ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

Genesis 18.22

Book: Genesis · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV (ASV)

"20. And Jehovah said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; 21. I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know."

"22. And the men turned from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before Jehovah."

"23. And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou consume the righteous with the wicked? 24. Peradventure there are fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou consume and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?" (Genesis 18:20-24, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"20. Yahweh said, “Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, 21. I 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.”"

"22. The men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, but Abraham stood yet before Yahweh."

"23. Abraham came near, and said, “Will you consume the righteous with the wicked? 24. What if there are fifty righteous within the city? Will you consume and not spare the place for the fifty righteous who are in it?" (Genesis 18:20-24, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"20. And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; 21. I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know."

"22. And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD."

"23. And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24. Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?" (Genesis 18:20-24, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"20. And Jehovah saith, 'The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah, because great; and their sin, because exceeding grievous: 21. I go down now, and see whether according to its cry which is coming unto Me they have done completely, and if not, I know;'"

"22. and the men turn from thence, and go towards Sodom; and Abraham is yet standing before Jehovah."

"23. And Abraham draweth nigh and saith, 'Dost Thou also consume righteous with wicked? 24. peradventure there are fifty righteous in the midst of the city; dost Thou also consume, and not bear with the place for the sake of the fifty, the righteous who [are] in its midst?" (Genesis 18:20-24, YLT)

Setting

  • Speaker: Moses (traditional authorship) / narrator
  • Audience: Israelite congregation post-Exodus
  • Location: various ANE settings (Eden → Mesopotamia → Canaan → Egypt)
  • Time period: events c. creation-c. 1800 BC; composed c. 1446-1406 BC

Theological reading

Key words

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.