Then the beings stood up and set out toward Sodom, and Abraham walked with them to see them off. And the Lord said to himself, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, since Abraham will become a great nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in him? No: I will tell him, so that he may instruct his sons and his descendants to act as the Lord wishes, to do what is right and just, so that I may fulfill for him what I have promised.”
And two of the beings turned and went down toward Sodom, but the Lord remained standing before Abraham. And the Lord said, “Because the outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is so loud, I am going there myself, to see if their sin is as grave as it seems to be.”
And Abraham stepped forward and said, “Will you destroy the innocent along with the guilty? What if there are fifty innocent men in the city: will you really destroy it, and not spare it for the sake of the fifty innocent men? It would be unworthy of you to kill the innocent along with the guilty, so that the innocent are punished like the guilty. That would be unworthy of you. Will the judge of the whole earth act unjustly?”
And the Lord said, “If I find fifty innocent men in Sodom, I will spare the whole city for their sake.”
And Abraham said, “Forgive me if I dare to speak to the Lord, I who am merely dust. But what if five of the fifty innocent men are lacking? Will you destroy the whole city because of those five?”
And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
And he said, “What if only forty are found?”
And he said, “I will not destroy it, for the sake of those forty.”
And he said, “Please don’t be angry if I speak again. What if only thirty are found?”
And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find thirty.”
And he said,” Forgive me if I dare to speak to the Lord once more. What if only twenty are found?”
And he said, “I will not destroy it, for the sake of those twenty.”
And he said, “Please don’t be angry if I speak just one more time. What if ten are found?”
And he said, “I will not destroy it, for the sake of those ten.”
And as soon as he had finished speaking with Abraham, the Lord went away. And Abraham returned to his home.