Genesis 19

The men in Sodom were really bad

1Later that day, while the sun was going down, those other 2 men walked into the town called Sodom. They were God’s 2 angel messengers.

Abraham’s nephew, the man that was called Lot, he was sitting near the town gate, and he saw those men come into the town. So he got up to meet them, and he got down on his knees and put his face near the ground, to show them respect. 2He said, “Sirs, come and stay in my house. You can wash your feet and sleep here tonight, then you can go on your way tomorrow morning.”

The men said, “No, it’s all right. We will sleep outside in the park.”

3But Lot kept on asking them strongly to stay with him, so they agreed, and they went with him to his house. Then Lot cooked some flat damper and other food for them, and the men ate it.

4Before they went to bed, all the men that lived in Sodom, both the young men and the old men, they came and stood around Lot’s house, 5and they all yelled out to Lot. They said, “Where are the 2 men that came to your house today? Bring them out here so that we can sleep with them like a man sleeps with his wife.”

6Lot went out to talk to them and shut the door behind him. 7He said, “My friends, please don’t do that really bad thing. 8Look, I’ve got 2 daughters. They have never been married. They have never slept with any man. Let me bring them out here for you, and you can do whatever you want to do with them. But please don’t do anything bad to these men. They are staying in my house, so I have to keep them safe.”#Judges 19:22-24

9But the men of Sodom said to each other, “This man came from another town to live here, and he wants to tell us what to do. He can’t do that.” And they said to Lot, “Get out of our way, or we will do even worse things to you than we will do to those men.” And they pushed hard against Lot so they could get to the door, to break it down and grab the men that were inside.

10But those 2 men were really God’s angel messengers, and they quickly opened the door and pulled Lot inside with them, then they quickly shut the door. 11Then they used their power to make all the men outside the house go blind, the young men as well as the old men, so that they couldn’t find the door to get in.#2 Kings 6:18

The angels told Lot to leave Sodom

12-13Then the 2 men said to Lot, “God heard about all the bad things that the people in this town do, so he sent us to finish it up. You and your family have to get out of this town real soon. Maybe you have sons, or more daughters, or sons-in-law, or other family here. You all have to leave this town before we finish it up.”

14So Lot went and found the men that his 2 daughters were promised to. He said to them, “God is going to finish up this town, so we have to get out now. Come on, let’s go.” But those 2 men thought that Lot was joking, so they didn’t go with him.

15Very early the next morning, the 2 angels tried to get Lot to leave Sodom quickly. They said, “Hurry up Lot. Get your wife, and your 2 daughters, and get out of this town. If you don’t get out quick, you will die, like everyone else.” 16But Lot didn’t hurry, so the angels grabbed Lot’s hand, and his wife, and his 2 daughters, and they quickly pulled them out of the town. You see, God was good to Lot and wanted to save him and his family.#2 Peter 2:7

17As soon as the angels took Lot and his family out of the town, one of the angels told them, “Run away quickly to save your life. Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the flat country, but keep going until you get to the hill country. If you don’t do that, you will die, like all the people in Sodom are going to die.”

18But Lot said to them, “Please sirs, no. 19That’s too far. You have been very good to me and saved my life, but I can’t run fast enough to get to the hill country in time. If I try to do that, the trouble will come before I get there, and I will die too. 20Look, there is a town over there. It’s not too far for me. And it is only a little town, with only a few people. Let us go there, and then don’t finish up that little town. Then we will be safe.”

21The angel said, “All right, I will do that for you. I will let you go to that little town, and I will not finish it up. You will be safe there. 22But go quickly, because I have to wait until you get there before I finish up Sodom.”

Later, that little town was called Zoar. That name means little.

God burned up Sodom and Gomorrah

23Just after the sun came up, Lot got to Zoar. 24Then God sent fire down from the sky on to Sodom and Gomorrah, and he sent down burning rock, called sulphur, with that fire. 25God burned up those towns, and he burned up the flat country around them too. Everybody that lived in those towns died, and all the plants in that country died too.#Matthew 10:15; 11:23-24; Luke 10:12; 17:29; 2 Peter 2:6; Jude 1:7

26But Lot’s wife turned around and looked back at what was happening to Sodom, and straight away her body turned into a block of salt.#Luke 17:32

27Early in the morning, Abraham went to the hill where he talked with God before. 28He looked down at Sodom and Gomorrah and all the flat country around them, and he saw a lot of smoke, like a really big bush fire.

29That’s how God finished up those towns in the flat country, but he remembered everything he said to Abraham, and he saved Abraham’s nephew, Lot. Yes, God took Lot out of Sodom, where Lot lived, before he finished up that town.

Lot’s daughters did a bad thing

30Lot was frightened to stay in Zoar, so him and his daughters, they went and lived up in the hill country, in a big hole in the rock, called a cave.

31One day the oldest daughter said to her sister, “Our father is old, and we haven’t got any kids, and there are no men around here for us to marry. 32So let’s get our father drunk, and then we can pretend to be his wives, and sleep with him. Then we can have babies, so that we will always have a family.”

33So that night, they got their father drunk, and the oldest daughter pretended to be his wife, and she slept with him. Lot was so drunk that he didn’t know what was happening.

34The next day, the oldest daughter said to her sister, “Last night I slept with our father like I was his wife. Let’s get him drunk again tonight, then you go and pretend to be his wife. Then we will both have babies, and we will always have a family.”

