Sodom’s Depravity

19 Now ^(A)the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and ^(B)Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. ² And he said, “Here now, my lords, please ^(C)turn in to your servant’s house and spend the night, and ^(D)wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.”

And they said, ^(E)“No, but we will spend the night in the open square.”

³ But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. ^(F)Then he made them a feast, and baked ^(G)unleavened bread, and they ate.

⁴ Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. ^5 (H)And they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? ^(I)Bring them out to us that we ^(J)may know them carnally.”

⁶ So ^(K)Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him, ⁷ and said, “Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly! ^8 (L)See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, ^(M)since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof.”

⁹ And they said, “Stand back!” Then they said, “This one ^(N)came in to ^[a]stay here, ^(O)and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them.” So they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break down the door. ¹⁰ But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. ¹¹ And they ^(P)struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they became weary trying to find the door.

Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed^(Q)

¹² Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city—^(R)take them out of this place! ¹³ For we will destroy this place, because the ^(S)outcry against them has grown great before the face of the Lord, and ^(T)the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”

¹⁴ So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, ^(U)who had married his daughters, and said, ^(V)“Get up, get out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city!” ^(W)But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking.

¹⁵ When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, ^(X)“Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.” ¹⁶ And while he lingered, the men ^(Y)took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the ^(Z)Lord being merciful to him, ^(AA)and they brought him out and set him outside the city. ¹⁷ So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that ^[b]he said, ^(AB)“Escape for your life! ^(AC)Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape ^(AD)to the mountains, lest you be ^[c]destroyed.”

¹⁸ Then Lot said to them, “Please, ^(AE)no, my lords! ¹⁹ Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die. ²⁰ See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.”

²¹ And he said to him, “See, ^(AF)I have favored you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken. ²² Hurry, escape there. For ^(AG)I cannot do anything until you arrive there.”

Therefore ^(AH)the name of the city was called ^[d]Zoar.

²³ The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar. ²⁴ Then the Lord rained ^(AI)brimstone and ^(AJ)fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. ²⁵ So He ^[e]overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and ^(AK)what grew on the ground.

²⁶ But his wife looked back behind him, and she became ^(AL)a pillar of salt.

²⁷ And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where ^(AM)he had stood before the Lord. ²⁸ Then he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain; and he saw, and behold, ^(AN)the smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace. ²⁹ And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God ^(AO)remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt.

The Descendants of Lot

³⁰ Then Lot went up out of Zoar and ^(AP)dwelt in the mountains, and his two daughters were with him; for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar. And he and his two daughters dwelt in a cave. ³¹ Now the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man on the earth ^(AQ)to come in to us as is the custom of all the earth. ³² Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we ^(AR)may preserve the ^[f]lineage of our father.” ³³ So 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 or when she arose.

³⁴ It happened on the next day that the firstborn said to the younger, “Indeed I lay with my father last night; let us make him drink wine tonight also, and you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve the ^[g]lineage of our father.” ³⁵ Then 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 or when she arose.

³⁶ Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. ³⁷ The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab; ^(AS)he is the father of the Moabites to this day. ³⁸ And the younger, she also bore a son and called his name Ben-Ammi; ^(AT)he is the father of the people of Ammon to this day.

Abraham and Abimelech

20 And Abraham journeyed from ^(AU)there to the South, and dwelt between ^(AV)Kadesh and Shur, and ^(AW)stayed in Gerar. ² Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, ^(AX)“She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and ^(AY)took Sarah.

³ But ^(AZ)God came to Abimelech ^(BA)in a dream by night, and said to him, ^(BB)“Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is ^[h]a man’s wife.”

⁴ But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, ^(BC)will You slay a righteous nation also? ⁵ Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ ^(BD)In the ^[i]integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.”

⁶ And God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For ^(BE)I also withheld you from sinning ^(BF)against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. ⁷ Now therefore, restore the man’s wife; ^(BG)for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, ^(BH)know that you shall surely die, you ^(BI)and all who are yours.”

⁸ So Abimelech rose early in the morning, called all his servants, and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were very much afraid. ⁹ And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? How have I ^[j]offended you, ^(BJ)that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me ^(BK)that ought not to be done.” ¹⁰ Then Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you have in view, that you have done this thing?”

¹¹ And Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely ^(BL)the fear of God is not in this place; and ^(BM)they will kill me on account of my wife. ¹² But indeed ^(BN)she is truly my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. ¹³ And it came to pass, when ^(BO)God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is your kindness that you should do for me: in every place, wherever we go, ^(BP)say of me, “He is my brother.” ’ ”

¹⁴ Then Abimelech ^(BQ)took sheep, oxen, and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham; and he restored Sarah his wife to him. ¹⁵ And Abimelech said, “See, ^(BR)my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” ¹⁶ Then to Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; ^(BS)indeed this ^[k]vindicates you ^(BT)before all who are with you and before everybody.” Thus she was ^[l]rebuked.

¹⁷ So Abraham ^(BU)prayed to God; and God ^(BV)healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants. Then they bore children; ¹⁸ for the Lord ^(BW)had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

Defilement Comes from Within^(A)

7 Then ^(B)the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem. ² Now ^[a]when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with ^(C)unwashed hands, ^[b]they found fault. ³ For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands ^[c]in a special way, holding the ^(D)tradition of the elders. ⁴ When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches.

^5 (E)Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?”

⁶ He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you ^(F)hypocrites, as it is written:

⁸ For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men—^[d]the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.”

⁹ He said to them, “All too well ^(H)you ^[e]reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. ¹⁰ For Moses said, ^(I)‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ^(J)‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ ¹¹ But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother, ^(K)“Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban”—’ (that is, a gift to God), ¹² then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, ¹³ making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

^14 (L)When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear Me, everyone, and ^(M)understand: ¹⁵ There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that ^(N)defile a man. ^16 (O)If^[f] anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!”

^17 (P)When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable. ¹⁸ So He said to them, ^(Q)“Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, ¹⁹ because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, ^[g]thus purifying all foods?” ²⁰ And He said, ^(R)“What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. ^21 (S)For from within, out of the heart of men, ^(T)proceed evil thoughts, ^(U)adulteries, ^(V)fornications, murders, ²² thefts, ^(W)covetousness, wickedness, ^(X)deceit, ^(Y)lewdness, an evil eye, ^(Z)blasphemy, ^(AA)pride, foolishness. ²³ All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”

A Gentile Shows Her Faith^(AB)

^24 (AC)From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre ^[h]and Sidon. And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be ^(AD)hidden. ²⁵ For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and ^(AE)fell at His feet. ²⁶ The woman was a ^[i]Greek, a ^[j]Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept ^[k]asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. ²⁷ But Jesus said to her, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”

²⁸ And she answered and said to Him, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.”

²⁹ Then He said to her, “For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.”

³⁰ And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.

Jesus Heals a Deaf-Mute^(AF)

^31 (AG)Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee. ³² Then ^(AH)they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him. ³³ And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and ^(AI)He spat and touched his tongue. ³⁴ Then, ^(AJ)looking up to heaven, ^(AK)He sighed, and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”

^35 (AL)Immediately his ears were opened, and the ^[l]impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. ³⁶ Then ^(AM)He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it. ³⁷ And they were ^(AN)astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He ^(AO)makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

The Way of the Righteous and the End of the Ungodly