21aI will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, bI will know.”
22 Then the men turned away from there aand went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.
23 And Abraham acame near and said, b“Would You also cdestroy the drighteous with the wicked?
24 Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it?
25 Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that athe righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! bShall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
26 So the Lord said, a“If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.”
27 Then Abraham answered and said, “Indeed now, I who amabut dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord:
28 Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lackof five?” So He said, “If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.”
Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? - A form of speech similar to that in Genesis 18:17, an invariable principle of justice, that the righteous shall not be punished for the crimes of the impious. And this Abraham lays down as the foundation of his supplications. Who can pray with any hope of success who cannot assign a reason to God and his conscience for the petitions he offers? The great sacrifice offered by Christ is an infinite reason why a penitent sinner should expect to find the mercy for which he pleads.
Other Adam Clarke entries containing Genesis 18:23:
DISCLAIMER: Church of the Great God (CGG) provides these resources to aid the individual in studying the Bible. However, it is up to the individual to "prove all things, and hold fast to that which is good" (I Thessalonians 5:21). The content of these resources does not necessarily reflect the views of CGG. They are provided for information purposes only.
