The Lord Destroys Sodom and Gomorrah

The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening. Lot was sitting near the gate of the city. When Lot saw the angels, he got up to greet them. He bowed down with his face to the ground.

Ephron the Hittite was sitting there among his people. He replied to Abraham. All of the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city heard him.

to Abraham as his property. He bought it in front of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city.

Jacob was afraid. He said, “How holy this place is! This must be the house of God. This is the gate of heaven.”

Hamor and his son Shechem went to the city gate. They spoke to the other men there.

All the men who went out through the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem. So every male in the city was circumcised.

All those cities had high walls around them. The city gates were made secure with heavy metal bars. There were also large numbers of villages that didn’t have walls.

Write them on the doorframes of your houses. Also write them on your gates.

Write them on the doorframes of your houses. Also write them on your gates.

So take the person who has done that evil thing to your city gate. Put that person to death by throwing stones at them.

Suppose they accept your offer and open their gates. Then force all the people in the city to be your slaves. They will have to work for you.

Then his parents will take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town.

Then the young woman’s parents must bring proof that she was a virgin. They must give the proof to the elders at the gate of the town.

Then you must take both of them to the gate of that town. You must put them to death by throwing stones at them. You must kill the young woman because she was in a town and didn’t scream for help. And you must kill the man because he slept with another man’s wife. Get rid of those evil people.

But suppose the man doesn’t want to marry his brother’s wife. Then she will go to the elders at the gate of the town. She will say, “My husband’s brother refuses to keep his brother’s name alive in Israel. He won’t do for me what a brother-in-law is supposed to do.”

The bars of his gates will be made out of iron and bronze. His strength will last as long as he lives.

They left at sunset, when it was time to close the city gate. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You might catch up with them.”

The king’s men left to hunt down the spies. They took the road that leads to where the Jordan River can be crossed. As soon as they had gone out of the city, the gate was shut.

The gates of Jericho were shut tight and guarded closely because of the Israelites. No one went out. No one came in.

At that time Joshua made a promise and called down a curse. He said, “May the person who tries to rebuild this city of Jericho be under the Lord’s curse. “If that person lays its foundations, it will cost the life of his oldest son. If he sets up its gates, it will cost the life of his youngest son.”

They chased the Israelites from the city gate all the way to Shebarim. They killed about 36 of them on the way down. So the Israelites were terrified.

Joshua killed the king of Ai. He stuck a pole through the body. Then he set it up where people could see it. He left it there until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered his men to remove the body from the pole. He told them to throw the body down at the entrance of the city gate. They put a large pile of rocks over the body. That pile is still there to this day.

Suppose those who are charged with murder run for safety to one of these cities. Then they must stand in the entrance of the city gate. They must state their case in front of the elders of that city. The elders must let them come into their city. The elders must provide a place for them to live in their city.

War came to the city gates. Then God chose new leaders. But no shields or spears were seen anywhere. There weren’t any among 40,000 men in Israel.

the voices of the singers at the watering places. They sing about the victories of the Lord. They sing about the victories of his people who live in Israel’s villages. “The people of the Lord went down to the city gates.