Genesis 18:29-33

18:29 Abraham ¹  spoke to him again, ²  “What if forty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”

18:30 Then Abraham ³  said, “May the Lord not be angry ⁴  so that I may speak! ⁵  What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

18:31 Abraham ⁶  said, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”

18:32 Finally Abraham ⁷  said, “May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”

18:33 The Lord went on his way ⁸  when he had finished speaking ⁹  to Abraham. Then Abraham returned home. ¹⁰ 

[18:29]  ¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:29]  ² tn The construction is a verbal hendiadys – the preterite (“he added”) is combined with an adverb “yet” and an infinitive “to speak.”

[18:30]  ³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:30]  ⁴ tn Heb “let it not be hot to the Lord.” This is an idiom which means “may the Lord not be angry.”

[18:30]  ⁵ tn After the jussive, the cohortative indicates purpose/result.

[18:31]  ⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:32]  ⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:33]  ⁸ tn Heb “And the Lord went.”

[18:33]  ⁹ tn The infinitive construct (“speaking”) serves as the direct object of the verb “finished.”

[18:33]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “to his place.”