17. The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do,
18. seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
19. 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.”
20. Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave,
21. 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.”
22. So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.
23. Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
24. Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it?
25. Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”
26. And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
27. Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.
28. Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”