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Genesis 16-19
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

The Birth of Ishmael

16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had an Egyptian slave whose name was Hagar,(A) 2 and Sarai said to Abram, “You see that the Lord has prevented me from bearing children; go in to my slave; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.(B) 3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her slave, and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife.(C) 4 He went in to Hagar, and she conceived, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my slave to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!”(D) 6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Your slave is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she ran away from her.

7 The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur.(E) 8 And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am running away from my mistress Sarai.” 9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her.” 10 The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will so greatly multiply your offspring that they cannot be counted for multitude.”(F) 11 And the angel of the Lord said to her,

“Now you have conceived and shall bear a son;
    you shall call him Ishmael,[a]
    for the Lord has given heed to your affliction.(G)
12 He shall be a wild ass of a man,
with his hand against everyone,
    and everyone’s hand against him,
and he shall live at odds with all his kin.”(H)

13 So she named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are El-roi,”[b] for she said, “Have I really seen God and remained alive after seeing him?”[c](I) 14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi;[d] it lies between Kadesh and Bered.

15 Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.(J) 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him[e] Ishmael.

The Sign of the Covenant

17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty;[f] walk before me, and be blameless.(K) 2 And I will make my covenant between me and you and will make you exceedingly numerous.”(L) 3 Then Abram fell on his face, and God said to him, 4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations.(M) 5 No longer shall your name be Abram,[g] but your name shall be Abraham,[h] for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations.(N) 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.(O) 7 I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.(P) 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land where you are now an alien, all the land of Canaan, for a perpetual holding, and I will be their God.”(Q)

9 God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.(R) 11 You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.(S) 12 Throughout your generations every male among you shall be circumcised when he is eight days old, including the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring.(T) 13 Both the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money must be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”(U)

15 God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her and also give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”(V) 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”(W) 18 And Abraham said to God, “O that Ishmael might live in your sight!” 19 God said, “No, but your wife Sarah shall bear you a son, and you shall name him Isaac.[i] I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.(X) 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; I will bless him and make him fruitful and exceedingly numerous; he shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.(Y) 21 But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this season next year.” 22 And when he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham.

23 Then Abraham took his son Ishmael and all the slaves born in his house or bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very day, as God had said to him.(Z) 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.(AA) 25 And his son Ishmael was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 That very day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised, 27 and all the men of his house, slaves born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

A Son Promised to Abraham and Sarah

18 The Lord appeared to Abraham[j] by the oaks[k] of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day.(AB) 2 He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them and bowed down to the ground.(AC) 3 He said, “My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.(AD) 5 Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.”(AE) 6 And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah and said, “Make ready quickly three measures[l] of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.” 7 Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. 8 Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared and set it before them, and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.(AF)

9 They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” 10 Then one said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him.(AG) 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.(AH) 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I be fruitful?”(AI) 13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.”(AJ) 15 But Sarah denied, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “Yes, you did laugh.”

Judgment Pronounced on Sodom

16 Then the men set out from there, and they looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to set them on their way. 17 The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 seeing that Abraham shall become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?[m](AK) 19 No, for I have chosen[n] him, that he may charge his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”(AL) 20 Then the Lord said, “How great is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah and how very grave their sin!(AM) 21 I must go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me, and if not, I will know.”(AN)

22 So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before the Lord.[o](AO) 23 Then Abraham came near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?(AP) 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will you then sweep away the place and not forgive it for the fifty righteous who are in it?(AQ) 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”(AR) 26 And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will forgive the whole place for their sake.” 27 Abraham answered, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to my lord, I who am but dust and ashes.(AS) 28 Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” 29 Again he spoke to him, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” 30 Then he said, “Oh, do not let my lord be angry if I speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” 31 He said, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to my lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” 32 Then he said, “Oh, do not let my lord be angry if I speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.”(AT) 33 And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

