¹² Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, ^(A)bring them out of the place. ¹³ For we are about to destroy this place, ^(B)because the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” ¹⁴ So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, ^(C)“Up! Get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.

¹⁵ As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” ¹⁶ But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, ^(D)the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. ¹⁷ And as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life. ^(E)Do not look back or stop anywhere in the ^(F)valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.” ¹⁸ And Lot said to them, “Oh, no, my lords. ¹⁹ Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. ²⁰ Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there—is it not a little one?—and my life will be saved!” ²¹ He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. ²² Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the city was called ^(G)Zoar.^[a]

God Destroys Sodom

²³ The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. ²⁴ Then ^(H)the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven. ²⁵ And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. ²⁶ But Lot's wife, behind him, looked back, and she became ^(I)a pillar of salt.

²⁷ And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had ^(J)stood before the Lord. ²⁸ And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.

²⁹ So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God ^(K)remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.

^20 (A)As to the rest of the Kohathites belonging to the Kohathite clans of the Levites, the cities allotted to them were out of the tribe of Ephraim. ²¹ To them were given Shechem, ^(B)the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasturelands in the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer with its pasturelands, ²² Kibzaim with its pasturelands, Beth-horon with its pasturelands—four cities; ²³ and out of the tribe of Dan, Elteke with its pasturelands, Gibbethon with its pasturelands, ²⁴ Aijalon with its pasturelands, Gath-rimmon with its pasturelands—four cities; ²⁵ and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Taanach with its pasturelands, and Gath-rimmon with its pasturelands—two cities. ²⁶ The cities of the clans of the rest of the Kohathites were ten in all with their pasturelands.

^27 (C)And to the Gershonites, one of the clans of the Levites, were given out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan with its pasturelands, ^(D)the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Beeshterah with its pasturelands—two cities; ²⁸ and out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishion with its pasturelands, Daberath with its pasturelands, ²⁹ Jarmuth with its pasturelands, En-gannim with its pasturelands—four cities; ³⁰ and out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with its pasturelands, Abdon with its pasturelands, ³¹ Helkath with its pasturelands, and Rehob with its pasturelands—four cities; ³² and out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its pasturelands, ^(E)the city of refuge for the manslayer, Hammoth-dor with its pasturelands, and Kartan with its pasturelands—three cities. ³³ The cities of the several clans of the Gershonites were in all thirteen cities with their pasturelands.

^34 (F)And to the rest of the Levites, the Merarite clans, were given out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its pasturelands, Kartah with its pasturelands, ³⁵ Dimnah with its pasturelands, Nahalal with its pasturelands—four cities; ³⁶ and out of the tribe of Reuben, ^(G)Bezer with its pasturelands, Jahaz with its pasturelands, ³⁷ Kedemoth with its pasturelands, and Mephaath with its pasturelands—four cities; ³⁸ and out of the tribe of Gad, ^(H)Ramoth in Gilead with its pasturelands, the city of refuge for the manslayer, ^(I)Mahanaim with its pasturelands, ^39 (J)Heshbon with its pasturelands, Jazer with its pasturelands—four cities in all. ⁴⁰ As for the cities of the several Merarite clans, that is, the remainder of the clans of the Levites, those allotted to them were in all twelve cities.

^41 (K)The cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the people of Israel were in all forty-eight cities with their pasturelands. ⁴² These cities each had its pasturelands around it. So it was with all these cities.

^43 (L)Thus the Lord gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. ^44 (M)And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. ^(N)Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for ^(O)the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. ^45 (P)Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.

An Oracle Concerning Tyre and Sidon

23 The ^(A)oracle concerning ^(B)Tyre.

¹³ Behold the land of ^(P)the Chaldeans! This is the people that was not;^[d] Assyria destined it for wild beasts. They erected ^(Q)their siege towers, they stripped her palaces bare, they made her a ruin.

¹⁵ In that day Tyre will be forgotten for ^(S)seventy years, like the days^[e] of one king. At the end of ^(T)seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:

¹⁷ At the end of ^(U)seventy years, the Lord will visit Tyre, and she will return to her wages and ^(V)will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. ¹⁸ Her merchandise and her wages will be holy to the Lord. It will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who dwell before the Lord.

Have No Fear

²⁶ “So have no fear of them, ^(A)for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. ²⁷ What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on ^(B)the housetops. ²⁸ And ^(C)do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him ^(D)who can destroy both soul and body in hell.^{[a] 29} Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?^[b] And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰ But ^(E)even the hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ Fear not, therefore; ^(F)you are of more value than many sparrows. ^32 (G)So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, ³³ but ^(H)whoever denies me before men, ^(I)I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

The Healing of Aeneas

³² Now ^(A)as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. ³³ There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. ³⁴ And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, ^(B)Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. ^35 (C)And all the residents of Lydda and ^(D)Sharon saw him, and ^(E)they turned to the Lord.

Dorcas Restored to Life

³⁶ Now there was in ^(F)Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas.^[a] She was full of ^(G)good works and acts of charity. ³⁷ In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in ^(H)an upper room. ³⁸ Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, ^(I)“Please come to us without delay.” ³⁹ So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to ^(J)the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics^[b] and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. ⁴⁰ But Peter ^(K)put them all outside, and ^(L)knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body ^(M)he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. ⁴¹ And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. ⁴² And it became known throughout all Joppa, and ^(N)many believed in the Lord. ⁴³ And he stayed in Joppa for many days ^(O)with one Simon, a tanner.