Genesis 18:32
New International Version
Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?” He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”

New Living Translation
Finally, Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me if I speak one more time. Suppose only ten are found there?” And the LORD replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”

English Standard Version
Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.”

Berean Standard Bible
Finally, Abraham said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak once more. Suppose ten are found there?” And He answered, “On account of the ten, I will not destroy it.”

King James Bible
And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake.

New King James Version
Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.”

New American Standard Bible
Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once: suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.”

NASB 1995
Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.”

NASB 1977
Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.”

Legacy Standard Bible
Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.”

Amplified Bible
Then Abraham said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry [with me], and I will speak only this once; suppose ten [righteous people] are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”

Christian Standard Bible
Then he said, “Let my lord not be angry, and I will speak one more time. Suppose ten are found there? ” He answered, “I will not destroy it on account of ten.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Then he said, “Let the Lord not be angry, and I will speak one more time. Suppose 10 are found there?” He answered, “I will not destroy it on account of 10.”

American Standard Version
And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for the ten's sake.

Contemporary English Version
Finally, Abraham said, "Please don't get angry, LORD, if I speak just once more. Suppose you find only 10 good people there." "For the sake of 10 good people," the LORD told him, "I still won't destroy the city."

English Revised Version
And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for the ten's sake.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Please don't be angry if I speak only one more time," Abraham said. "What if 10 are found there?" He answered, "I will not destroy it for the sake of the 10."

Good News Translation
Abraham said, "Please don't be angry, Lord, and I will speak only once more. What if only ten are found?" He said, "I will not destroy it if there are ten."

International Standard Version
Finally, Abraham inquired, "I hope my LORD will not be angry if I speak only once more. What if ten are found there?" He replied, "For the sake of those ten I won't destroy it."

Majority Standard Bible
Finally, Abraham said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak once more. Suppose ten are found there?” And He answered, “On account of the ten, I will not destroy it.”

NET Bible
Finally Abraham said, "May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if ten are found there?" He replied, "I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten."

New Heart English Bible
He said, "Oh do not let the Lord be angry, and I will speak just once more. What if ten are found there?" He said, "I will not destroy it for the ten's sake."

Webster's Bible Translation
And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten will be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake.

World English Bible
He said, “Oh don’t let the Lord be angry, and I will speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He said, “I will not destroy it for the ten’s sake.”
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And he says, “Please let it not be displeasing to the Lord, and I speak only this time: perhaps there are found there ten?” And He says, “I do not destroy [it], because of the ten.”

Young's Literal Translation
And he saith, 'Let it not be, I pray Thee, displeasing to the Lord, and I speak only this time: peradventure there are found there ten?' and He saith, 'I do not destroy it, because of the ten.'

Smith's Literal Translation
And he will say, Now will it not be angry to the Lord, and I will speak only this once: If ten shall be found there? And he will say, I will not destroy for sake of ten.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
I beseech thee, saith he, be not angry, Lord, if I speak yet once more: What if tell should be found there ? And he said: I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.

Catholic Public Domain Version
“I beg you,” he said, “not to be angry, Lord, if I speak yet once more. What if ten were found there?” And he said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”

New American Bible
But he persisted: “Please, do not let my Lord be angry if I speak up this last time. What if ten are found there?” For the sake of the ten, he replied, I will not destroy it.

New Revised Standard Version
Then he said, “Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.”
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And he said, Oh, let not the LORD be displeased, and I will speak only once more; suppose ten shall be found there? And he said, I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And he said, “Let it not be evil to LORD JEHOVAH, and I shall speak only this time; and if ten are found there?” And he said, “I shall not destroy for ten.”
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And he said: 'Oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once. Peradventure ten shall be found there.' And He said: 'I will not destroy it for the ten's sake.'

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And he said, Will there be anything against me, Lord, if I speak yet once? but if there should be found there ten? And he said, I will not destroy it for the ten's sake.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Abraham Begs for Sodom
31And Abraham said, “Now that I have ventured to speak to the Lord, suppose twenty are found there?” He answered, “On account of the twenty, I will not destroy it.” 32Finally, Abraham said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak once more. Suppose ten are found there?” And He answered, “On account of the ten, I will not destroy it.” 33When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, He departed, and Abraham returned home.…

Cross References
Exodus 32:11-14
But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God, saying, “O LORD, why does Your anger burn against Your people, whom You brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? / Why should the Egyptians declare, ‘He brought them out with evil intent, to kill them in the mountains and wipe them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce anger and relent from doing harm to Your people. / Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, to whom You swore by Your very self when You declared, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give your descendants all this land that I have promised, and it shall be their inheritance forever.’” ...

Numbers 14:17-20
So now I pray, may the power of my Lord be magnified, just as You have declared: / ‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion, forgiving iniquity and transgression. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon their children to the third and fourth generation.’ / Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people, in keeping with the greatness of Your loving devotion, just as You have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt.” ...

Jeremiah 5:1
“Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem. Look now and take note; search her squares. If you can find a single person, anyone who acts justly, anyone who seeks the truth, then I will forgive the city.

Amos 7:2-6
And when the locusts had eaten every green plant in the land, I said, “Lord GOD, please forgive! How will Jacob survive, since he is so small?” / So the LORD relented from this plan. “It will not happen,” He said. / This is what the Lord GOD showed me: The Lord GOD was calling for judgment by fire. It consumed the great deep and devoured the land. ...

Isaiah 1:9
Unless the LORD of Hosts had left us a few survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have resembled Gomorrah.

