What if there are fifty righteous ones in the city? Will You really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous ones who are there?
Parallel translations
- WEB What if there are fifty righteous within the city? Will you consume and not spare the place for the fifty righteous who are in it?
- KJV Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?
- NKJV Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it?
- NASB Suppose there are fifty righteous people within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it?
- NLT Suppose you find fifty righteous people living there in the city—will you still sweep it away and not spare it for their sakes?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Abraham asks if God would spare the whole city for the sake of fifty righteous people.
Overview
He appeals to the idea that the presence of the righteous might preserve the wicked from judgment. This introduces a profound biblical theme: the righteous can be a means of mercy to others. It foreshadows how the one truly Righteous One, Christ, secures salvation for the unworthy.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Isa 1:9Unless the LORD of Hosts had left us a few survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have resembled Gomorrah.
- Jer 5:1“Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem. Look now and take note; search her squares. If you can find a single person, anyone who acts justly, anyone who seeks the truth, then I will forgive the city.
- Gen 18:32Finally, Abraham said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak once more. Suppose ten are found there?” And He answered, “On account of the ten, I will not destroy it.”
- Matt 7:13–14Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
- Acts 27:24and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And look, God has granted you the lives of all who sail with you.’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 18:24 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.