Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clearImportance=normal (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV)Surely you wouldn’t do anything like that—killing the good people along with the evil ones, so that they all just get treated the same? Certainly you wouldn’t do that? Wouldn’t the one who judges the entire world be more fair?”
Key: khaki:verbs, red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
BrLXXΜηδαμῶς σὺ ποιήσεις ὡς τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο, τοῦ ἀποκτεῖναι δίκαιον μετὰ ἀσεβοῦς, καὶ ἔσται ὁ δίκαιος ὡς ὁ ἀσεβής· μηδαμῶς· ὁ κρίνων πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν, οὐ ποιήσεις κρίσιν; (Maʸdamōs su poiaʸseis hōs to ɽaʸma touto, tou apokteinai dikaion meta asebous, kai estai ho dikaios hōs ho asebaʸs; maʸdamōs; ho krinōn pasan taʸn gaʸn, ou poiaʸseis krisin; )
BrTrBy no means shalt thou do as this thing is so as to destroy the righteous with the wicked, so the righteous shall be as the wicked: by no means. Thou that judgest the whole earth, shalt thou not do right?
ULTFar be it from you to do something like that, killing the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous are like the wicked! Far be it from you! Will the one who judges all the earth not do justice?”
USTCertainly you would never do such a thing as kill righteous peopletogether with evil people, so that you are treating them both the same way! Certainly you would never do such a thing! As the Judge over everyone on the earth, certainly you will treat people justly.”
BSBFar be it from You to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”
OEBFar be it from you to do this: to slay the righteous with the wicked! And that the righteous should be treated as the wicked, far be it from you! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?’
WEBBEMay it be far from you to do things like that, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be like the wicked. May that be far from you. Shouldn’t the Judge of all the earth do right?”
NETFar be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge of the whole earth do what is right?”
LSVFar be it from You to do according to this thing, to put to death the righteous with the wicked; that it has been—as the righteous so the wicked—far be it from You; does the Judge of all the earth not do justice?”
FBVNo, you can't do something like that! You can't kill the good with the wicked, otherwise you would be treating the good and the wicked in the same way. You can't do that! Isn't the Judge of all the earth going to do the right thing?”
T4TIt would certainly not be right for you to do such a thing, to kill righteous people along with wicked ones, and treat righteous people and wicked people the same way. You could not do that, because you, who are the judge of everyone on the earth, will certainly do what is right regarding the people of Sodom!” [RHQ]
LEBFar be it from you to do such a thing as this, to kill the righteous with the wicked, that[fn] the righteous would be as the wicked! Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do justice?”
JPSThat be far from Thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that so the righteous should be as the wicked; that be far from Thee; shall not the judge of all the earth do justly?'
ASVThat be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that so the righteous should be as the wicked; that be far from thee: shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
DRAFar be it from thee to do this thing, and to slay the just with the wicked, and for the just to be in like case as the wicked, this is not beseeming thee: thou who judgest all the earth, wilt not make this judgment.
YLTFar be it from Thee to do according to this thing, to put to death the righteous with the wicked; that it hath been — as the righteous so the wicked — far be it from Thee; doth the Judge of all the earth not do justice?'
DrbyFar be it from thee to do so, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that the righteous should be as the wicked — far be it from thee! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?
RVThat be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that so the righteous should be as the wicked; that be far from thee: shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
WbstrThat be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
KJB-1769That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? (That be far from thee/you to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee/you: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? )
KJB-1611That be farre from thee, to do after this maner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be farre from thee: Shall not the Iudge of all the earth doe right? (That be far from thee/you, to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee/you: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?)
BshpsThat be farre from thee that thou shouldest do after this maner, and slaye the ryghteous with the wicked, & that the ryghteous should be as the wicked, that be farre from thee: Shall not the iudge of all the worlde do accordyng to ryght? (That be far from thee/you that thou/you should do after this manner, and slay/kill the righteous with the wicked, and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee/you: Shall not the judge of all the world do accordyng to ryght?)
GnvaBe it farre from thee from doing this thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be euen as the wicked, be it farre from thee. shall not the Iudge of all the worlde doe right? (Be it far from thee/you from doing this thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be even as the wicked, be it far from thee/you. shall not the Judge of all the world do right? )
CvdlThat be farre fro the, yt thou shuldest do this, and to slaye the righteous with the vngodly, and that the righteous shulde be as the vngodly. That be farre from the. Shulde not the iudge of all the worlde do acordinge to right? (That be far from them, it thou/you shuldest do this, and to slay/kill the righteous with the ungodly, and that the righteous should be as the ungodly. That be far from them. Should not the judge of all the world do according to right?)
WyclFer be it fro thee that thou do this thing, and sle a iust man with a wickid man, and that a iust man be maad as a wickid man; this is not thin that demest al erthe; thou schalt not make this doom. (Fer be it from thee/you that thou/you do this thing, and slay/kill a just man with a wicked man, and that a just man be made as a wicked man; this is not thin that demest all earth; thou/you shalt not make this doom.)
LuthDas sei ferne von dir, daß du das tust und tötest den Gerechten mit dem GOttlosen, daß der Gerechte sei gleich wie der GOttlose; das sei ferne von dir, der du aller Welt Richter bist! Du wirst so nicht richten. (The be ferne from to_you, that you the tust and kill the righteous_ones with to_him Godlosen, that the/of_the Gerechte be gleich like the/of_the Godlose; the be ferne from to_you, the/of_the you aller world Richter bist! You will so not richten.)
