Font Size
Genesis 18:20-21
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Genesis 18:20-21
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
20 (A)So the Lord said: The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin so grave,[a] 21 that I must go down to see whether or not their actions are as bad as the cry against them that comes to me. I mean to find out.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 18:20 The immorality of the cities was already hinted at in 13:13, when Lot made his choice to live there. The “outcry” comes from the victims of the injustice and violence rampant in the city, which will shortly be illustrated in the treatment of the visitors. The outcry of the Hebrews under the harsh treatment of Pharaoh (Ex 3:7) came up to God who reacts in anger at mistreatment of the poor (cf. Ex 22:21–23; Is 5:7). Sodom and Gomorrah became types of sinful cities in biblical literature. Is 1:9–10; 3:9 sees their sin as lack of social justice, Ez 16:46–51, as disregard for the poor, and Jer 23:14, as general immorality. In the Genesis story, the sin is violation of the sacred duty of hospitality by the threatened rape of Lot’s guests.
Genesis 18:20-21
New International Version
Genesis 18:20-21
New International Version
20 Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom(A) and Gomorrah is so great(B) and their sin so grievous(C) 21 that I will go down(D) and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”
Genesis 19:1-29
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Genesis 19:1-29
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 19
Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.[a] 1 The two angels reached Sodom in the evening, as Lot was sitting at the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he got up to greet them; and bowing down with his face to the ground, 2 he said, “Please, my lords,[b] come aside into your servant’s house for the night, and bathe your feet; you can get up early to continue your journey.” But they replied, “No, we will pass the night in the town square.”(A) 3 He urged them so strongly, however, that they turned aside to his place and entered his house. He prepared a banquet for them, baking unleavened bread, and they dined.
4 (B)Before they went to bed, the townsmen of Sodom, both young and old—all the people to the last man—surrounded the house. 5 They called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to your house tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have sexual relations with them.” 6 Lot went out to meet them at the entrance. When he had shut the door behind him, 7 he said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not do this wicked thing! 8 I have two daughters who have never had sexual relations with men. Let me bring them out to you,[c] and you may do to them as you please. But do not do anything to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.” 9 They replied, “Stand back! This man,” they said, “came here as a resident alien, and now he dares to give orders! We will treat you worse than them!” With that, they pressed hard against Lot, moving in closer to break down the door.(C) 10 But his guests put out their hands, pulled Lot inside with them, and closed the door; 11 they struck the men at the entrance of the house, small and great, with such a blinding light[d] that they were utterly unable to find the doorway.
12 Then the guests said to Lot: “Who else belongs to you here? Sons-in-law, your sons, your daughters, all who belong to you in the city—take them away from this place!(D) 13 We are about to destroy this place, for the outcry reaching the Lord against those here is so great that the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”(E) 14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had contracted marriage with his daughters.[e] “Come on, leave this place,” he told them; “the Lord is about to destroy the city.” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.
15 As dawn was breaking, the angels urged Lot on, saying, “Come on! Take your wife with you and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 When he hesitated, the men, because of the Lord’s compassion for him, seized his hand and the hands of his wife and his two daughters and led them to safety outside the city. 17 As soon as they had brought them outside, they said: “Flee for your life! Do not look back or stop anywhere on the Plain. Flee to the hills at once, or you will be swept away.”(F) 18 “Oh, no, my lords!” Lot replied to them. 19 “You have already shown favor to your servant, doing me the great kindness of saving my life. But I cannot flee to the hills, or the disaster will overtake and kill me. 20 Look, this town ahead is near enough to escape to. It is only a small place.[f] Let me flee there—is it not a small place?—to save my life.” 21 “Well, then,” he replied, “I grant you this favor too. I will not overthrow the town you have mentioned. 22 Hurry, escape there! I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” That is why the town is called Zoar.(G)
23 The sun had risen over the earth when Lot arrived in Zoar, 24 and the Lord rained down sulfur upon Sodom and Gomorrah, fire from the Lord out of heaven.(H) 25 He overthrew[g] those cities and the whole Plain, together with the inhabitants of the cities and the produce of the soil.(I) 26 But Lot’s wife looked back, and she was turned into a pillar of salt.(J)
27 The next morning Abraham hurried to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 28 As he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and the whole region of the Plain,[h] he saw smoke over the land rising like the smoke from a kiln.(K)
29 When God destroyed the cities of the Plain, he remembered Abraham and sent Lot away from the upheaval that occurred when God overthrew the cities where Lot had been living.