Ezekiel 22:30
I searched for a man among them to repair the wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, so that I should not destroy it. But I found no one.

2 Chronicles 7:14
and if My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.

Job 33:24
to be gracious to him and say, ‘Spare him from going down to the Pit; I have found his ransom,’

Psalm 106:23
So He said He would destroy them—had not Moses His chosen one stood before Him in the breach to divert His wrath from destroying them.

Isaiah 53:12
Therefore I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong, because He has poured out His life unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors. Yet He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.

Matthew 7:7-11
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. / For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. / Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ...

Luke 11:5-10
Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose one of you goes to his friend at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, / because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him.’ / And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Do not bother me. My door is already shut, and my children and I are in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.’ ...

Luke 18:1-8
Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray at all times and not lose heart: / “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected men. / And there was a widow in that town who kept appealing to him, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ ...

Romans 9:27-29
Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the Israelites is like the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved. / For the Lord will carry out His sentence on the earth thoroughly and decisively.” / It is just as Isaiah foretold: “Unless the Lord of Hosts had left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, we would have resembled Gomorrah.”

James 5:16
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.


Treasury of Scripture

And he said, Oh let not the LORD be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake.

Oh.

Genesis 18:30
And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there.

Judges 6:39
And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.

Proverbs 15:8
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.

I will not.

Exodus 32:9,10,14
And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: …

Exodus 33:13,14
Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people…

Exodus 34:6,7,9,10
And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, …

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Genesis 18
1. The Lord appears to Abraham, who entertains angels.
9. Sarah is reproved for laughing at the promise of a son.
16. The destruction of Sodom is revealed to Abraham.
23. Abraham makes intercession for its inhabitants.














Finally, he said
This phrase marks the culmination of Abraham's intercession for Sodom. The Hebrew root for "said" is "אָמַר" (amar), which is often used to denote a declaration or a plea. Abraham's persistence in dialogue with God reflects a deep relationship and trust, showcasing the boldness of faith that dares to negotiate with the Divine.

May the Lord not be angry
Here, Abraham acknowledges the sovereignty and holiness of God. The Hebrew word for "angry" is "חָרָה" (charah), which conveys a sense of burning or kindling anger. Abraham's respectful approach underscores the reverence due to God, even when pleading for mercy.

but let me speak once more
This phrase indicates Abraham's humility and recognition of his position before God. The Hebrew "דַּבֵּר" (dabar) for "speak" suggests a careful and thoughtful communication. Abraham's request to speak "once more" shows his awareness of the limits of human intercession and the grace of God in allowing such dialogue.

What if only ten can be found there?
Abraham's negotiation reaches its final number, ten. The number ten in Hebrew culture often signifies completeness or a minimum community, as seen in the requirement for a minyan (quorum) in Jewish prayer. This reflects Abraham's hope that even a small remnant of righteousness could avert judgment.

And He answered
The response of God is immediate and gracious. The Hebrew "וַיֹּאמֶר" (vayomer) for "answered" indicates a direct and clear communication from God, emphasizing His willingness to engage with human concerns and His readiness to show mercy.

On account of the ten, I will not destroy it
God's response highlights His justice and mercy. The phrase "on account of" translates the Hebrew "בַּעֲבוּר" (ba'avur), meaning "for the sake of" or "because of." This underscores the biblical principle that the presence of righteousness can have a redemptive effect on a community. God's willingness to spare the city for the sake of ten righteous people reveals His desire for mercy over judgment, aligning with the broader scriptural narrative of redemption and grace.

Verse 32. - And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry (vide supra), and I will speak but this once (literally, only this time more, as in Exodus 10:17): Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Finally, [Abraham] said,
וַ֠יֹּאמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“May the Lord
לַֽאדֹנָי֙ (la·ḏō·nāy)
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 136: The Lord

not
אַל־ (’al-)
Adverb
Strong's 408: Not

be angry,
יִ֤חַר (yi·ḥar)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect Jussive - third person masculine singular
Strong's 2734: To glow, grow warm, to blaze up, of anger, zeal, jealousy

but let me speak
וַאֲדַבְּרָ֣ה (wa·’ă·ḏab·bə·rāh)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive imperfect Cohortative - first person common singular
Strong's 1696: To arrange, to speak, to subdue

once more.
הַפַּ֔עַם (hap·pa·‘am)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 6471: A beat, foot, anvil, occurrence

Suppose
אוּלַ֛י (’ū·lay)
Adverb
Strong's 194: Perhaps

ten
עֲשָׂרָ֑ה (‘ă·śā·rāh)
Number - masculine singular
Strong's 6235: Ten

are found
יִמָּצְא֥וּן (yim·mā·ṣə·’ūn)
Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural | Paragogic nun
Strong's 4672: To come forth to, appear, exist, to attain, find, acquire, to occur, meet, be present

there?”
שָׁ֖ם (šām)
Adverb
Strong's 8033: There, then, thither

And He answered,
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“On account
בַּעֲב֖וּר (ba·‘ă·ḇūr)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5668: Crossed, transit, on account of, in order that

of the ten,
הָעֲשָׂרָֽה׃ (hā·‘ă·śā·rāh)
Article | Number - masculine singular
Strong's 6235: Ten

I will not
לֹ֣א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

destroy [it].”
אַשְׁחִ֔ית (’aš·ḥîṯ)
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 7843: Perhaps to go to ruin


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OT Law: Genesis 18:32 He said Oh don't let the Lord (Gen. Ge Gn)
Genesis 18:31
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