35So that night, they got their father drunk again, and the youngest daughter pretended to be his wife, and she slept with him. And again, Lot was so drunk that he didn’t know what was happening.

36So both of Lot’s daughters had babies, and Lot was the father of those babies. 37Lot’s oldest daughter had a son, and she called him Moab. That name means from our father. His mob are called the Moab tribe, and they are still living today. 38Lot’s youngest daughter also had a son, and she called him Ben-Ammi. That name means son of my relative. Ben-Ammi’s mob are called the Ammon tribe, and they are still living today.

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Genesis 19

CHAPTER 19

1And twain angels came to Sodom in the eventide, while Lot sat in the gates of the city. And when he had seen them, he rose, and went to meet them, and worshipped or honoured low to the earth,

2and said, My lords, I beseech, bow ye [down] into the house of your servant, and dwell ye there; wash ye your feet, and in the morrowtide ye shall go into your way. Which said, Nay, but we shall dwell in the street.

3He constrained them greatly, that they should turn in to him. And when they entered into his house, he made a feast, and baked therf bread, and they ate.

4Forsooth before that they went to sleep, men of the city compassed his house, from a child till to an eld [or old] man, all the people together;

5and they called Lot, and said to him, Where be the men that entered to thee tonight? bring them out hither, that we know them, that is, by lechery against kind.

6And Lot went out to them behind the back, and closed the door,

7and said, I beseech, do not ye, my brethren, do not ye do this evil.

8I have two daughters, that knew not yet a man; I shall lead out them to you, and mis-use ye them as it pleaseth you, so that ye do none evil to these men, for they entered under the shadow of my roof.

9And they said, Go thou from hence. And again they said, Thou enteredest [in] hither as a comeling; whether that thou shalt deem us? therefore we shall torment thee more than these. And they did violently to Lot full greatly. Then it was nigh that they would break the doors;

10and lo! the men put forth their hands, and led in Lot to them, and they closed the door.

11And they smote with blindness they that were withoutforth, from the least till to the most; so that they might not find the door.

12Forsooth they said to Lot, Hast thou here any man of thine, husband of thy daughter, or sons, or daughters; if so, lead thou out of this city all men that be thine,

13for we shall do away this place, for the cry of them increased before the Lord, which sent us that we lose them.

14And Lot went out, and spake to the husbands to be of his daughters, that should take his daughters, and said, Rise ye, and go ye out of this place; for the Lord shall do away this city. And he was seen to them to speak as playing.

15And when the morrowtide was, the angels constrained Lot, and said, Rise thou, and take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which thou hast, lest also thou perish altogether in the sin of the city.

16While he dissembled, they took his hand, and the hand of his wife, and of his two daughters; for the Lord spared him. And they led out him, and set [or put] him without the city.

17There they spake to him, and said, Save thou thy life; do not thou behold behind thy back, neither stand thou in all the country about, but make thee safe in the hills; lest also thou perish altogether.

18And Lot said to them, My Lord, I beseech,

19for thy servant hath found grace before thee, and thou hast magnified thy grace and mercy, which thou hast done to me, that thou shouldest save my life; I may not be saved in the hills, lest peradventure evil overtake me, and I die;

20a little city is here beside, to which I may flee, and I shall be safe therein; whether it is not such a little city? and my soul shall live therein.

21And he said to Lot, Lo! also in this I have received thy prayers, that I destroy not the city, for which thou hast spoken;

22haste thee, and be thou saved there, for I may not do anything till thou enter [in] thither. Therefore the name of that city was called Zoar.

23The sun rose on [the] earth, and Lot entered into Zoar.

24Therefore the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire, from the Lord of heaven,

25and destroyed these cities, and all the country about; he destroyed all the dwellers of those cities, and all green things of [the] earth.

26And Lot’s wife looked aback, and she was turned into an image of salt.

27Forsooth Abraham rising early, went to where he stood before with the Lord,

28beheld Sodom and Gomorrah, and all the land of that country; and he saw a dead spark going up from the earth, as the smoke of a furnace.

29For when God destroyed the cities of that country, he had mind of Abraham, and delivered Lot from [the] destroying of the cities in which he dwelled.

30And Lot went up from Zoar, and dwelled in the hills, and his two daughters with him, for he dreaded to dwell in Zoar; and he dwelled in a den, he and his two daughters with him.

31And the more daughter said to the less, Our father is eld [or old], and no man is left on earth that may enter [in] to us, by the custom of all earth;

32come thou, make we him drunken of wine, and sleep we with him, that we may keep the seed of our father.

33And so they gave to their father to drink wine in that night, and the more, or the elder, daughter entered, and slept with her father; and he feeled not, neither when the daughter lay down, neither when she [a] rose.

34And the tother day the more daughter said to the less, or the younger, Lo! I slept yesterday with my father; give we to him to drink wine also in this night; and thou sleep with him, that we save the seed of our father.

35And they gave to their father also in that night to drink wine, and the less daughter entered, and slept with him; and soothly he feeled not then when she lay down, neither when she [a] rose.

36Therefore the two daughters of Lot conceived of their father.

37And the more daughter childed a son, and called his name Moab; he is the father of men of Moab unto this present day.

38And the less daughter childed a son, and called his name Benammi, that is, The son of my people; he is the father of men of Ammon till to [this] day.

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