As I saw good - Or, "as soon as I saw it." Omit "good." God saw and punished. Compare Genesis 18:21.

And they were haughty,.... Sodom and her daughters, the inhabitants of that place, and the cities adjacent; they lifted up themselves above God and man; they were above regarding the poor and needy; and were elated and swelled with their plenty and prosperity, and behaved very insolently, both to fellow citizens and strangers; see Genesis 19:4;

and committed abomination before me; perhaps referring to that sin, which has its name from them; a sin abominable to God, and scandalous to human nature; and which they committed openly and publicly, neither fearing God, nor regarding men; and are said to be sinners before the Lord, Genesis 13:13;

therefore I took them away as I saw good; both as to time and manner, as he in his sovereignty thought most fit and proper, by raining fire and brimstone on them, and setting them forth as an example of the vengeance of eternal fire: or, "when I saw" (c); their sin and wickedness, as soon as he saw it; see Genesis 18:20. The Vulgate Latin and Arabic versions render it, "as thou sawest", or "hast seen"; appealing to the Jews themselves, who were very well acquainted with the fact; for the destruction of Sodom was notorious and flagrant.

(c) "cum vidi", Cocceius; so some in Vatablus; "postea quam", Tigurine version, Piscator, Starckius.

And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.

50. haughty-puffed up with prosperity.

abomination before me-"sinners before the Lord" (Ge 13:13); said of those whose sin is so heinous as to cry out to God for immediate judgments; presumptuous sins, daring God to the face (Ge 18:20; 19:5).

I took them away-(Ge 19:24).

as I saw good-rather, "according to what I saw"; referring to Ge 18:21, where God says, "I will go down, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it which is come unto Me."

16:1-58 In this chapter God's dealings with the Jewish nation, and their conduct towards him, are described, and their punishment through the surrounding nations, even those they most trusted in. This is done under the parable of an exposed infant rescued from death, educated, espoused, and richly provided for, but afterwards guilty of the most abandoned conduct, and punished for it; yet at last received into favour, and ashamed of her base conduct. We are not to judge of these expressions by modern ideas, but by those of the times and places in which they were used, where many of them would not sound as they do to us. The design was to raise hatred to idolatry, and such a parable was well suited for that purpose.