The Depravity of Sodom

19 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.(AU) 2 He said, “Please, my lords, turn aside to your servant’s house and spend the night and wash your feet; then you can rise early and go on your way.” They said, “No; we will spend the night in the square.”(AV) 3 But he urged them strongly, so they turned aside to him and entered his house, and he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.(AW) 4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house, 5 and they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, so that we may know them.”(AX) 6 Lot went out of the door to the men, shut the door after him,(AY) 7 and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 8 Look, I have two daughters who have not known a man; let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please; only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.”(AZ) 9 But they replied, “Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow came here as an alien, and he would play the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” Then they pressed hard against the man Lot and came near the door to break it down.(BA) 10 But the men inside reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. 11 And they struck with blindness the men who were at the door of the house, both small and great, so that they were unable to find the door.(BB)

Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed

12 Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city—bring them out of the place.(BC) 13 For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”(BD) 14 So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, “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.(BE)

15 When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Get up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or else you will be consumed in the punishment of the city.”(BF) 16 But he lingered, so the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and left him outside the city.(BG) 17 When they had brought them outside, they[p] said, “Flee for your life; do not look back or stop anywhere in the plain; flee to the hills, or else you will be consumed.”(BH) 18 And Lot said to them, “Oh, no, my lords; 19 your servant has found favor with you, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life, but I cannot flee to the hills, for fear the disaster will overtake me and I die. 20 Look, that 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, “Very well, I grant you this favor too and will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken.(BI) 22 Hurry, escape there, for I can do nothing until you arrive there.” Therefore the city was called Zoar.[q] 23 The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar.

24 Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven,(BJ) 25 and he overthrew those cities and all the plain and all the inhabitants of the cities and what grew on the ground.(BK) 26 But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.(BL)

27 Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord,(BM) 28 and he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the plain and saw the smoke of the land going up like the smoke of a furnace.(BN)

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

The Shameful Origin of Moab and Ammon

30 Now Lot went up out of Zoar and settled in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar, so he lived in a cave with his two daughters. 31 And the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of all the world.(BP) 32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, so that we may preserve offspring through our father.”(BQ) 33 So 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 or when she rose. 34 On the next day, the firstborn said to the younger, “Look, I lay last night with my father; let us make him drink wine tonight also; then you go in and lie with him, so that we may preserve offspring through our father.” 35 So they made their father drink wine that night also, and the younger rose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she rose. 36 Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. 37 The firstborn bore a son and named him Moab;[r] he is the ancestor of the Moabites to this day. 38 The younger also bore a son and named him Ben-ammi;[s] he is the ancestor of the Ammonites to this day.(BR)

Footnotes

  1. 16.11 That is, God hears
  2. 16.13 Perhaps God of seeing or God who sees
  3. 16.13 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  4. 16.14 That is, well of the living one who sees me
  5. 16.16 Heb Abram
  6. 17.1 Traditional rendering of Heb El Shaddai
  7. 17.5 That is, exalted ancestor
  8. 17.5 That is, ancestor of a multitude
  9. 17.19 That is, he laughs
  10. 18.1 Heb him
  11. 18.1 Or terebinths
  12. 18.6 Heb seahs
  13. 18.18 Or and all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by him
  14. 18.19 Heb known
  15. 18.22 Or while the Lord remained standing before Abraham
  16. 19.17 Gk Syr Vg: Heb he
  17. 19.22 That is, little
  18. 19.37 That is, from the father
  19. 19.38 That is, son of my kinsman
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Genesis 16-19
New International Version

Hagar and Ishmael

16 Now Sarai,(A) Abram’s wife, had borne him no children.(B) But she had an Egyptian slave(C) named Hagar;(D) 2 so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children.(E) Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”(F)

Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3 So after Abram had been living in Canaan(G) ten years,(H) Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. 4 He slept with Hagar,(I) and she conceived.

When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.(J) 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.”(K)

6 “Your slave is in your hands,(L)” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated(M) Hagar; so she fled from her.

7 The angel of the Lord(N) found Hagar near a spring(O) in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur.(P) 8 And he said, “Hagar,(Q) slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”(R)

“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.

9 Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”(S)

11 The angel of the Lord(T) also said to her:

“You are now pregnant
    and you will give birth to a son.(U)
You shall name him(V) Ishmael,[a](W)
    for the Lord has heard of your misery.(X)
12 He will be a wild donkey(Y) of a man;
    his hand will be against everyone
    and everyone’s hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
    toward[b] all his brothers.(Z)”

13 She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,(AA)” for she said, “I have now seen[c] the One who sees me.”(AB) 14 That is why the well(AC) was called Beer Lahai Roi[d];(AD) it is still there, between Kadesh(AE) and Bered.

