20The LORD said, “Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous,
21I will go down now, and see whether their deeds are as bad as the reports which have come to me. If not, I will know.”
22The men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.
23Abraham came near, and said, “Will you consume the righteous with the wicked?
24What if there are fifty righteous within the city? Will you consume and not spare the place for the fifty righteous who are in it?
25May 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?”
26The LORD said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place for their sake.”