Genesis 19

The Doom of Sodom

1 Now 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. 2 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." 3 Yet 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. 4 Before 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; 5 and 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." 6 But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him, 7 and said, "Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly. 8 Now 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." 9 But 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. 10 But the men reached out their *19:10 Lit handhands and brought Lot into the house *19:10 Lit towith them, and shut the door. 11 Then 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 their outcry has become so great before the Lord that the Lord has sent us to destroy it." 14 So 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.

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 *19:15 Or wrongdoingpunishment of the city." 16 But 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 Lordwas upon him; and they brought him out and put him outside the city. 17 When 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." 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 *19:19 Lit mountainmountains, 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?) *19:20 Lit and my soul will liveso that my life may be saved." 21 And he said to him, "Behold, I grant you this *19:21 Lit thingrequest 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 *19:22 I.e., smallZoar.

23 The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24 Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord out of heaven, 25 and He overthrew those cities, and all the surrounding area, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 But *19:26 Lit hisLot’s wife, from behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

27 Now Abraham got up early in the morning and went to 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 *19:28 Lit he saw, and beholdbehold, he saw the smoke of the land ascended like the smoke of a *19:28 Lit kilnfurnace.

29 So 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

30 Now 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. 31 Then 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. 32 Come, 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." 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 *19:34 Lit seed from our fatherour 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 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 *19:38 Heb Beney-Ammonthe sons of Ammon to this day.