Far be it from You to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”
Parallel translations
- WEB Be it far from you to do things like that, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be like the wicked. May that be far from you. Shouldn’t the Judge of all the earth do right?”
- KJV That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
- NKJV Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
- NASB Far be it from You to do such a thing, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?”
- NLT Surely you wouldn’t do such a thing, destroying the righteous along with the wicked. Why, you would be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same! Surely you wouldn’t do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”
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 appeals to God as the just Judge of all the earth who must do right.
Overview
This is a foundational statement of God's perfect justice: he will never treat the righteous as the wicked. Abraham's reasoning rests not on God's obligation to him but on God's own holy character. It assures believers that the final Judge of all will always act rightly (Romans 3:5-6).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Job 8:20Behold, God does not reject the blameless, nor will He strengthen the hand of evildoers.
- Isa 3:10–11Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their labor.
- Job 8:3Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right?
- Ps 58:11Then men will say, “There is surely a reward for the righteous! There is surely a God who judges the earth!”
- Deut 32:4He is the Rock, His work is perfect; all His ways are just. A God of faithfulness without injustice, righteous and upright is He.
- Rom 3:5–6But if our unrighteousness highlights the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unjust to inflict His wrath on us? I am speaking in human terms.
- Ps 94:2Rise up, O Judge of the earth; render a reward to the proud.
- Mal 3:18So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”
- Job 34:17–19Could one who hates justice govern? Will you condemn the just and mighty One,
- John 5:22–27Furthermore, the Father judges no one, but has assigned all judgment to the Son,
- 2 Cor 5:10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.
- Ps 98:9before the LORD, for He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.
- Jer 12:1Righteous are You, O LORD, when I plead before You. Yet about Your judgments I wish to contend with You: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?
- Eccl 7:15In my futile life I have seen both of these: A righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.
- Isa 57:1–2The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; devout men are swept away, while no one considers that the righteous are guided from the presence of evil.
- Eccl 8:12–13Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and still lives long, yet I also know that it will go well with those who fear God, who are reverent in His presence.
- Ps 11:5–7The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked; His soul hates the lover of violence.
- Job 9:22–23It is all the same, and so I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’
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 18:25 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.