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And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.
Genesis 18:26 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Yahweh said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
  • BSB So the LORD replied, “If I find fifty righteous ones within the city of Sodom, on their account I will spare the whole place.”
  • NKJV So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.”
  • NASB So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the entire place on their account.”
  • NLT And the Lord replied, “If I find fifty righteous people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake.”

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

The LORD promises to spare all Sodom if fifty righteous are found in it.

Overview

God's willingness shows his mercy and his readiness to relent for the sake of the righteous. The dialogue reveals a God who delights to spare rather than to destroy. It teaches that God's judgments are tempered by patience and that he honors the prayers of his people.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 7

  • Jer 5:1Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.
  • Matt 24:22And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
  • Isa 65:8Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants’ sakes, that I may not destroy them all.
  • Ezek 22:30And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.
  • Isa 6:13But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.
  • Isa 19:24In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land:
  • Isa 10:22For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (9)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Genesis videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Genesis 18:26YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on GenesisMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 18:26 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.