Moabites and Ammonites.[i]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 19:1–29 The story takes place in one day (counting a day from the previous evening): evening (v. 1), dawn (v. 15), and sunrise (v. 23). The passage resembles Jgs 19:15–25, which suggests dependence of one story on the other.
- 19:2 My lords: Lot does not yet know that the men are God’s messengers; cf. 18:3.
- 19:8 Let me bring them out to you: the authority of a patriarch within his house was virtually absolute. Lot’s extreme response of offering his daughters to a violent mob seems to be motivated by the obligation of hospitality.
- 19:11 Blinding light: an extraordinary flash that temporarily dazed the wicked men and revealed to Lot the true nature of his guests.
- 19:14 It is uncertain whether Lot’s sons-in-law were fully married to his daughters or only “engaged” to them (Israelite “engagement” was the first part of the marriage ceremony), or even whether the daughters involved were the same as, or different from, the two daughters who were still in their father’s house.
- 19:20 A small place: the Hebrew word misar, lit., “a little thing,” has the same root consonants as the name of the town Zoar in v. 22.
- 19:25 Overthrew: this term, lit., “turned upside down,” is used consistently to describe the destruction of the cities of the Plain. The imagery of earthquake and subsequent fire fits the geology of this region.
- 19:28–29 In a deft narrative detail, Abraham looks down from the height east of Hebron, from which he could easily see the region at the southern end of the Dead Sea, where the cities of the Plain were probably located.
- 19:30–38 This Israelite tale about the origin of Israel’s neighbors east of the Jordan and the Dead Sea was told partly to ridicule these ethnically related but rival nations and partly to give popular etymologies for their names. The stylized nature of the story is seen in the names of the daughters (“the firstborn” and “the younger”), the ease with which they fool their father, and the identical descriptions of the encounters.
Genesis 19:1-29
New International Version
Genesis 19:1-29
New International Version
Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed
19 The two angels(A) arrived at Sodom(B) in the evening, and Lot(C) was sitting in the gateway of the city.(D) When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.(E) 2 “My lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet(F) 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.”(G)
3 But he insisted(H) so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house.(I) He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast,(J) and they ate.(K) 4 Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom(L)—both young and old—surrounded the house. 5 They 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.”(M)
6 Lot went outside to meet them(N) and shut the door behind him 7 and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. 8 Look, 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.”(O)
9 “Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner,(P) and now he wants to play the judge!(Q) We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.
10 But the men(R) inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. 11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness(S) so that they could not find the door.
12 The 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?(T) Get them out of here, 13 because we(U) are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great(V) that he has sent us to destroy it.”(W)
14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry[a] his daughters. He said, “Hurry and get out of this place, because the Lord is about to destroy the city!(X)” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.(Y)
15 With 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(Z) when the city is punished.(AA)”
16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters(AB) and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them.(AC) 17 As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives!(AD) Don’t look back,(AE) and don’t stop anywhere in the plain!(AF) Flee to the mountains(AG) or you will be swept away!”
18 But Lot said to them, “No, my lords,[b] please! 19 Your[c] servant has found favor in your[d] eyes,(AH) and you[e] have shown great kindness(AI) to me in sparing my life. But I can’t flee to the mountains;(AJ) this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. 20 Look, 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.”
21 He said to him, “Very well, I will grant this request(AK) too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. 22 But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it.” (That is why the town was called Zoar.[f](AL))
23 By the time Lot reached Zoar,(AM) the sun had risen over the land. 24 Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur(AN) on Sodom and Gomorrah(AO)—from the Lord out of the heavens.(AP) 25 Thus he overthrew those cities(AQ) and the entire plain,(AR) destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land.(AS) 26 But Lot’s wife looked back,(AT) and she became a pillar of salt.(AU)
27 Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord.(AV) 28 He 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.(AW)
29 So when God destroyed the cities of the plain,(AX) he remembered(AY) Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe(AZ) that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.(BA)
Footnotes
- Genesis 19:14 Or were married to
- Genesis 19:18 Or No, Lord; or No, my lord
- Genesis 19:19 The Hebrew is singular.
- Genesis 19:19 The Hebrew is singular.
- Genesis 19:19 The Hebrew is singular.
- Genesis 19:22 Zoar means small.
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.