I will go down. — God examines before He punishes (see Note on Genesis 11:5) with the same care and personal inspection as the most conscientious earthly judge.
Altogether. — Some take this word, not as an adverb, but as a noun (comp. Isaiah 10:23), and translate “I will see whether they have done according to the cry of it: (in which case there shall be for them) utter destruction.” But the ellipse is harsh; and inquiry, the knowing and not the punishing, is the prominent thought in the words of Jehovah. Hence too the last clause, “I will know.” The two angels go to Sodom to give the people a final trial. If they meet with upright treatment, then God will know that there are limits to the wickedness of its inhabitants, and it will be spared.