< Genesis 19 >

1 And the two Angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting at the gate of the city. And when he had seen them, he rose up and went to meet them. And he reverenced prone on the ground.
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: “I beg you, my lords, turn aside to the house of your servant, and lodge there. Wash your feet, and in the morning you will advance on your way.” And they said, “Not at all. But we will lodge 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 He pressed them very much to turn aside to him. And when they had entered his house, he made a feast for them, and he cooked unleavened bread, and they ate.
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 went to bed, the men of the city surrounded the house, from boys to old men, all the people together.
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 they called out to Lot, and they said to him: “Where are the men who entered to you in the night? Bring them out here, so that we may know 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 Lot went out to them, and blocking the door behind him, he said:
And Lot went out to them to the door, and shut the door after him.
7 “Do not, I ask you, my brothers, do not be willing to commit this evil.
And he said, I pray you, my brothers, do not so wickedly.
8 I have two daughters who as yet have not known man. I will bring them out to you; abuse them as it pleases you, provided that you do no evil to these men, because they have entered under the shadow 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 But they said, “Move away from there.” And again: “You have entered,” they said, “as a stranger; should you then judge? Therefore, we will afflict you yourself more than them.” And they acted very violently against Lot. And they were now at the point of breaking open the doors.
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 And behold, the men put out their hand, and they pulled Lot in to them, and they closed the door.
But the men put forth their hand, and brought Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.
11 And they struck those who were outside with blindness, from the least to the greatest, so that they were not able to find 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 they said to Lot: “Do you have here anyone of yours? All who are yours, sons-in-law, or sons, or daughters, bring them out of this city.
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 will eliminate this place, because the outcry among them has increased before the Lord, who sent us to destroy them.”
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 so Lot, going out, spoke to his sons-in-law, who were going to receive his daughters, and he said: “Rise up. Depart from this place. For the Lord will destroy this city.” And it seemed to them that he was speaking playfully.
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 it was morning, the Angels compelled him, saying, “Arise, take your wife, and the two daughters that you have, lest you also should perish amid the wickedness of the city.”
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 And, since he ignored them, they took his hand, and the hand of his wife, as well as that of his two daughters, because the Lord was sparing him.
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 they brought him out, and placed him beyond the city. And there they spoke to him, saying: “Save your life. Do not look back. Neither should you stay in the entire surrounding region. But save yourself in the mountain, lest you also should perish.”
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: “I beg you, my lord,
And Lot said to them, Oh, not so, my lord.
19 though your servant has found grace before you, and you have magnified your mercy, which you have shown to me in saving my life, I cannot be saved on the mountain, lest perhaps some misfortune take hold of me and I die.
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 There is a certain city nearby, to which I can flee; it is a little one, and I will be saved in it. Is it not a modest one, and will not my soul live?”
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 to him: “Behold, even now, I have heard your petitions about this, not to overturn the city on behalf of which you have spoken.
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 Hurry and be saved there. For I cannot do anything until you enter there.” For this reason, the name of that city is called 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 had risen over the land, and Lot had entered into Zoar.
The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot came to Zoar.
24 Therefore, the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah sulphur and fire, from the Lord, out of heaven.
Then Jehovah rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of heaven.
25 And he overturned these cities, and all the surrounding region: all the inhabitants of the cities, and everything that springs from 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 And his wife, looking behind herself, was turned into a statue of salt.
But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
27 Then Abraham, rising up in the morning, in the place where he had stood before with the Lord,
And Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he had stood before Jehovah.
28 looked out toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and the entire land of that region. And he saw embers rising up from the land like smoke from a furnace.
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 For when God overthrew the cities of that region, remembering Abraham, he freed Lot from the overthrow of the cities, in which he had dwelt.
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 And Lot ascended from Zoar, and he stayed on the mountain, and likewise his two daughters with him, (for he was afraid to stay in Zoar) and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters with him.
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 elder said to the younger: “Our father is old, and no man remains in the land who can enter to us according to the custom of the whole world.
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 inebriate him with wine, and let us sleep with him, so that we may be able to preserve offspring from 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 so they gave their father wine to drink that night. And the elder went in, and she slept with her father. But he did not perceive it, neither when his daughter lay down, nor when she rose up.
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 Likewise, the next day, the elder said to the younger: “Behold, yesterday I slept with my father, let us give him wine to drink yet again this night, and you will sleep with him, so that we may save offspring from 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 then they gave their father wine to drink that night also, and the younger daughter went in, and slept with him. And not even then did he perceive when she lay down, or when she rose up.
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 Therefore, the two daughters of Lot conceived by their father.
Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father.
37 And the elder gave birth to a son, and she called his name Moab. He is the father of the Moabites, even to the present day.
And the firstborn bore a son, and called his name Moab. The same is the father of the Moabites to this day.
38 Likewise, the younger gave birth to a son, and she called his name Ammon, that is, ‘the son of my people.’ He is the father of the Ammonites, even today.
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 >