Abraham Pleads for Sodom

As the men prepared to leave, they looked towards Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on their way. Then the Lord spoke about Abraham. Abraham would become a great nation, and his household was to keep the Lord’s way by doing righteousness and justice.

The Lord said the cry against Sodom and Gomorrah was great, and their sin was very grievous. He said he would see whether their deeds matched the reports that had come to him. The men turned towards Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.

Abraham came near and asked if the righteous would be swept away with the wicked. What if there were fifty righteous people in the city? Would God spare the place for them? Abraham appealed to the Judge of all the earth to do what is right. The Lord answered that he would spare the whole place for fifty righteous people.

Humbly calling himself dust and ashes, Abraham kept speaking. He asked about forty-five, then forty, then thirty. Each time, the Lord answered that he would not destroy the city if that number of righteous people were found there.

Abraham asked again about twenty, and then one last time about ten. The Lord said he would not destroy the city for the sake of ten righteous people. When their conversation ended, the Lord went his way, and Abraham returned to his place. The next part of the story shows what happened as danger drew near to Sodom and Lot.