Genesis 19
New King James Version
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.
Footnotes
- Genesis 19:9 As a resident alien
- Genesis 19:17 LXX, Syr., Vg. they
- Genesis 19:17 Lit. swept away
- Genesis 19:22 Lit. Little or Insignificant
- Genesis 19:25 devastated
- Genesis 19:32 Lit. seed
- Genesis 19:34 Lit. seed
Genesis 19
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
19 The two angels came to Sodom at evening. Lot, who was sitting in the gatehouse of Sodom, saw them and got up to meet them. He bowed down with his face to the ground, 2 and he said, “See now, my lords, please turn aside into your servant’s house and spend the night. Wash your feet, and you can get up early and go on your way.”
They said, “No, we will spend the night in the street.”
3 But he kept urging them, so they came with him and entered his house. He made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. 4 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 all parts of town. 5 They called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may be intimate with them.”[a]
6 Lot went out to them and shut the door behind him. 7 He said, “Please, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 8 See now, I have two daughters who have not had relations with a man. Please let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them whatever seems good to you. Only do not do anything to these men, because they have come under the protection[b] of my roof.”
9 They said, “Get out of our way!” They also said, “This fellow came to live here as an alien, and now he appoints himself as a judge. Now we will treat you worse than them!” They kept pushing Lot back and were ready to break down the door. 10 But the men inside reached out and grabbed Lot and pulled him into the house with them and shut the door. 11 They struck the men who were pressing against the door of the house, both young and old, with blindness so that they wore themselves out trying to find the door.
12 The men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here? Sons-in-law, your sons, your daughters, whoever you have in the city, get them out of this place, 13 for we are going to destroy this place, because the outcry against it has grown great before the Lord, so the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”
14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to his daughters in marriage. He said, “Get up! Get out of this place, for the Lord is going to destroy the city.” But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking.
15 When the dawn came, the angels urged Lot, “Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, so that you will not be swept away by the guilt of the city.” 16 But Lot was taking too much time, so the men grabbed his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, because of the Lord’s compassion for him. They led him out and placed him outside of the city. 17 Then when they had taken them out, one of them said, “Run for your life! Don’t look behind you, and don’t stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, so that you are not swept away!”
18 Lot said to them, “Oh no, my lord.[c] 19 See now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great mercy by saving my life. I cannot flee to the mountains, or this disaster will stick with me, and I will die. 20 Look, this city is close enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Please let me flee there—isn’t it just a little one?—so that my life will be saved.”
21 The man said to him, “Very well, I have granted your request concerning this thing, so I will not overthrow the city that you have spoken about. 22 Hurry, flee there, because I cannot do anything until you get there.” So the city was named Zoar.[d]
23 The sun had risen over the land when Lot came to Zoar. 24 Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire out of the sky from the Lord. 25 He overthrew those cities, as well as all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and whatever grew in the soil.
26 But Lot’s wife, who was behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
27 Abraham got up early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of the plain. As he looked, he saw that the smoke from the land was going up like the smoke from a kiln.
29 And so when God destroyed the cities of the plain, God remembered Abraham and brought Lot out through the middle of the devastation, when he overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.
Lot and His Daughters
30 Lot went up out of Zoar and lived in the mountains, for he was afraid to live in Zoar. His two daughters were with him. He lived in a cave with his two daughters. 31 The firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man in the land to come to us as normally takes place everywhere on earth. 32 Come on, let’s get our father to drink wine, and we will lie down with him, that we may preserve our father’s seed.”[e] 33 They got their father to drink wine that night, and the firstborn went and lay down with her father. He did not know it when she lay down or when she got up.
34 Then the next day the firstborn said to the younger, “Look, last night I lay down with my father. Let us get him to drink wine again tonight. You go and lie down with him, so that we may preserve our father’s seed.” 35 They got their father to drink wine that night also. Then the younger went and lay with him. He did not know it when she lay down or when she got up. 36 In this way both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father.
37 The firstborn gave birth to a son and named him Moab.[f] He is the father of the Moabites to this day. 38 The younger also gave birth to a son and called his name Ben Ammi.[g] He is the father of the people of Ammon to this day.
Footnotes
- Genesis 19:5 Literally that we may know them. Shocking as the crime is, the text places a euphemism into the mouths of the perpetrators. The next verses make their intentions clear.
- Genesis 19:8 Literally the shadow
- Genesis 19:18 The Hebrew has this written as Adonai, the divine name Lord or an emphatic plural my lords. The Greek Old Testament has the singular my lord.
- Genesis 19:22 Zoar means little.
- Genesis 19:32 Seed here refers to semen and to the offspring that result from it.
- Genesis 19:37 In Hebrew Moab sounds like from the father.
- Genesis 19:38 Ben Ammi means son of my people.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.