ClVgAbsit a te ut rem hanc facias, et occidas justum cum impio, fiatque justus sicut impius, non est hoc tuum: qui judicas omnem terram, nequaquam facies judicium hoc. (Absit from you(sg) as rem hanc facias, and kill justum when/with impio, fiatque justus like impius, not/no it_is this tuum: who yudicas omnem the_earth/land, nequaquam faces yudicium hoc. )
18:16-33 God took Abraham into his confidence as his prophet (18:16-21; see 20:7); Abraham, in turn, interceded for Sodom (18:23-32; see Heb 7:23-26). God is able to do whatever he chooses to do; this passage affirms that it will be just and right.
This idiom expresses emphatically that Abraham does not believe Yahweh would do this. Consider whether or not your language has a similar idiom. Make sure that Abraham sounds respectful in your translation. Alternate translation: “Surely you would never” or “It seems impossible that you would ever” or “I hope that you would never”
צַדִּיק֙
law-abiding/just
See how you translated this phrase in verse 23. Alternate translation: “good people”
עִם
with
Alternate translation: “along with” or “when you destroy”
רָשָׁ֔ע
wicked
See how you translated the wicked in verse 23. Alternate translation: “wicked people,”
וְהָיָ֥ה כַצַּדִּ֖יק כָּרָשָׁ֑ע
and=it_was alike_the,righteous as_the,wicked
If exclamation points are used in this chapter, make sure it does not sound like Abraham is angry, shouting, or being disrespectful Alternate translation: “so that good people are punished by you as if they were evil!”
חָלִ֣לָה לָּ֔ךְ
far_be_it!, from,you
See how you translated a similar phrase at the beginning of this verse. Alternate translation: “Surely you would never do such a thing!” or “It seems impossible that you would ever do such a thing!” or “I hope that you would never do such a thing!”
?,judge all/each/any/every the=earth/land not he/it_made/did what_is_just
Consider what is the best way in your language to translate this rhetorical question; make sure that Abraham sounds polite. Also see how you translated justice in verse 19. Alternate translation: “As the judge of everyone on the earth, surely you will treat people rightly.” or “You are the one who judges all the people on the earth. Surely you will do what is right.”
Author’s note: This article assumes that Sodom, Gomorrah, and Bela (Zoar) were located at Bab edh-Dhra, Numeira, and Khirbat ash-Sheikh `Isa, respectively. The exact locations of the cities of the plain are widely debated, with the primary dispute centering around whether the cities are to be found in the northern area of the Dead Sea (since Lot headed east from Bethel [Genesis 13]) or the southern area (as the Medeba Map shows). It is beyond the scope of this article to present all the evidence to support a southern location, but many of them are well summarized here: “The Discovery of the Sin Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.” In addition, Eusebius in his Onomasticon describes the Dead Sea as lying between Jericho and Zoar. This author has also recently found that Eusebius notes that Nebereim (Nimrim; see Isaiah 15:6 and Jeremiah 48:34) is located at a village called Bennamareim (likely the site of Gomorrah on this map), which he also says is north of Zoar. Thus, if Eusebius is correct, Zoar is clearly located in the southern area of the Dead Sea, which fits very well with the location shown on this map. Also, Lot’s relocation to Sodom after moving east to the plain of the Jordan suggests that Sodom was located on the east side of the Dead Sea.
The famous cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are first mentioned in Genesis 10:19 in a description of the territory of the Canaanites. The cities are mentioned again in chapter 13, which notes that while Abraham (then called Abram) was living near Bethel (also called Luz), tension began to grow between Abraham’s herders and the herders working for Abraham’s nephew Lot. To resolve the problem, Abraham suggested that he and Lot permanently part ways, and he offered Lot first choice of where to live. Lot chose to move east to the plain of the Jordan, because the land was well watered, and he eventually settled in the city of Sodom. Genesis 14 then describes how Lot was captured by four Mesopotamian kings as they attacked the cities of the plain, but Abraham rescued Lot. Sometime after this Abraham moved to the oaks of Mamre, near Hebron, and three visitors (one of whom is later called “the Lord,” and the other two “angels”) approached his tent. Abraham invited them to share a meal with him and then later accompanied them for the first part of their journey. Along the way the visitors revealed to Abraham that they were going to Sodom to destroy it for its wickedness. Abraham appealed to the Lord to spare the city if even a few righteous lived there, and the Lord agreed and went his way. The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening (Genesis 19:1), presumably the same day they left, although perhaps they actually took more than one day to travel to Sodom, because the distance from Mamre to Sodom is over 35 miles (56 km), and Scripture does not specifically note that it was the same day. The events that followed that evening are well known, and in the morning the angels compelled Lot and his family to flee the city before it was destroyed. The angels instructed them to flee to the hills, but Lot convinced them to allow him to take refuge in a small village on the plain and not destroy it. Genesis 19:23 seems to suggest that it took Lot’s family a full day and night to reach Zoar, which fits well with the 16 mile (25 km) distance from Sodom to Zoar. As they were reaching Zoar, the Lord rained down fire and burning sulfur on Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, completely destroying them. As Lot’s family was still fleeing, Lot’s wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt. That same morning Abraham got up and went to where he had last spoken with the visitors, and when he looked out across the plain he saw columns of smoke rising from the destroyed cities. Later Lot and his daughters moved into the hills and lived in a cave, because they were afraid to remain in Zoar. Fearing they would never marry, Lot’s daughters both got their father drunk and conceived children by him, though he was unaware of it. These children became ancestors of the Moabites and the Ammonites.
