Genesis 19
19
Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed
1The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. 2“My lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.”
“No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.”
3But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate. 4Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. 5They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”
6Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him 7and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. 8Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”
9“Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to play the judge! We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.
10But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. 11Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.
12The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, 13because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.”
14So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry#19:14 Or were married to his daughters. He said, “Hurry and get out of this place, because the Lord is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.
15With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.”
16When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them. 17As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!”
18But Lot said to them, “No, my lords,#19:18 Or No, Lord; or No, my lord please! 19Your#19:19 The Hebrew is singular. servant has found favor in your#19:19 The Hebrew is singular. eyes, and you#19:19 The Hebrew is singular. have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can’t flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. 20Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.”
21He said to him, “Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. 22But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it.” (That is why the town was called Zoar.#19:22 Zoar means small.)
23By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. 24Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens. 25Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. 26But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
27Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 28He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.
29So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.
Lot and His Daughters
30Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. 31One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth. 32Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father.”
33That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.
34The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” 35So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.
36So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 37The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab#19:37 Moab sounds like the Hebrew for from father.; he is the father of the Moabites of today. 38The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi#19:38 Ben-Ammi means son of my father’s people.; he is the father of the Ammonites#19:38 Hebrew Bene-Ammon of today.
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Genesis 19
19
1The two angels#19:1. “Angels”: the account alternates between calling the two visitors “angels” and “men.” arrived at Sodom in the evening. Lot happened to be sitting at the entrance to Sodom, and when he saw them he stood up to meet them, and bowed low with his face to the ground.
2“Sirs, please come and stay with me for the night,” he said. “You can wash your feet and then be on your way early in the morning.”
They replied, “No, it's fine. We'll spend the night here in the square.”
3But Lot insisted, and they went with him to his house. He made them a meal and baked bread for them to eat. 4But they hadn't even gone to bed before the men of Sodom, young and old, from every part of town, came and surrounded the house. 5They shouted out to Lot, “Where are the men who came to stay with you tonight? Bring them out here to us so we can have sex with them.”
6Lot went out to talk to them in the doorway, closing the door behind him.
7“My friends, please don't do such an evil thing! 8Listen, I've got two virgin daughters. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do to them whatever you want, but please don't do anything to these men. It's my responsibility to look after them.”#19:8. “It's my responsibility to look after them”: literally, “They have come under the protection of my roof.”
9“Out of our way!” they shouted. “Who do you think you are, coming to live here and now trying to judge us? We'll do even worse things to you than we were going to do to these men!” They rushed forward at Lot and tried to break down the door.
10But the men inside reached out and grabbed Lot, dragged him inside, and slammed the door shut. 11Then they made all the men in the doorway, young and old, suddenly go blind so they couldn't find the door.
12The two men asked Lot, “Is there anyone else here who's part of your family—sons-in-law, or sons or daughters, or anyone else in the town? If there are, make sure they leave, 13because we are about to destroy this place. The complaints that have reached the Lord about its people have become so bad that he has sent us to destroy it.”
14Lot went immediately to speak to the men who were engaged to marry his daughters. “Get up quickly and leave,” he said, “because the Lord is about to destroy the town!” But they thought it was just a joke.
15At dawn, the angels begged Lot to be quick, telling him, “Hurry up! Leave right now with your wife and your two daughters here, otherwise you'll be wiped out when the city is punished.” 16But Lot hesitated. The men grabbed his hand, and those of his wife and two daughters, and dragged them along, leaving them outside the town. The Lord was kind to them to do this.
17As soon as they were outside, one of the men said, “Run for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the valley! Run to the mountains otherwise you'll be destroyed!”
18“Please sir, not that!” Lot replied. 19“If you don't mind, since you have already been so kind to me by saving my life, don't make me run to the mountains—I just can't make it. The destruction will overtake me and I'll die! 20Look, there's a town nearby that's close enough to run to, and it's so small. Please let me run there—it's really very small. It would save my life.”
21“Fine—I'll do as you ask,” he replied. “I won't destroy this town you've mentioned. 22But hurry up and run there quickly, because I can't do anything until you get there.” (This is why the town was called Zoar.)#19:22. Zoar means “little place.” Originally it was called Bela (see 14:2).
23The sun had already risen by the time Lot reached Zoar. 24Then the Lord rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah. 25He completely destroyed the towns and all their inhabitants, the whole valley and everything growing there. 26But Lot's wife, who was lagging behind, looked back, and she turned into a pillar of salt.
27Abraham got up early the next morning and went back to where he had stood before the Lord. 28He looked down at Sodom and Gomorrah and the whole valley floor, and saw the land burning, sending up smoke like from a furnace.
29When God destroyed the towns of the valley he didn't forget the promise he made Abraham, and he saved Lot from the destruction of the towns where Lot was living.
30Lot was afraid to stay in Zoar, so he left town and went to live in a cave in the mountains with his two daughters. 31Sometime later the older daughter said to the younger one, “Our father is growing old, and there's no men left to give us children like everyone does. 32Come on, let's get our father drunk with wine and sleep with him so we can keep his family line going.”
33So they got their father drunk with wine that night. The older daughter went and slept with him, and he didn't notice when she lay down or when she got up.
34The next day the older daughter said to the younger one, “Last night I slept with our father. Let's get him drunk with wine again tonight and you can go and sleep with him so we can keep his family line going.”
35So once again that night they got their father drunk with wine and the younger daughter went and slept with him, and he didn't notice when she lay down or when she got up.
36This is how both Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father. 37The older daughter had a son, and she called him Moab.#19:37. “Moab”: understood to mean “son of my father.” He is the ancestor of the Moabites of today. 38The younger daughter had a son too, and she called him Ben-ammi.#19:38. “Ben-ammi”: “son of my people.” He is the ancestor of the Ammonites of today.
Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com