Genesis 19
19
Lot leaves Sodom
1The two messengers entered Sodom in the evening. Lot, who was sitting at the gate of Sodom, saw them, got up to greet them, and bowed low. 2He said, “Come to your servant’s house, spend the night, and wash your feet. Then you can get up early and go on your way.”
But they said, “No, we will spend the night in the town square.” 3He pleaded earnestly with them, so they went with him and entered his house. He made a big meal for them, even baking unleavened bread, and they ate.
4Before they went to bed, the men of the city of Sodom—everyone from the youngest to the oldest—surrounded the house 5and called to Lot, “Where are the men who arrived tonight? Bring them out to us so that we may have sex with them.”
6Lot went out toward the entrance, closed the door behind him, 7and said, “My brothers, don’t do such an evil thing. 8I’ve got two daughters who are virgins. Let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them whatever you wish. But don’t do anything to these men because they are now under the protection of my roof.”
9They said, “Get out of the way!” And they continued, “Does this immigrant want to judge us? Now we will hurt you more than we will hurt them.” They pushed Lot back and came close to breaking down the door. 10The men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house with them and slammed the door. 11Then the messengers blinded the men near the entrance of the house, from the youngest to the oldest, so that they groped around trying to find the entrance.
12The men said to Lot, “Who’s still with you here? Take away from this place your sons-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and everyone else you have in the city 13because we are about to destroy this place. The LORD has found the cries of injustice so serious that the LORD sent us to destroy it.”
14Lot went to speak to his sons-in-law, married to his daughters, and said, “Get up and get out of this place because the LORD is about to destroy the city.” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.
15When dawn broke, the messengers urged Lot, “Get up and take your wife and your two daughters who are here so that you are not swept away because of the evil in this city.” 16He hesitated, but because the LORD intended to save him, the men grabbed him, his wife, and two daughters by the hand, took him out, and left him outside the city.
17After getting them out, the men said, “Save your lives! Don’t look back! And don’t stay in the valley. Escape to the mountains so that you are not swept away.”
18But Lot said to them, “No, my lords, please. 19You’ve done me a favor and have been so kind to save my life. But I can’t escape to the mountains since the catastrophe might overtake me there and I’d die. 20This city here is close enough to flee to, and it’s small. It’s small, right? Let me escape there, and my life will be saved.”
21He said to Lot, “I’ll do this for you as well; I won’t overthrow the city that you have described. 22Hurry! Escape to it! I can’t do anything until you get there.” That is why the name of the city is Zoar.#19.22 Or small
Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed
23As the sun rose over the earth, Lot arrived in Zoar; 24and the LORD rained down burning asphalt from the skies onto Sodom and Gomorrah. 25The LORD destroyed these cities, the entire valley, everyone who lived in the cities, and all of the fertile land’s vegetation. 26When Lot’s wife looked back, she turned into a pillar of salt.
27Abraham set out early for the place where he had stood with the LORD, 28and looked out over Sodom and Gomorrah and over all the land of the valley. He saw the smoke from the land rise like the smoke from a kiln.
Origin of Moab and Ammon
29When God destroyed the cities in the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot away from the disaster that overtook the cities in which Lot had lived. 30Since Lot had become fearful of living in Zoar, he and his two daughters headed up from Zoar and settled in the mountains where he and his two daughters lived in a cave. 31The older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there are no men in the land to sleep with us as is the custom everywhere. 32Come on, let’s give our father wine to drink, lie down with him, and we’ll have children from our father.” 33That night they served their father wine, and the older daughter went in and lay down with her father, without him noticing when she lay down or got up. 34The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Since I lay down with our father last night, let’s serve him wine tonight too, and you go in and lie down with him so that we will both have children from our father.” 35They served their father wine that night also, and the younger daughter lay down with him, without him knowing when she lay down or got up. 36Both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 37The older daughter gave birth to a son and named him Moab. He is the ancestor of today’s Moabites. 38The younger daughter also gave birth to a son and named him Ben-ammi.#19.38 Or son of my people He is the ancestor of today’s Ammonites.
2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
Genesis 19
19
Lot’s Visitors
1The two angels came to Sodom in the evening. Lot was sitting near the city gate and saw them. He got up and went to them and bowed facedown on the ground. 2Lot said, “Sirs, please come to my house and spend the night. There you can wash your feet. Then tomorrow you may continue your journey.”
