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Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clearImportance=normal (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV)“Suppose they’re five short of the fifty? Would you destroy the whole city because of five?” ¶ “I won’t destroy it if I find forty-fivethere,” he replied.
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).
BrLXXἘὰν δὲ ἐλαττονωθῶσιν οἱ πεντήκοντα δίκαιοι εἰς τεσσαρακονταπέντε, ἀπολεῖς ἕνεκεν τῶν πέντε πᾶσαν τὴν πόλιν; καὶ εἶπεν, οὐ μὴ ἀπολέσω, ἐὰν εὕρω ἐκεῖ τεσσαρακονταπέντε. (Ean de elattonōthōsin hoi pentaʸkonta dikaioi eis tessarakontapente, apoleis heneken tōn pente pasan taʸn polin; kai eipen, ou maʸ apolesō, ean heurō ekei tessarakontapente. )
BrTrBut if the fifty righteous should be diminished to forty-five, wilt thou destroy the whole city because of the five wanting? And he said, I will not destroy it, if I should find there forty-five.
ULTSuppose the fifty righteous lack five? Will you destroy the whole city because of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
USTBut what will you do if there are only forty-five righteous peoplein the city instead of fifty? Will you destroy the whole city and everyone in it if there are five people too few who are righteous?” Yahweh answered, “I will not destroy the city if there are forty-five righteous peopleliving there.”
BSBsuppose the fifty righteous ones lack five. Will You destroy the whole city for the lack of five?” § He replied, “If I find forty-five there, I will not destroy it.”
OEBSuppose there be five lacking of the fifty righteous. Will you sweep away all the city for lack of five?’ The Lord said, ‘I will not sweep it away, if I find forty-five there.’
WEBBEWhat if there will lack five of the fifty righteous? Will you destroy all the city for lack of five?” ¶ He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
NETwhat if there are five less than the fifty godly people? Will you destroy the whole city because five are lacking?” He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
LSVperhaps there are lacking five of the fifty righteous—do You destroy for five the whole of the city?” And He says, “I do not destroy [it], if I find there forty-five.”
FBV“What if there are forty-five good people, just five less? Are you still going to wipe out the whole town just because there are five fewer people?” ¶ “I won't destroy it if I find forty-five,” the Lord replied.
T4TBut what will you do if there are only 45 righteous people? Will you destroy everyone in the whole city because there are only 45 and not 50 righteous people?” Yahweh replied, “I will not destroy it if I find that there are 45 righteous people.”
LEBPerhaps the fifty righteous are lacking five—will you destroy the whole city on account of the five?” And he answered, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
BBEIf by chance there are five less than fifty upright men, will you give up all the town to destruction because of these five? And he said, I will not give it to destruction if there are forty-five.
JPSPeradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous; wilt Thou destroy all the city for lack of five?' And He said: 'I will not destroy it, if I find there forty and five.'
ASVperadventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, I will not destroy it, if I find there forty and five.
DRAWhat if there be five less than fifty just persons? wilt thou for five and forty destroy the whole city? And he said: I will not destroy it, if I find five and forty.
YLTperadventure there are lacking five of the fifty righteous — dost Thou destroy for five the whole of the city?' and He saith, 'I destroy [it] not, if I find there forty and five.'
DrbyPerhaps there may want five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city on account of the five? And he said, If I shall find forty-five there, I will not destroy [it].
RVperadventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, I will not destroy it, if I find there forty and five.
WbstrPeradventure there will lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.
KJB-1769Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. (Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt/will thou/you destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. )
KJB-1611Peraduenture there shall lacke fiue of the fiftie righteous: wilt thou destroy all the citie for lacke of fiue? And he said, If I find there fourtie and fiue, I will not destroy it. (Peraduenture there shall lacke five of the fifty righteous: wilt/will thou/you destroy all the city for lacke of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.)
BshpsIf there shall lacke fiue of fiftie ryghteous, wylt thou destroy all the citie for lacke of fiue? And he saide: If I fynde there fourtie and fiue I wyl not destroy them. (If there shall lacke five of fifty righteous, wilt/will thou/you destroy all the city for lacke of five? And he said: If I find there forty and five I will not destroy them.)
