Genesis 19

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

1The two angels entered Sodom#Gn 18:2,22 in the evening as Lot was sitting in Sodom’s gateway. When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them. He bowed with his face to the ground 2and said, “My lords, turn aside to your servant’s house, wash your feet, and spend the night. Then you can get up early and go on your way.”

“No,” they said. “We would rather spend the night in the square.” 3But he urged them so strongly that they followed him and went into his house. He prepared a feast and baked unleavened bread for them, and they ate.

4Before they went to bed, the men of the city of Sodom, both young and old, the whole population, surrounded the house. 5They called out to Lot and said, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Send them out to us so we can have sex with them!” #Lv 18:22; Jdg 19:22

6Lot went out to them at the entrance and shut the door behind him. 7He said, “Don’t do this evil, my brothers. 8Look, I’ve got two daughters who haven’t been intimate with a man.#Jdg 19:24 I’ll bring them out to you, and you can do whatever you want#19:8 Lit do what is good in your eyes to them. However, don’t do anything to these men, because they have come under the protection of my roof.”

9“Get out of the way!” they said, adding, “This one came here as an alien, but he’s acting like a judge!#Ex 2:14 Now we’ll do more harm to you than to them.” They put pressure on Lot and came up to break down the door. 10But the angels#19:10 Lit men, also in v. 12 reached out, brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. 11They struck the men who were at the entrance of the house, both young and old, with blindness#19:11 Or a blinding light so that they were unable to find the entrance.#Dt 28:28–29; 2Kg 6:18; Ac 13:11

12Then the angels said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here: a son-in-law, your sons and daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of this place, 13for we are about to destroy this place because the outcry against its people is so great before the Lord, that the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”#Gn 18:20–21; Ex 3:7; 22:23; 1Sm 9:16; Jb 27:9

14So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were going to marry his daughters. “Get up,” he said. “Get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city!” #Nm 16:21,26,45; Jr 51:6; Rv 18:4 But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.

15At daybreak the angels urged Lot on: “Get up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment#19:15 Or iniquity, or guilt of the city.” 16But he hesitated. Because of the Lord’s compassion for him, the men grabbed his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters. They brought him out and left him outside the city.

17As soon as the angels got them outside, one of them#19:17 LXX, Syr, Vg read outside, they said, “Run for your lives! Don’t look back and don’t stop anywhere on the plain! Run to the mountains, or you will be swept away!”

18But Lot said to them, “No, my lords#19:18 Or my Lord, or my lord — please. 19Your servant has indeed found favor with you, and you have shown me great kindness by saving my life. But I can’t run to the mountains; the disaster will overtake me, and I will die. 20Look, this town is close enough for me to flee to. It is a small place. Please let me run to it — it’s only a small place, isn’t it? — so that I can survive.”

21And he said to him, “All right,#19:21 Or “Look! I’ll grant your request#19:21 Lit I will lift up your face about this matter too and will not demolish the town you mentioned. 22Hurry up! Run to it, for I cannot do anything until you get there.” Therefore the name of the city is Zoar.#19:22 In Hb, the name Zoar is related to “small” in v. 20; its previous name was “Bela”; Gn 14:2.#Gn 14:2

23The sun had risen over the land when Lot reached Zoar. 24Then out of the sky the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah burning sulfur from the Lord.#Dt 29:23; Ps 11:6; Is 13:19; Jr 20:16; Ezk 16:49–50; Lk 17:28–29; 2Pt 2:6–8; Jd 7 25He demolished these cities, the entire plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and whatever grew on the ground. 26But Lot’s wife looked back and became a pillar of salt.#Lk 17:32

27Early in the morning Abraham went to the place where he had stood before the Lord.#Gn 18:22 28He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of the plain, and he saw that smoke was going up from the land like the smoke of a furnace. 29So it was, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham and brought Lot out of the middle of the upheaval when he demolished the cities where Lot had lived.

The Origin of Moab and Ammon

30Lot departed from Zoar and lived in the mountains along with his two daughters, because he was afraid to live in Zoar. Instead, he and his two daughters lived in a cave. 31Then the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man in the land to sleep with us as is the custom of all the land. 32Come, let’s get our father to drink wine so that we can sleep with him and preserve our father’s line.” 33So they got their father to drink wine that night, and the firstborn came and slept with her father; he did not know when she lay down or when she got up.

34The next day the firstborn said to the younger, “Look, I slept with my father last night. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight so you can go sleep with him and we can preserve our father’s line.” 35That night they again got their father to drink wine, and the younger went and slept with him; he did not know when she lay down or when she got up.

36So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 37The firstborn gave birth to a son and named him Moab.#19:37 = From My Father He is the father of the Moabites of today.#Dt 2:9 38The younger also gave birth to a son, and she named him Ben-ammi.#19:38 = Son of My People He is the father of the Ammonites of today.#Dt 2:19

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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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