?^e ¹⁸Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation,^f and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.^c ¹⁹For I have chosen him^g, so that he will direct his children^h and his household after him to keep the way of the Lordⁱ by doing what is right and just,^j so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”^k

²⁰Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom^l and Gomorrah is so great^m and their sin so grievousⁿ ²¹that I will go down^o and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”

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Footnotes

cOr will use his name in blessings (see 48:20)

Cross references

d Am 3:7
e Ge 19:24; Job 1:16; Ps 107:34
fSee Ge 12:2; Gal 3:8*
g Ge 17:9
h Dt 4:9–10; 6:7
i Jos 24:15; Eph 6:4
j Ge 22:12, 18; 26:5; 2 Sa 8:15; Ps 17:2; 99:4; Jer 23:5
kSee Ge 16:11; See Isa 14:1
l Isa 1:10; Jer 23:14; Eze 16:46
m Ge 19:13
nSee Ge 13:13
oSee Ge 11:5

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Then the Lord said, “Should I hide what I am about to do from Abraham? Abraham is to become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him so that he will command his children and his house after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. This is how the Lord will fulfill to Abraham what he promised him.” Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is immense, and their sin is extremely serious. I will go down to see if what they have done justifies the cry that has come up to me. If not, I will find out.”

NLTNew Living Translation

“Should I hide my plan from Abraham?” the Lord asked. “For Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. Then I will do for Abraham all that I have promised.”

So the Lord told Abraham, “I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant. I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Then Yahweh said, “Shall I conceal from Abraham what I am going to do? Abraham will surely become a great and strong nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed on account of him. For I have chosen him, that he will command his children and his household after him that they will keep the way of Yahweh, to do righteousness and justice, so that Yahweh may bring upon Abraham that which he said to him.” Then Yahweh said, “Because the outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great and because their sin is very serious, I will go down and I will see. Have they done altogether according to its cry of distress which has come to me? If not, I will know.”

KJV 1900King James Version

And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.

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