GnvaIf there shall lacke fiue of fiftie righteous, wilt thou destroy all the citie for fiue? And he saide, If I finde there fiue and fourtie, I will not destroy it. (If there shall lacke five of fifty righteous, wilt/will thou/you destroy all the city for five? And he said, If I find there five and forty, I will not destroy it. )
CvdlPeraduenture there maye be fyue lesse then fiftie righteous therin: Wilt thou then destroye the whole cite because of those fyue? He sayde: yf I fynde fyue and fourtie therin, I will not destroye them? (Peraduenture there may be five less then fifty righteous therein: Wilt thou/you then destroy the whole cite because of those five? He said: if I find five and forty therein, I will not destroy them?)
Wyclwhat if lesse than fifti iust men bi fyue ben, schalt thou do a wey al the cite for fyue and fourti? And the Lord seide, Y schal not do a wei, if I schal fynde fyue and fourti there. (what if less than fifty just men by five ben, shalt thou/you do a wey all the cite for five and forty? And the Lord said, I shall not do a wei, if I shall find five and forty there.)
LuthEs möchten vielleicht fünf weniger denn fünfzig Gerechte drinnen sein; wolltest du denn die ganze Stadt verderben um der fünfe willen? Er sprach: Finde ich drinnen fünfundvierzig, will ich sie nicht verderben. (It möchten vielleicht five weniger because fünfzig Gerechte drinnen sein; wantedst you because the ganze city verderben around/by/for the/of_the fünfe willen? He spoke: Finde I drinnen fünfundvierzig, will I they/she/them not verderben.)
ClVgQuid si minus quinquaginta justis quinque fuerint? delebis, propter quadraginta quinque, universam urbem? Et ait: Non delebo, si invenero ibi quadraginta quinque.[fn] (What when/but_if minus quinquaginta justis quinque fuerint? delebis, propter quadraginta quinque, the_whole city? And he_said: Non delebo, when/but_if invenero there quadraginta quinque. )
18.28Quinque fuerint. Quinque civitates igneis imbribus combustæ. Omnes enim qui quinque corporis sensus libidinose tractaverunt, futuro incendio sunt cremandi. Quid si inventi, etc. ALC. Non necesse est hoc de omni loco accipere. De Sodomis autem potuit dici, quia sciebat Deus nec decem esse ibi, et ideo sic respondebatur Abrahæ ad exaggerationem iniquitatis Sodomorum Decem. Denarius crucem Christi designat quia X littera, qua denarius exprimitur, in figura crucis formatur. Dixit. Sciebat enim nec unum ibi esse præter Lot; ad exaggerandam iniquitatem hoc dicitur, sicut apud Jeremiam: Videte si inveniatis hominem facientem justitiam Jer. 5; quasi: Invenite vel unum, et parco eis.
18.28Quinque fuerint. Quinque civitates igneis imbribus combustæ. All_of_them because who quinque corporis sensus libidinose tractaverunt, futuro incendio are cremandi. What when/but_if inventi, etc. ALC. Non necesse it_is this about all instead accipere. De Sodomis however potuit dici, because sciebat God but_not ten esse ibi, and ideo so respondebatur Abrahæ to exaggerationem iniquitatis Sodomorum Decem. Denarius crucem of_Christ designat because X littera, which denarius exprimitur, in figura crucis formatur. Dixit. Sciebat because but_not one there esse præter Lot; to exaggerandam iniquitatem this it_is_said, like apud Yeremiam: Videte when/but_if inveniatis hominem facientem justitiam Yer. 5; quasi: Invenite or unum, and parco eis.
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.
Alternate translation: “there are five fewer than 50 righteous people living in the city?” or “there are only 45 righteous people in the city instead of 50?”
Make sure it is clear in your translation that Yahweh is speaking here, not Abraham. Alternate translation: “And Yahweh said to him” or “Yahweh answered him”
Make sure it is clear in your translation what “forty-five/45” refers to. Alternate translation: “I will not destroy the city if there are 45 righteous people living there.” or “if I find 45 righteous people living in the city, I will not destroy it.”
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.
