< Genesis 19 >

1 And at nightfall the two angels came to Sodom; and Lot was seated at the way into the town: and when he saw them he got up and came before them, falling down on his face to the earth.
And the two agents came to Sodom at evening, and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom. And Lot saw them, and rose up to meet them. And he bowed himself with his face to the earth,
2 And he said, My masters, come now into your servant's house and take your rest there for the night, and let your feet be washed; and early in the morning you may go on your way. And they said, Not so, but we will take our night's rest in the street.
and he said, Behold now, my lords, turn aside, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your way. And they said, No, but we will abide in the street all night.
3 But he made his request more strongly, so they went with him into his house; and he got food ready for them, and made unleavened bread, of which they took.
And he urged them greatly. And they turned in to him, and entered into his house. And he made a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
4 But before they had gone to bed, the men of the town, all the men of Sodom, came round the house, young and old, from every part of the town;
But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, encompassed the house around, both young and old, all the people from every quarter.
5 And crying out to Lot, they said, Where are the men who came to your house this night? Send them out to us, so that we may take our pleasure with them.
And they called to Lot, and said to him, Where are the men who came in to thee this night? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.
6 And Lot went out to them in the doorway, shutting the door after him.
And Lot went out to them to the door, and shut the door after him.
7 And he said, My brothers, do not this evil.
And he said, I pray you, my brothers, do not so wickedly.
8 See now, I have two unmarried daughters; I will send them out to you so that you may do to them whatever seems good to you: only do nothing to these men, for this is why they have come under the shade of my roof.
Behold now, I have two daughters who have not known a man. Let me, I pray you, bring them out to you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes. Only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shadow of my roof.
9 And they said, Give way there. This one man, they said, came here from a strange country, and will he now be our judge? now we will do worse to you than to them; and pushing violently against Lot, they came near to get the door broken in.
And they said, Stand back. And they said, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will be a judge. Now we will deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed greatly upon the man, even Lot, and drew near to break the door.
10 But the men put out their hands and took Lot into the house to them, shutting the door again.
But the men put forth their hand, and brought Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.
11 But the men who were outside the door they made blind, all of them, small and great, so that they were tired out with looking for the door.
And they smote the men who were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
12 Then the men said to Lot, Are there any others of your family here? sons-in-law or sons or daughters, take them all out of this place;
And the men said to Lot, Have thou here any besides? Son-in-law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whomever thou have in the city, bring them out of the place.
13 For we are about to send destruction on this place, because a great outcry against them has come to the ears of the Lord; and the Lord has sent us to put an end to the town.
For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them has been great before Jehovah. And Jehovah has sent us to destroy it.
14 And Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were married to his daughters, Come, let us go out of this place, for the Lord is about to send destruction on the town. But his sons-in-law did not take him seriously.
And Lot went out, and spoke to his sons-in-law, who married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place, for Jehovah will destroy the city. But he seemed to his sons-in-law as a man jesting.
15 And when morning came, the angels did all in their power to make Lot go, saying, Get up quickly and take your wife and your two daughters who are here, and go, for fear that you come to destruction in the punishment of the town.
And when the morning arose, then the agents hurried Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters who are here, lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.
16 But while he was waiting, the men took him and his wife and his daughters by the hand, for the Lord had mercy on them, and put them outside the town.
But he lingered. And the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters, Jehovah being merciful to him, and they brought him forth, and set him outside the city.
17 And when they had put them out, he said, Go for your life, without looking back or waiting in the lowland; go quickly to the mountain or you will come to destruction.
And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life, do not look behind thee, neither stay thou in all the Plain. Escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.
18 And Lot said to them, Not so, O my Lord;
And Lot said to them, Oh, not so, my lord.
19 See now, your servant has had grace in your eyes and great is your mercy in keeping my life from destruction, but I am not able to get as far as the mountain before evil overtakes me and death;
Behold now, thy servant has found favor in thy sight, and thou have magnified thy loving kindness, which thou have shown to me in saving my life, and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest evil overtake me, and I die.
20 This town, now, is near, and it is a little one: O, let me go there (is it not a little one?) so that my life may be safe.
Behold now, this city is near to flee to, and it is a little one. Oh let me escape there (is it not a little one?), and my soul shall live.
21 And he said, See, I have given you your request in this one thing more: I will not send destruction on this town.
And he said to him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow the city of which thou have spoken.
22 Go there quickly, for I am not able to do anything till you have come there. For this reason, the town was named Zoar.
Hasten thee, escape there, for I cannot do anything till thou have come there. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
23 The sun was up when Lot came to Zoar.
The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot came to Zoar.
24 Then the Lord sent fire and flaming smoke raining down from heaven on Sodom and Gomorrah.
Then Jehovah rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of heaven.
25 And he sent destruction on those towns, with all the lowland and all the people of those towns and every green thing in the land.
And he overthrew those cities, and all the Plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.
26 But Lot's wife, looking back, became a pillar of salt.
But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
27 And Abraham got up early in the morning and went to the place where he had been talking with the Lord:
And Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he had stood before Jehovah.
28 And looking in the direction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the lowland, he saw the smoke of the land going up like the smoke of an oven.
And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the Plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace.
29 So it came about that when God sent destruction on the towns of the lowland, he kept his word to Abraham, and sent Lot safely away when he put an end to the towns where he was living.
And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the Plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt.
30 Then Lot went up out of Zoar to the mountain, and was living there with his two daughters, for fear kept him from living in Zoar: and he and his daughters made their living-place in a hole in the rock.
And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him, for he feared to dwell in Zoar. And he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.
31 And the older daughter said to her sister, Our father is old, and there is no man to be a husband to us in the natural way:
And the firstborn said to the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man on the earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth.
32 Come, let us give our father much wine, and we will go into his bed, so that we may have offspring by our father,
Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed by our father.
33 And that night they made their father take much wine; and the older daughter went into his bed; and he had no knowledge of when she went in or when she went away.
And 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, nor when she arose.
34 And on the day after, the older daughter said to the younger, Last night I was with my father; let us make him take much wine this night again, and do you go to him, so that we may have offspring by our father.
And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said to the younger, Behold, I lay last night with my father. Let us make him drink wine this night also, and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed by our father.
35 And that night again they made their father take much wine; and the younger daughter went into his bed; and he had no knowledge of when she went in or when she went away.
And 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, nor when she arose.
36 And so the two daughters of Lot were with child by their father.
Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father.
37 And the older daughter had a son, and she gave him the name Moab: he is the father of the Moabites to this day.
And the firstborn bore a son, and called his name Moab. The same is the father of the Moabites to this day.
38 And the younger had a son and gave him the name Ben-ammi: from him come the children of Ammon to this day.
And the younger, she also bore a son, and called his name Ben-ammi. The same is the father of the sons of Ammon to this day.

< Genesis 19 >