Genesis 19:1-23 ▼

1 And two of the messengers come toward Sodom at evening, and Lot is sitting at the gate of Sodom, and Lot sees, and rises to meet them, and bows himself—face to the earth,

2 and he says, “Now behold, my lords, please turn aside to the house of your servant, and lodge, and wash your feet—then you have risen early and gone on your way”; and they say, “No, but we lodge in the broad place.”

3 And he presses on them greatly, and they turn aside to him, and come into his house; and he makes a banquet for them, and has baked unleavened things; and they eat.

4 Before they lie down, the men of the city—men of Sodom—have surrounded the house, from young even to aged, all the people from the extremity;

5 and they call to Lot and say to him, “Where [are] the men who have come to you tonight? Bring them out to us, and we know them.”

6 And Lot goes out to them, to the opening, and the door has shut behind him,

7 and says, “Please, my brothers, do not do evil;

8 now behold, I have two daughters who have not known anyone; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them as [is] good in your eyes; only do nothing to these men, for therefore they have come in within the shadow of my roof.”

9 And they say, “Come near here”; they also say, “This one has come to sojourn, and he certainly judges! Now, we do evil to you more than [to] them”; and they press against the man, against Lot greatly, and come near to break the door.

10 And the men put forth their hand, and bring in Lot to them, into the house, and have shut the door;

11 and the men who [are] at the opening of the house they have struck with blindness, from small even to great, and they weary themselves to find the opening.

12 And the men say to Lot, “Whom have you here still? Son-in-law, your sons also, and your daughters, and all whom you have in the city, bring out from this place;

13 for we are destroying this place, for their cry has been great [before] the face of YHWH, and YHWH does send us to destroy it.”

14 And Lot goes out and speaks to his sons-in-law, those taking his daughters, and says, “Rise, go out from this place, for YHWH is destroying the city”; and he is as [one] mocking in the eyes of his sons-in-law.

15 And when the dawn has ascended, then the messengers press on Lot, saying, “Rise, take your wife, and your two daughters who are found present, lest you are consumed in the iniquity of the city.”

16 And he lingers, and the men lay hold on his hand, and on the hand of his wife, and on the hand of his two daughters, through the mercy of YHWH to him, and they bring him out, and cause him to rest outside the city.

17 And it comes to pass, when he has brought them outside, that he says, “Escape for your life; do not look behind you, nor stand in all the circuit; escape to the mountain, lest you are consumed.”

18 And Lot says to them, “Oh not [so], my lord;

19 now behold, your servant has found grace in your eyes, and you make great your kindness which you have done with me by saving my life, and I am unable to escape to the mountain, lest the evil cleave [to] me and I have died;

20 now behold, this city [is] near to flee there, and it [is] little; please let me escape there (is it not little?) that my soul may live.”

21 And he says to him, “Behold, I have also accepted your face for this thing, without overthrowing the city [for] which you have spoken;

22 hurry, escape there, for I am not able to do anything until your entering there”; therefore he calls the name of the city Zoar.

23 The sun has gone out on the earth, and Lot has entered into Zoar,