Genesis 18:21

18:21 that I must go down ¹  and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests. ²  If not, ³  I want to know.”

Genesis 18:33

18:33 The Lord went on his way ⁴  when he had finished speaking ⁵  to Abraham. Then Abraham returned home. ⁶ 

Genesis 44:12

44:12 Then the man ⁷  searched. He began with the oldest and finished with the youngest. The cup was found in Benjamin’s sack!

[18:21]  ¹ tn The cohortative indicates the Lord’s resolve.

[18:21]  ² tn Heb “[if] according to the outcry that has come to me they have done completely.” Even the Lord, who is well aware of the human capacity to sin, finds it hard to believe that anyone could be as bad as the “outcry” against Sodom and Gomorrah suggests.

[18:21]  ³ sn The short phrase if not provides a ray of hope and inspires Abraham’s intercession.

[18:33]  ⁴ tn Heb “And the Lord went.”

[18:33]  ⁵ tn The infinitive construct (“speaking”) serves as the direct object of the verb “finished.”

[18:33]  ⁶ tn Heb “to his place.”

[44:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the man who was in charge of Joseph’s household) has been specified in the translation for clarity.