Genesis 19

Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed

1That evening the two angels came to the entrance of the city of Sodom. Lot was sitting there, and when he saw them, he stood up to meet them. Then he welcomed them and bowed with his face to the ground. 2“My lords,” he said, “come to my home to wash your feet, and be my guests for the night. You may then get up early in the morning and be on your way again.”

“Oh no,” they replied. “We’ll just spend the night out here in the city square.”

3But Lot insisted, so at last they went home with him. Lot prepared a feast for them, complete with fresh bread made without yeast, and they ate. 4But before they retired for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. 5They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!”

6So Lot stepped outside to talk to them, shutting the door behind him. 7“Please, my brothers,” he begged, “don’t do such a wicked thing. 8Look, I have two virgin daughters. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do with them as you wish. But please, leave these men alone, for they are my guests and are under my protection.”

9“Stand back!” they shouted. “This fellow came to town as an outsider, and now he’s acting like our judge! We’ll treat you far worse than those other men!” And they lunged toward Lot to break down the door.

10But the two angels#19:10 Hebrew men; also in 19:12, 16. reached out, pulled Lot into the house, and bolted the door. 11Then they blinded all the men, young and old, who were at the door of the house, so they gave up trying to get inside.

12Meanwhile, the angels questioned Lot. “Do you have any other relatives here in the city?” they asked. “Get them out of this place—your sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else. 13For we are about to destroy this city completely. The outcry against this place is so great it has reached the Lord, and he has sent us to destroy it.”

14So Lot rushed out to tell his daughters’ fiancés, “Quick, get out of the city! The Lord is about to destroy it.” But the young men thought he was only joking.

15At dawn the next morning the angels became insistent. “Hurry,” they said to Lot. “Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out right now, or you will be swept away in the destruction of the city!”

16When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the Lord was merciful. 17When they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, “Run for your lives! And don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away!”

18“Oh no, my lord!” Lot begged. 19“You have been so gracious to me and saved my life, and you have shown such great kindness. But I cannot go to the mountains. Disaster would catch up to me there, and I would soon die. 20See, there is a small village nearby. Please let me go there instead; don’t you see how small it is? Then my life will be saved.”

21“All right,” the angel said, “I will grant your request. I will not destroy the little village. 22But hurry! Escape to it, for I can do nothing until you arrive there.” (This explains why that village was known as Zoar, which means “little place.”)

23Lot reached the village just as the sun was rising over the horizon. 24Then the Lord rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah. 25He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, wiping out all the people and every bit of vegetation. 26But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt.

27Abraham got up early that morning and hurried out to the place where he had stood in the Lord’s presence. 28He looked out across the plain toward Sodom and Gomorrah and watched as columns of smoke rose from the cities like smoke from a furnace.

29But God had listened to Abraham’s request and kept Lot safe, removing him from the disaster that engulfed the cities on the plain.

Lot and His Daughters

30Afterward Lot left Zoar because he was afraid of the people there, and he went to live in a cave in the mountains with his two daughters. 31One day the older daughter said to her sister, “There are no men left anywhere in this entire area, so we can’t get married like everyone else. And our father will soon be too old to have children. 32Come, let’s get him drunk with wine, and then we will have sex with him. That way we will preserve our family line through our father.”

33So that night they got him drunk with wine, and the older daughter went in and had intercourse with her father. He was unaware of her lying down or getting up again.

34The next morning the older daughter said to her younger sister, “I had sex with our father last night. Let’s get him drunk with wine again tonight, and you go in and have sex with him. That way we will preserve our family line through our father.” 35So that night they got him drunk with wine again, and the younger daughter went in and had intercourse with him. As before, he was unaware of her lying down or getting up again.

36As a result, both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their own father. 37When the older daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Moab.#19:37 Moab sounds like a Hebrew term that means “from father.” He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Moabites. 38When the younger daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Ben-ammi.#19:38 Ben-ammi means “son of my kinsman.” He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Ammonites.

