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.
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).
BrLXXΚαὶ εἶπε, μή τι Κύριε ἐὰν λαλήσω ἔτι ἅπαξ; ἐὰν δὲ εὑρεθῶσιν ἐκεῖ δέκα; καὶ εἶπεν, οὐ μὴ ἀπολέσω ἕνεκεν τῶν δέκα. (Kai eipe, maʸ ti Kurie ean lalaʸsō eti hapax; ean de heurethōsin ekei deka; kai eipen, ou maʸ apolesō heneken tōn deka. )
BrTrAnd 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.
ULTThen he said, “Please do not let my Lord be angry, and let me speak just once more: Suppose ten are found there?” And he said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”
USTThen Abraham said, “My Lord, please do not be angry with me, but let me ask you just one more thing: What will you do if there are only ten righteous people in the city?” Yahweh answered him, “I will not destroy the city, in order to save the ten righteous people.”
BSB § 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.”
OEBThen Abraham said, ‘Oh, let not the Lord be angry, but let me speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there?’ And he said, ‘For the sake of the ten I will not destroy it.’
WEBBEHe 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.”
NETFinally 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.”
LSVAnd 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.”
FBV“Please don't get angry with me, my Lord,” Abraham said. “Just let me ask one more thing. What if only ten are found there?” ¶ “I won't destroy it for the sake of the ten,” the Lord replied.
T4TAbraham said, “God, don’t be angry now. Just let me speak one time more. What will you do if you find that there are only ten righteous people there?” Yahweh answered, “I will not destroy the city for the sake of those ten.”
LEBAnd he said, “Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak only once more. What if[fn] ten are found there?” And he answered, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”
BBEAnd he said, O let not the Lord be angry and I will say only one word more: by chance there may be ten there. And he said, I will have mercy because of the ten.
JPSAnd 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.'
ASVAnd 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.
DRAI beseech thee, saith he, be not angry, Lord, if I speak yet once more: What if ten should be found there? And he said: I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.
YLTAnd 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.'
DrbyAnd he said, Oh, let not the Lord be angry, that I speak yet but this time! Perhaps there may be ten found there. And he said, I will not destroy [it] for the ten's sake.
RVAnd 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.
WbstrAnd 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.
KJB-1769And 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.
KJB-1611And hee saide, Oh let not the LORD be angry, and I will speake yet but this once: Peraduenture ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for tennes sake. (And he said, Oh let not the LORD be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peraduenture ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for tennes sake.)
BshpsAnd he sayde: O let not my Lorde be angry, and I wyll speake yet but this once: What if ten shalbe found there? He aunswered, I wil not destroy them for tennes sake. (And he said: O let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: What if ten shall be found there? He answered, I will not destroy them for tennes sake.)
GnvaThen he saide, Let not my Lord be nowe angrie, and I will speake but this once, What if tenne be found there? And he answered, I will not destroy it for tennes sake. (Then he said, Let not my Lord be now angrie, and I will speak but this once, What if ten be found there? And he answered, I will not destroy it for tennes sake. )
CvdlAnd sayde: O let not my LORDE be angrie, that I speake yet once more. Peraduenture there might be ten founde therin. He saide: I wil not destroye them for those ten sake. (And said: O let not my LORD be angrie, that I speak yet once more. Peraduenture there might be ten found therin. He said: I will not destroy them for those ten sake.)
WycAbraham seide, Lord, Y biseche, be thou not wrooth, if Y speke yit onys; what if ten be founden there? The Lord seide, Y schal not do a wey for ten. (Abraham said, Lord, I beseech/implore, be thou/you not wrooth, if I speak yet onys; what if ten be found there? The Lord said, I shall not do a wey for ten.)
LuthUnd er sprach: Ach zürne nicht, HErr, daß ich nur noch einmal rede. Man möchte vielleicht zehn drinnen finden. Er aber sprach: Ich will sie nicht verderben um der zehn willen. (And he spoke: Ach zürne not, LORD, that I nur still einmal rede. Man möchte vielleicht ten drinnen finden. He but spoke: I will they/she/them not verderben around/by/for the/of_the ten willen.)
ClVgObsecro, inquit, ne irascaris, Domine, si loquar adhuc semel: quid si inventi fuerint ibi decem? Et dixit: Non delebo propter decem. (Obsecro, inquit, not irascaris, Domine, when/but_if loquar adhuc semel: quid when/but_if inventi fuerint there decem? And dixit: Non delebo propter decem. )
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: “Finally he said to him,” or “Then he asked him”
אַל נָ֞א יִ֤חַר לַֽאדֹנָי֙
not now angry to,Lord,my
See how you translated this sentence in verse 30. Consider again how you translated my Lord in verses 27, 30-32. Contrast that to verse 3, where Abraham probably used the term before he realized that he was talking to Yahweh. Alternate translation: “My Master, please do not be angry at me,”
וַאֲדַבְּרָ֣ה אַךְ הַפַּ֔עַם
and,speak only the=time//this_time
Alternate translation: “rather, let me say one more thing:” or “and let me ask you just one more thing”
אוּלַ֛י
suppose
Consider again how you translated the term Suppose in verses 24 and 28 and how you translated the sentence “Suppose only …righteous people are found there?” in verses 29-32. Alternate translation: “Suppose that”
Consider again how you translated found and “find” in verses 26, 28-32. Alternate translation: “only ten righteous people are found” or “you find only ten righteous people”
שָׁ֖ם
there
Alternate translation: “living there?” or “living in the city? Will you destroy it then?”
Consider again how you referred to Yahweh and Abraham in your translation throughout this dialogue (verses 23-32). It is a good idea to read this conversation aloud at a regular speed and listen to make sure that all quote margins are natural and clear in your language. Alternate translation: “And Yahweh replied,” or “He answered him,”
בַּעֲב֖וּר
in=account_of
Consider again how you translated this phrase in verses 24, 26, 29, 31, 32. Alternate translation: “because of”
Consider again whether you used words or numerals for the numbers throughout verses 24-32. Also consider again how you translated “righteous people” and “righteous people” in verses 23-32. Alternate translation: “those ten righteous people.”
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.
