Passage

Genesis 18.32

Book: Genesis · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"30. And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. 31. And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for the twenty's sake."

"32. And 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."

"33. And Jehovah went his way, as soon as he had left off communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place." (Genesis 18:30-33, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"30. He said, “Oh don’t let the Lord be angry, and I will speak. What if there are thirty found there?” He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” 31. He said, “See now, I have taken it on myself to speak to the Lord. What if there are twenty found there?” He said, “I will not destroy it for the twenty’s sake.”"

"32. He 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.”"

"33. Yahweh went his way, as soon as he had finished communing with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place." (Genesis 18:30-33, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"30. And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. 31. And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake."

"32. And 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."

"33. And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place." (Genesis 18:30-33, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"30. And he saith, 'Let it not be, I Pray thee, displeasing to the Lord, and I speak: peradventure there are found there thirty?' and He saith, 'I do [it] not, if I find there thirty.' 31. And he saith, 'Lo, I pray thee, I have willed to speak unto the Lord: peradventure there are found there twenty?' and He saith, 'I do not destroy [it], because of the twenty.'"

"32. And 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.'"

"33. And Jehovah goeth on, when He hath finished speaking unto Abraham, and Abraham hath turned back to his place." (Genesis 18:30-33, 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

H0136 - adonai, adonai (Strong's H136). Also appears in: Genesis 18.1-15, Judges 6.11-24, Judges 6.22.

Quoted in

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.