15 So Hagar(AF) bore Abram a son,(AG) and Abram gave the name Ishmael(AH) to the son she had borne. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old(AI) when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

The Covenant of Circumcision

17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old,(AJ) the Lord appeared to him(AK) and said, “I am God Almighty[e];(AL) walk before me faithfully and be blameless.(AM) 2 Then I will make my covenant between me and you(AN) and will greatly increase your numbers.”(AO)

3 Abram fell facedown,(AP) and God said to him, 4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you:(AQ) You will be the father of many nations.(AR) 5 No longer will you be called Abram[f]; your name will be Abraham,[g](AS) for I have made you a father of many nations.(AT) 6 I will make you very fruitful;(AU) I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.(AV) 7 I will establish my covenant(AW) as an everlasting covenant(AX) between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God(AY) and the God of your descendants after you.(AZ) 8 The whole land of Canaan,(BA) where you now reside as a foreigner,(BB) I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you;(BC) and I will be their God.(BD)”

9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant,(BE) you and your descendants after you for the generations to come.(BF) 10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.(BG) 11 You are to undergo circumcision,(BH) and it will be the sign of the covenant(BI) between me and you. 12 For the generations to come(BJ) every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised,(BK) including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised.(BL) My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant.(BM) 14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised(BN) in the flesh, will be cut off from his people;(BO) he has broken my covenant.(BP)”

15 God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai(BQ) your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah.(BR) 16 I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her.(BS) I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations;(BT) kings of peoples will come from her.”

17 Abraham fell facedown;(BU) he laughed(BV) and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old?(BW) Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?”(BX) 18 And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael(BY) might live under your blessing!”(BZ)

19 Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son,(CA) and you will call him Isaac.[h](CB) I will establish my covenant with him(CC) as an everlasting covenant(CD) for his descendants after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers.(CE) He will be the father of twelve rulers,(CF) and I will make him into a great nation.(CG) 21 But my covenant(CH) I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you(CI) by this time next year.”(CJ) 22 When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.(CK)

23 On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household(CL) or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him.(CM) 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old(CN) when he was circumcised,(CO) 25 and his son Ishmael(CP) was thirteen; 26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that very day. 27 And every male in Abraham’s household(CQ), including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.

The Three Visitors

18 The Lord appeared to Abraham(CR) near the great trees of Mamre(CS) while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent(CT) in the heat of the day. 2 Abraham looked up(CU) and saw three men(CV) standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.(CW)

3 He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes,(CX) my lord,[i] do not pass your servant(CY) by. 4 Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet(CZ) and rest under this tree. 5 Let me get you something to eat,(DA) so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.”

“Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.”

6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three seahs[j] of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread.”(DB)

7 Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf(DC) and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. 8 He then brought some curds(DD) and milk(DE) and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them.(DF) While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.

9 “Where is your wife Sarah?”(DG) they asked him.

“There, in the tent,(DH)” he said.

10 Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year,(DI) and Sarah your wife will have a son.”(DJ)

Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already very old,(DK) and Sarah was past the age of childbearing.(DL) 12 So Sarah laughed(DM) to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord(DN) is old, will I now have this pleasure?”

13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’(DO) 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord?(DP) I will return to you at the appointed time next year,(DQ) and Sarah will have a son.”(DR)

15 Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.”

But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.”

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

16 When the men(DS) got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. 17 Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham(DT) what I am about to do?(DU) 18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation,(DV) and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.[k] 19 For I have chosen him(DW), so that he will direct his children(DX) and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord(DY) by doing what is right and just,(DZ) so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”(EA)

20 Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom(EB) and Gomorrah is so great(EC) and their sin so grievous(ED) 21 that I will go down(EE) and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”

22 The men(EF) turned away and went toward Sodom,(EG) but Abraham remained standing before the Lord.[l](EH) 23 Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?(EI) 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare[m] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?(EJ) 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing(EK)—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous(EL) and the wicked alike.(EM) Far be it from you! Will not the Judge(EN) of all the earth do right?”(EO)

26 The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.(EP)”

27 Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes,(EQ) 28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?”

“If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”

29 Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?”

He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.”

