23 Then Abraham drew near and said: “Will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
24 Suppose there were fifty righteous people in the city; would you really sweep away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people within it?
25 Far be it from you to do such a thing, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike! Far be it from you! Should not the judge of all the world do what is just?”
26 The Lord replied: If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.
27 Abraham spoke up again: “See how I am presuming to speak to my Lord, though I am only dust and ashes!
28 What if there are five less than fifty righteous people? Will you destroy the whole city because of those five?” I will not destroy it, he answered, if I find forty-five there.
29 But Abraham persisted, saying, “What if only forty are found there?” He replied: I will refrain from doing it for the sake of the forty.