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Genesis 19

The Doom of Sodom

1Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting at the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he stood up to meet them and #19:1 Lit bowed himselfbowed down with his face to the ground. 2And he said, “Now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your servant’s house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.” They said, “No, but we shall spend the night in the public square.” 3Yet he strongly urged them, so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he prepared a feast for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. 4Before they lay down, the men of the city—the men of Sodom—surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people #19:4 Or without exception; lit from every endfrom every quarter; 5and they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may #19:5 Lit know them; i.e., have intercoursehave relations with them.” 6But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him, 7and said, “Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly. 8Now look, I have two daughters who have not #19:8 Lit known manhad relations with any man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them #19:8 Lit as is good in your sightwhatever you like; only do not do anything to these men, because they have come under the #19:8 Lit shadowshelter of my roof.” 9But they said, “Get out of the way!” They also said, “This one came in #19:9 Lit to sojournas a foreigner, and already he is acting like a judge; now we will treat you worse than them!” So they pressed hard against #19:9 Lit the man, against LotLot and moved forward to break the door. 10But the men reached out their #19:10 Lit handhands and brought Lot into the house #19:10 Lit towith them, and shut the door. 11Then they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, from the small to the great, so that they became weary of trying to find the doorway.

12Then the two men said to Lot, “Whom else do you have here? A son-in-law and your sons and daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of the place; 13for we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the Lord that the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” 14So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who #19:14 Or had married; lit were takingwere to marry his daughters, and said, “Up, get out of this place, for the Lord is destroying the city.” But he appeared to his sons-in-law #19:14 Lit like one who was jokingto be joking.

15When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the #19:15 Or wrongdoingpunishment of the city.” 16But he hesitated. So the men grasped his hand and the hand of his wife and the #19:16 Lit handhands of his two daughters, because the compassion of the Lord was upon him; and they brought him out and put him outside the city. 17When they had brought them outside, #19:17 Lit heone said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay #19:17 Lit in all the circleanywhere in the surrounding area; escape to the #19:17 Lit mountainmountains, or you will be swept away.” 18But Lot said to them, “Oh no, my lords! 19Now behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your compassion, which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the #19:19 Lit mountainmountains, for the disaster will overtake me and I will die; 20now behold, this town is near enough to flee to, and it is small. Please, let me escape there (is it not small?) #19:20 Lit and my soul will liveso that my life may be saved.” 21And he said to him, “Behold, I grant you this #19:21 Lit thingrequest also, not to overthrow the town of which you have spoken. 22Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Therefore the town was named #19:22 I.e., smallZoar.

23The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord out of heaven, 25and He overthrew those cities, and all the surrounding area, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26But #19:26 Lit hisLot’s wife, from behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

27Now Abraham got up early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before the Lord; 28and he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the surrounding area; and #19:28 Lit he saw, and beholdbehold, he saw the smoke of the land ascended like the smoke of a #19:28 Lit kilnfurnace.

29So it came about, when God destroyed the cities of the surrounding area, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the destruction, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.

Lot and His Daughters

30Now Lot went up from Zoar with his two daughters and stayed in the #19:30 Lit mountainmountains, because he was afraid to stay in Zoar; and he stayed in a cave, he and his two daughters. 31Then the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man #19:31 Or in the landon earth to #19:31 Lit come in tohave relations with us according to the custom of all the earth. 32Come, let’s make our father drink wine, and let’s sleep with him so that we may keep #19:32 Lit seed from our fatherour family alive through our father.” 33So they made their father drink wine that night, and the firstborn went in and slept with her father; and he did not know when she lay down or got up. 34On the following day, the firstborn said to the younger, “Look, I slept last night with my father; let’s make him drink wine tonight too, then you go in and sleep with him, so that we may keep #19:34 Lit seed from our fatherour family alive through our father.” 35So they had their father drink wine that night too, and the younger got up and slept with him; and he did not know when she lay down or got up. 36And so both of the daughters of Lot conceived by their father. 37The firstborn gave birth to a son, and named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. 38As for the younger, she also gave birth to a son, and named him Ben-ammi; he is the father of #19:38 Heb Beney-Ammonthe sons of Ammon to this day.

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