I will go down to see: from the high elevation in the Judean hills near Mamre, where the LORD is talking with Abraham, he will go down to Sodom near the Dead Sea. In some languages it will be necessary to say “… go down to those towns to see.”

Whether they have done altogether according to the outcry which has come to me: the purpose of going down is to investigate the situation, to determine if the accusations against the cities are true or not. We may say, for example, “I will go down to those towns to learn if what the people accuse others of is true or not” or “I am going … to find out if the people are as bad as I have heard they are.” The Hebrew says “whether according to her cry….” Another variant has “their cry.” Hebrew Old Testament Text Project understands “their cry” to mean the cry against them (the two cities) but recommends “her cry” (with an evaluation of {B}). The sense is the cry made against her (Sodom), since Gomorrah is not mentioned in verse 16 and is mentioned first in verse 20. Neither Revised Standard Version nor Good News Translation, as in the case of most translations, refer to “her” or to “them.” If some form of “outrage” was used in verse 20, outcry in the sense of accusation or denouncement may be used in verse 21. Good News Translation and others prefer “accusations” in both places. Although two different Hebrew words are used for outcry in verses 20-21, there is no significant difference in meaning.

If not, I will know: that is, the LORD will learn, establish, find out if the accusations are or are not true. Good News Translation “whether or not the accusations … are true” expresses this clearly. Other translations say something like “to find out if these things are true or not.” I will know may carry the sense of “I will know whether to destroy them or not,” and in some languages this information is needed.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .