The Doom of Sodom

19 Now the (A)two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting at the gate of Sodom. When (B)Lot saw them, he stood up to meet them and [a]bowed down with his face to the ground. And 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.” Yet he strongly urged them, so they turned aside to him and entered his house; (C)and he prepared a feast for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. Before they lay down, (D)the men of the city—the men of Sodom—surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people [b]from every quarter; and they called to Lot and said to him, “(E)Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may [c]have relations with them.” But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him, and said, “Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly. Now look, (F)I have two daughters who have not [d]had relations with any man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them [e]whatever you like; only do not do anything to these men, because they have come under the [f]shelter of my roof.” But they said, “Get out of the way!” They also said, “This one came in [g]as a foreigner, and already (G)he is acting like a judge; now we will treat you worse than them!” So they pressed hard against [h]Lot and moved forward to break the door. 10 But (H)the men reached out their [i]hands and brought Lot into the house [j]with them, and shut the door. 11 Then (I)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.

12 Then 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; 13 for we are about to destroy this place, because (J)their outcry has become so great before the Lord that (K)the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” 14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who [k]were to marry his daughters, and said, “Up, (L)get out of this place, for the Lord is destroying the city.” (M)But he appeared to his sons-in-law [l]to be joking.

15 When 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 [m]punishment of the city.” 16 But he hesitated. So the men (N)grasped his hand and the hand of his wife and the [n]hands of his two daughters, because (O)the compassion of the Lord was upon him; and they brought him out and put him outside the city. 17 When they had brought them outside, [o]one said, “(P)Escape for your life! (Q)Do not look behind you, and do not stay [p]anywhere in the (R)surrounding area; escape to (S)the [q]mountains, or you will be swept away.” 18 But Lot said to them, “Oh no, my lords! 19 Now 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 [r]mountains, for the disaster will overtake me and I will die; 20 now behold, this town is near enough to flee to, and it is small. Please, let me escape there (is it not small?) [s]so that my life may be saved.” 21 And he said to him, “Behold, I grant you this [t]request also, not to overthrow the town of which you have spoken. 22 Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Therefore the town was named [u](T)Zoar.

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

27 Now Abraham got up early in the morning and went to (X)the place where he had stood before the Lord; 28 and he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the surrounding area; and [w]behold, he saw (Y)the smoke of the land ascended like the smoke of a [x]furnace.

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

Lot and His Daughters

30 Now Lot went up from Zoar with his two daughters and (AB)stayed in the [y]mountains, because he was afraid to stay in Zoar; and he stayed in a cave, he and his two daughters. 31 Then the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man [z]on earth to [aa](AC)have relations with us according to the custom of all the earth. 32 Come, (AD)let’s make our father drink wine, and let’s sleep with him so that we may keep [ab]our family alive through our father.” 33 So 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. 34 On 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 [ac]our family alive through our father.” 35 So 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. 36 And so both of the daughters of Lot conceived by their father. 37 The firstborn gave birth to a son, and named him (AE)Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. 38 As for the younger, she also gave birth to a son, and named him Ben-ammi; he is the father of [ad]the sons of (AF)Ammon to this day.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 19:1 Lit bowed himself
  2. Genesis 19:4 Or without exception; lit from every end
  3. Genesis 19:5 Lit know them; i.e., have intercourse
  4. Genesis 19:8 Lit known man
  5. Genesis 19:8 Lit as is good in your sight
  6. Genesis 19:8 Lit shadow
  7. Genesis 19:9 Lit to sojourn
  8. Genesis 19:9 Lit the man, against Lot
  9. Genesis 19:10 Lit hand
  10. Genesis 19:10 Lit to
  11. Genesis 19:14 Or had married; lit were taking
  12. Genesis 19:14 Lit like one who was joking
  13. Genesis 19:15 Or wrongdoing
  14. Genesis 19:16 Lit hand
  15. Genesis 19:17 Lit he
  16. Genesis 19:17 Lit in all the circle
  17. Genesis 19:17 Lit mountain
  18. Genesis 19:19 Lit mountain
  19. Genesis 19:20 Lit and my soul will live
  20. Genesis 19:21 Lit thing
  21. Genesis 19:22 I.e., small
  22. Genesis 19:26 Lit his
  23. Genesis 19:28 Lit he saw, and behold
  24. Genesis 19:28 Lit kiln
  25. Genesis 19:30 Lit mountain
  26. Genesis 19:31 Or in the land
  27. Genesis 19:31 Lit come in to
  28. Genesis 19:32 Lit seed from our father
  29. Genesis 19:34 Lit seed from our father
  30. Genesis 19:38 Heb Beney-Ammon

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) “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)

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) 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. 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)

Lot went outside to meet them(N) and shut the door behind him and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. 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)

“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)

Lot and His Daughters

30 Lot and his two daughters left Zoar(BB) and settled in the mountains,(BC) for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. 31 One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth. 32 Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line(BD) through our father.”(BE)

33 That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.(BF)

34 The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.”(BG) 35 So they got their father to drink wine(BH) that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.(BI)

36 So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father.(BJ) 37 The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab[g];(BK) he is the father of the Moabites(BL) of today. 38 The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi[h]; he is the father of the Ammonites[i](BM) of today.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 19:14 Or were married to
  2. Genesis 19:18 Or No, Lord; or No, my lord
  3. Genesis 19:19 The Hebrew is singular.
  4. Genesis 19:19 The Hebrew is singular.
  5. Genesis 19:19 The Hebrew is singular.
  6. Genesis 19:22 Zoar means small.
  7. Genesis 19:37 Moab sounds like the Hebrew for from father.
  8. Genesis 19:38 Ben-Ammi means son of my father’s people.
  9. Genesis 19:38 Hebrew Bene-Ammon