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.
The two angels came to Sodom at evening. Lot sat in the gate of Sodom. Lot saw them, and rose up to meet them. 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, “See now, my lords, please come into your servant’s house, stay all night, wash your feet, and you can rise up early, and go on your way.” They said, “No, but we will stay 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.
He urged them greatly, and they came in with him, and entered into his house. He made them a feast, 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, surrounded the house, 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.”
They called to Lot, and said to him, “Where are the men who came in to you this night? Bring them out to us, that we may have sex with them.”
6 Lot went out to talk to them in the doorway, closing the door behind him.
Lot went out to them through the door, and shut the door after himself.
7 “My friends, please don't do such an evil thing!
He said, “Please, my brothers, do not act 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.”
See now, I have two virgin daughters. Please let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them what seems good to you. Only do not do anything to these men, because 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.
They said, “Stand back!” Then they said, “This one fellow came in to live as a foreigner, and he appoints himself a judge. Now we will deal worse with you than with them!” They pressed hard on the man Lot, and came 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 reached out their hand, and brought Lot into the house to them, and shut 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.
They struck 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,
The men said to Lot, “Do you have anybody else here? Sons-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you 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 outcry against them has grown so great before the LORD that the LORD 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.
Lot went out, and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters, and said, “Get up! Get out of this place, for the LORD will destroy the city!” But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be joking.
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.”
When the morning came, then the angels hurried Lot, saying, “Get up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you 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 grabbed his hand, his wife’s hand, and his two daughters’ hands, the LORD being merciful to him; and they took him out, and set him outside of 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!”
It came to pass, when they had taken them out, that he said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be consumed!”
18 “Please sir, not that!” Lot replied.
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!
See now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your loving kindness, which you have shown to me in saving my life. 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.”
See now, this city is near to flee to, and it is a little one. Oh let me escape there (is not it a little one?), and my soul will live.”
21 “Fine—I'll do as you ask,” he replied. “I won't destroy this town you've mentioned.
He said to him, “Behold, I have granted your request concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you 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.)
Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you get there.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
23 The sun had already risen by the time Lot reached Zoar.
The sun had risen on 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 the LORD rained on Sodom and on Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of the sky.
25 He completely destroyed the towns and all their inhabitants, the whole valley and everything growing there.
He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew on the ground.
26 But Lot's wife, who was lagging behind, looked back, and she turned into a pillar of salt.
But Lot’s 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.
Abraham went up early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD.
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.
He looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and saw that 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.
When God destroyed the cities of the plain, God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the middle of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.
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.
Lot went up out of Zoar, and lived in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he was afraid to live in Zoar. He lived in a cave with 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.
The firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in to us in the way 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’s make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve our father’s family line.”
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.
They made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father. 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.”
It came to pass on the next day, that the firstborn said to the younger, “Behold, I lay last night with my father. Let’s make him drink wine again tonight. You go in, and lie with him, that we may preserve our father’s family line.”
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.
They made their father drink wine that night also. The younger went and lay with him. He did not know when she lay down, nor when she got up.
36 This is how both Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father.
Thus both of Lot’s daughters 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.
The firstborn bore a son, and named him Moab. He 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.
The younger also bore a son, and called his name Ben Ammi. He is the father of the children of Ammon to this day.