30 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry,(ER) but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?”

He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

31 Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?”

He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”

32 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more.(ES) What if only ten can be found there?”

He answered, “For the sake of ten,(ET) I will not destroy it.”

33 When the Lord had finished speaking(EU) with Abraham, he left,(EV) and Abraham returned home.(EW)

Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed

19 The two angels(EX) arrived at Sodom(EY) in the evening, and Lot(EZ) was sitting in the gateway of the city.(FA) When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.(FB) 2 “My lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet(FC) and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.”

“No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.”(FD)

3 But he insisted(FE) so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house.(FF) He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast,(FG) and they ate.(FH) 4 Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom(FI)—both young and old—surrounded the house. 5 They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”(FJ)

6 Lot went outside to meet them(FK) and shut the door behind him 7 and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. 8 Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”(FL)

9 “Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner,(FM) and now he wants to play the judge!(FN) We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.

10 But the men(FO) inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. 11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness(FP) so that they could not find the door.

12 The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you?(FQ) Get them out of here, 13 because we(FR) are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great(FS) that he has sent us to destroy it.”(FT)

14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry[n] his daughters. He said, “Hurry and get out of this place, because the Lord is about to destroy the city!(FU)” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.(FV)

15 With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away(FW) when the city is punished.(FX)”

16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters(FY) and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them.(FZ) 17 As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives!(GA) Don’t look back,(GB) and don’t stop anywhere in the plain!(GC) Flee to the mountains(GD) or you will be swept away!”

18 But Lot said to them, “No, my lords,[o] please! 19 Your[p] servant has found favor in your[q] eyes,(GE) and you[r] have shown great kindness(GF) to me in sparing my life. But I can’t flee to the mountains;(GG) this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. 20 Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.”

21 He said to him, “Very well, I will grant this request(GH) too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. 22 But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it.” (That is why the town was called Zoar.[s](GI))

23 By the time Lot reached Zoar,(GJ) the sun had risen over the land. 24 Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur(GK) on Sodom and Gomorrah(GL)—from the Lord out of the heavens.(GM) 25 Thus he overthrew those cities(GN) and the entire plain,(GO) destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land.(GP) 26 But Lot’s wife looked back,(GQ) and she became a pillar of salt.(GR)

27 Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord.(GS) 28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.(GT)

29 So when God destroyed the cities of the plain,(GU) he remembered(GV) Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe(GW) that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.(GX)

Lot and His Daughters

30 Lot and his two daughters left Zoar(GY) and settled in the mountains,(GZ) for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. 31 One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth. 32 Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line(HA) through our father.”(HB)

33 That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.(HC)

34 The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.”(HD) 35 So they got their father to drink wine(HE) that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.(HF)

36 So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father.(HG) 37 The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab[t];(HH) he is the father of the Moabites(HI) of today. 38 The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi[u]; he is the father of the Ammonites[v](HJ) of today.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 16:11 Ishmael means God hears.
  2. Genesis 16:12 Or live to the east / of
  3. Genesis 16:13 Or seen the back of
  4. Genesis 16:14 Beer Lahai Roi means well of the Living One who sees me.
  5. Genesis 17:1 Hebrew El-Shaddai
  6. Genesis 17:5 Abram means exalted father.
  7. Genesis 17:5 Abraham probably means father of many.
  8. Genesis 17:19 Isaac means he laughs.
  9. Genesis 18:3 Or eyes, Lord
  10. Genesis 18:6 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
  11. Genesis 18:18 Or will use his name in blessings (see 48:20)
  12. Genesis 18:22 Masoretic Text; an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition but the Lord remained standing before Abraham
  13. Genesis 18:24 Or forgive; also in verse 26
  14. Genesis 19:14 Or were married to
  15. Genesis 19:18 Or No, Lord; or No, my lord
  16. Genesis 19:19 The Hebrew is singular.
  17. Genesis 19:19 The Hebrew is singular.
  18. Genesis 19:19 The Hebrew is singular.
  19. Genesis 19:22 Zoar means small.
  20. Genesis 19:37 Moab sounds like the Hebrew for from father.
  21. Genesis 19:38 Ben-Ammi means son of my father’s people.
  22. Genesis 19:38 Hebrew Bene-Ammon
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Genesis 15
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