The angels answered, “No, we will spend the night in the city’s public square.”
3But Lot begged them to come to his house. So they agreed and went to his house. Then Lot prepared a meal for them. He baked bread without yeast, and they ate it.
4Before bedtime, all the men of the city surrounded Lot’s house. These men were both young and old and came from every part of Sodom. 5They called to Lot, “Where are the two men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us. We want to force them to have physical relations with us.”
6Lot went outside to them, closing the door behind him. 7He said, “No, my brothers! Do not do this evil thing. 8Look! I have two daughters. They have never slept with a man. I will give them to you. You may do anything you want with them. But please don’t do anything to these men. They have come to my house, and I must protect them.”
9The men around the house answered, “Move out of the way!” Then they said to each other, “This man Lot came to our city as a stranger. Now he wants to tell us what to do!” They said to Lot, “We will do worse things to you than to them.” So they started pushing Lot back. They were ready to break down the door.
10But the two men staying with Lot opened the door and pulled him back inside the house. Then they closed the door. 11The two men struck the men outside the door with blindness. So these men, both young and old, could not find the door.
12The two men said to Lot, “Do you have any other relatives in this city? Do you have any sons-in-law, sons, daughters or any other relatives? If you do, tell them to leave now. 13We are about to destroy this city. The Lord has heard of all the evil that is here. So he has sent us to destroy it.”
14So Lot went out and spoke to his future sons-in-law. They were pledged to marry his daughters. Lot said, “Hurry and leave this city! The Lord is about to destroy it!” But they thought Lot was joking.
15At dawn the next morning, the angels begged Lot to hurry. They said, “Go! Take your wife and your two daughters with you. Then you will not be destroyed when the city is punished.”
16But Lot delayed. So the two men took the hands of Lot, his wife and his two daughters. The men led them safely out of the city. So the Lord was merciful to Lot and his family. 17The two men brought Lot and his family out of the city. Then one of the men said, “Run for your lives! Don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Run to the mountains or you will be destroyed.”
18But Lot said to one of them, “Sir, please don’t force me to go so far! 19You have been merciful and kind to me. You have saved my life. But I can’t run to the mountains. The disaster will catch me, and I will die. 20Look, that little town over there is not too far away. Let me run there. It’s really just a little town. I’ll be safe there.”
21The angel said to Lot, “Very well, I will allow you to do this also. I will not destroy that town. 22But run there fast. I cannot destroy Sodom until you are safely in that town.” (That town is named Zoar,# This name sounds like the Hebrew word for “little.” because it is little.)
Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed
23The sun had already come up when Lot entered Zoar. 24The Lord sent a rain of burning sulfur down from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah. 25So the Lord destroyed those cities. He also destroyed the whole Jordan Valley, everyone living in the cities and even all the plants.
26At that point Lot’s wife looked back. When she did, she became a pillar of salt.
27Early the next morning, Abraham got up and went to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 28Abraham looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the Jordan Valley. He saw smoke rising from the land. It was like smoke from a furnace.
29God destroyed the cities in the valley. But he remembered what Abraham had asked. So God saved Lot’s life. But he destroyed the city where Lot had lived.
Lot and His Daughters
30Lot was afraid to continue living in Zoar. So he and his two daughters went to live in the mountains. They lived in a cave there. 31One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old. Everywhere on the earth women and men marry. But there are no men around here for us to marry. 32Let’s get our father drunk. Then we can have physical relations with him. We can use our father to have children. That way we can continue our family.”
33That night the two girls got their father drunk. Then the older daughter went and had physical relations with him. But Lot did not know when she lay down or when she got up.
34The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I had physical relations with my father. Let’s get him drunk again tonight. Then you can go and have physical relations with him, too. In this way we can use our father to have children to continue our family.” 35So that night they got their father drunk again. Then the younger daughter went and had physical relations with him. Again, Lot did not know when she lay down or when she got up.
36So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 37The older daughter gave birth to a son. She named him Moab. Moab is the ancestor of all the Moabite people who are still living today. 38The younger daughter also gave birth to a son. She named him Ben-Ammi. He is the father of all the Ammonite people who are still living today.
Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.