Genesis 19
1 The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening. Lot happened to be sitting at the entrance to Sodom, and when he saw them he stood up to meet them, and bowed low with his face to the ground.
And the two agents came to Sodom at evening, and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom. And Lot saw them, and rose up to meet them. And he bowed himself with his face to the earth,
2 “Sirs, please come and stay with me for the night,” he said. “You can wash your feet and then be on your way early in the morning.” They replied, “No, it's fine. We'll spend the night here in the square.”
and he said, Behold now, my lords, turn aside, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your way. And they said, No, but we will abide in the street all night.
3 But Lot insisted, and they went with him to his house. He made them a meal and baked bread for them to eat.
And he urged them greatly. And they turned in to him, and entered into his house. And he made a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
4 But they hadn't even gone to bed before the men of Sodom, young and old, from every part of town, came and surrounded the house.
But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, encompassed the house around, both young and old, all the people from every quarter.
5 They shouted out to Lot, “Where are the men who came to stay with you tonight? Bring them out here to us so we can have sex with them.”
And they called to Lot, and said to him, Where are the men who came in to thee this night? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.
6 Lot went out to talk to them in the doorway, closing the door behind him.
And Lot went out to them to the door, and shut the door after him.
7 “My friends, please don't do such an evil thing!
And he said, I pray you, my brothers, do not so wickedly.
8 Listen, I've got two virgin daughters. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do to them whatever you want, but please don't do anything to these men. It's my responsibility to look after them.”
Behold now, I have two daughters who have not known a man. Let me, I pray you, bring them out to you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes. Only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shadow of my roof.
9 “Out of our way!” they shouted. “Who do you think you are, coming to live here and now trying to judge us? We'll do even worse things to you than we were going to do to these men!” They rushed forward at Lot and tried to break down the door.
And they said, Stand back. And they said, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will be a judge. Now we will deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed greatly upon the man, even Lot, and drew near to break the door.
10 But the men inside reached out and grabbed Lot, dragged him inside, and slammed the door shut.
But the men put forth their hand, and brought Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.
11 Then they made all the men in the doorway, young and old, suddenly go blind so they couldn't find the door.
And they smote the men who were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
12 The two men asked Lot, “Is there anyone else here who's part of your family—sons-in-law, or sons or daughters, or anyone else in the town? If there are, make sure they leave,
And the men said to Lot, Have thou here any besides? Son-in-law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whomever thou have in the city, bring them out of the place.
13 because we are about to destroy this place. The complaints that have reached the Lord about its people have become so bad that he has sent us to destroy it.”
For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them has been great before Jehovah. And Jehovah has sent us to destroy it.
14 Lot went immediately to speak to the men who were engaged to marry his daughters. “Get up quickly and leave,” he said, “because the Lord is about to destroy the town!” But they thought it was just a joke.
And Lot went out, and spoke to his sons-in-law, who married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place, for Jehovah will destroy the city. But he seemed to his sons-in-law as a man jesting.
15 At dawn, the angels begged Lot to be quick, telling him, “Hurry up! Leave right now with your wife and your two daughters here, otherwise you'll be wiped out when the city is punished.”
And when the morning arose, then the agents hurried Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters who are here, lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.
16 But Lot hesitated. The men grabbed his hand, and those of his wife and two daughters, and dragged them along, leaving them outside the town. The Lord was kind to them to do this.
But he lingered. And the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters, Jehovah being merciful to him, and they brought him forth, and set him outside the city.
17 As soon as they were outside, one of the men said, “Run for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the valley! Run to the mountains otherwise you'll be destroyed!”
And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life, do not look behind thee, neither stay thou in all the Plain. Escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.
18 “Please sir, not that!” Lot replied.
And Lot said to them, Oh, not so, my lord.
19 “If you don't mind, since you have already been so kind to me by saving my life, don't make me run to the mountains—I just can't make it. The destruction will overtake me and I'll die!
Behold now, thy servant has found favor in thy sight, and thou have magnified thy loving kindness, which thou have shown to me in saving my life, and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest evil overtake me, and I die.
20 Look, there's a town nearby that's close enough to run to, and it's so small. Please let me run there—it's really very small. It would save my life.”
Behold now, this city is near to flee to, and it is a little one. Oh let me escape there (is it not a little one?), and my soul shall live.
21 “Fine—I'll do as you ask,” he replied. “I won't destroy this town you've mentioned.
And he said to him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow the city of which thou have spoken.
22 But hurry up and run there quickly, because I can't do anything until you get there.” (This is why the town was called Zoar.)
Hasten thee, escape there, for I cannot do anything till thou have come there. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
23 The sun had already risen by the time Lot reached Zoar.
The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot came to Zoar.
24 Then the Lord rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah.
Then Jehovah rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of heaven.
25 He completely destroyed the towns and all their inhabitants, the whole valley and everything growing there.
And he overthrew those cities, and all the Plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.
26 But Lot's wife, who was lagging behind, looked back, and she turned into a pillar of salt.
But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
27 Abraham got up early the next morning and went back to where he had stood before the Lord.
And Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he had stood before Jehovah.
28 He looked down at Sodom and Gomorrah and the whole valley floor, and saw the land burning, sending up smoke like from a furnace.
And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the Plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace.
29 When God destroyed the towns of the valley he didn't forget the promise he made Abraham, and he saved Lot from the destruction of the towns where Lot was living.
And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the Plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt.
30 Lot was afraid to stay in Zoar, so he left town and went to live in a cave in the mountains with his two daughters.
And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him, for he feared to dwell in Zoar. And he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.
31 Sometime later the older daughter said to the younger one, “Our father is growing old, and there's no men left to give us children like everyone does.
And the firstborn said to the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man on the earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth.
32 Come on, let's get our father drunk with wine and sleep with him so we can keep his family line going.”
Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed by our father.
33 So they got their father drunk with wine that night. The older daughter went and slept with him, and he didn't notice when she lay down or when she got up.
And they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in, and lay with her father. And he did not know when she lay down, nor when she arose.
34 The next day the older daughter said to the younger one, “Last night I slept with our father. Let's get him drunk with wine again tonight and you can go and sleep with him so we can keep his family line going.”
And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said to the younger, Behold, I lay last night with my father. Let us make him drink wine this night also, and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed by our father.
35 So once again that night they got their father drunk with wine and the younger daughter went and slept with him, and he didn't notice when she lay down or when she got up.
And they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose, and lay with him. And he did not know when she lay down, nor when she arose.
36 This is how both Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father.
Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father.
37 The older daughter had a son, and she called him Moab. He is the ancestor of the Moabites of today.
And the firstborn bore a son, and called his name Moab. The same is the father of the Moabites to this day.
38 The younger daughter had a son too, and she called him Ben-ammi. He is the ancestor of the Ammonites of today.
And the younger, she also bore a son, and called his name Ben-ammi. The same is the father of the sons of Ammon to this day.
