Genesis 19

1 Now the two [messengers] angels arrived at Sodom [a city near the Dead Sea, known for its wickedness] in the evening [at sunset, as the day was ending], and Lot [Abraham’s nephew, a righteous man] was sitting [dwelling, residing] in the gateway [entrance, door] of the city. When Lot saw [looked upon, gazed at] them, he got up [rose, stood] to meet them, bowed [prostrated himself, worshiped] facedown [with his face to the ground, in reverence], word study 2 and said, “My [masters, or sovereigns] lords, please [I pray you, if you will] turn aside into the house [dwelling place, abode] of your servant; wash [cleanse, purify] your feet and spend the night [tarry, lodge]. Then you can rise early [at dawn, with the morning light] and go on your way [journey, path].” “No [not so, by no means],” they answered, “we will spend the night [abide, remain] in the square [street, public place].” word study 3 But Lot insisted [urged them greatly, pressed upon them] so strongly [much, exceedingly] that they followed him into his house [dwelling place, home]. He prepared [made, did] a feast [banquet, meal] for them and baked [cooked, made] unleavened bread [sweet bread without yeast], and they ate [devoured, consumed]. word study 4 Before [prior to, at an earlier time] they had gone to bed [to lie down, to rest], all the men [individuals, males] of the city [town, settlement] of Sodom [a place of wickedness], both young [youth, from infancy to adolescence] and old [elderly, aged], surrounded [to turn, to encircle] the house [dwelling place, building]. word study 5 They called out [cried out, shouted] to Lot, saying, “Where [in what place, what location] are the men [male individuals, humans] who came [entered, arrived] to you tonight [in the evening, during the night]? Send them out [bring them forth, let them come out] to us so we can have relations [know them, be intimate] with them [as objects of our desire]!” word study 6 Lot [Abraham’s nephew, a righteous man] went outside [to the doorway, unto them] to meet them, shutting [to close, after himself] the door [the entrance, a barrier] behind him [after himself, to prevent entry]. word study 7 “Please [I pray you, my friends], my brothers [close relatives, friends],” he pleaded [said, spoke], “don’t [do not, I beseech you] do such a wicked [evil, bad] thing [act, deed]! word study 8 Look [behold, take notice], I have two [a pair, a duo] daughters who have never [not ever, at no time] slept with a man [known intimately, had relations with a male]. Let me bring them to you, and you can do to them as you please [as is good in your eyes, whatever seems right to you]. But do not [refrain from, abstain] do anything to these men, for they have come under [taken refuge in, sought shelter under] the protection [shadow, care] of my roof [house, dwelling place].” word study 9 “Get out of the way [stand back, away from us]!” they replied. And they declared, “This one [foreigner, stranger] came here as a [temporary resident, sojourner] foreigner, and he is already acting like a judge [ruler]! Now [at this time, in this moment] we will treat you worse [more severely, with greater evil] than them [those two men, the visitors].” And they pressed in [pushed violently, with great force] on Lot [the man, Abraham’s nephew] and moved in [drew near, approached] to break down [shatter, burst open] the door [the entrance, the gate]. word study 10 But the men [holy angels, God’s messengers] inside reached out [with their hands, stretched forth], pulled Lot [Abraham’s nephew, a righteous man] into the house [a place of refuge, safety] with them, and shut [closed, barred] the door [an entrance, a means of access]. word study 11 And they struck [smote, hit] the men [individuals, people] at the entrance [doorway], young [small, from the least] and old [great, elderly], with blindness [lack of sight, physical and spiritual darkness], so that they wearied [became tired, exhausted] themselves trying to find [discover, attain] the door [entrance]. word study 12 Then the two men [angels, messengers of God] said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else [any others, sons-in-law, or relatives] here—a son-in-law [bridegroom, husband of your daughter], your sons [descendants, male children] or daughters [female children, or women], or anyone else [any person, or whatever you have] in the city [town, or urban area] who belongs to you [is yours, or is related to you]? Get them out of here [bring them out, or take them away from this place], word study 13 because we [as God’s messengers] are about to destroy [to ruin, bring to an end] this place [city, location]. For the outcry [cry of distress, lamentation] to the LORD [Yehovah, the sovereign God] against its people [inhabitants, citizens] is so great [has grown loud, become intense] that He has sent [appointed, dispatched] us to destroy [bring to ruin, demolish] it [the city, this location].” word study 14 So Lot [Abraham’s nephew, a righteous man] went out and spoke to the sons-in-law [bridegrooms, future husbands] who were pledged in marriage [engaged, betrothed] to his daughters. “Get up [rise, stand],” he said. “Get out [depart, leave] of this place [city, location], for the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God] is about to destroy [ruin, demolish] the city [town, urban area]!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking [mocking, ridiculing]. word study 15 At [the break of day, when morning arose] daybreak the angels [messengers of God, heavenly beings] hurried Lot [Abraham’s nephew, a righteous man] along, saying, “Get up [rise, stand up]! Take your wife [female partner, companion] and your two [a pair, a duo] daughters who are here [present, found in this place], or you will be swept away [consumed, destroyed] in the punishment [judgment, iniquity] of the city [town, urban area].” word study 16 But when Lot [lingered, delayed] hesitated, the men [angels, messengers of God] grabbed his hand [took hold, seized] and the hands [power, direction] of his wife [woman, female companion] and his two [a pair, dual] daughters. And they led them safely [without harm, protected] out of the city [town, settlement], because of the LORD’s [Yehovah, the compassionate God] compassion [mercy, pity] for them. word study 17 As soon as the men had brought them out, one of them said, “Run for your lives [escape for your soul, flee to safety]! Do not [absolutely not, lest] look back [behind you, to the past], and do not stop [stand, remain] anywhere on the plain [the lowland, the valley]! Flee [escape, run away quickly] to the mountains [the hill country, a place of refuge], or you will be swept away [consumed, destroyed, snatched away]!” word study 18 But Lot [the nephew of Abraham, covering] replied, “No [not so, I pray], my lords [masters, rulers], please [I beseech thee, oh not so]! word study 19 Your servant [a humble slave, one who serves] has indeed found favor [graciousness, kindness] in your sight [before your eyes, in your presence], and you have shown me great kindness [lovingkindness, mercy] by sparing my life [preserving my soul, saving me from death]. But I cannot run [escape, flee] to the mountains [hills, high places]; the disaster [evil, calamity] will overtake me, and I will die [perish, come to an end]. word study 20 Look [behold, see], there is a town [city, settlement] nearby [close, near to flee unto] where I can flee [escape, run to], and it is a small [little, insignificant] place [town, city]. Please [I pray, I ask] let me flee [escape, run] there—is it not a small [little, tiny] place [town, city]? Then my life [soul, living being] will be saved [preserved, delivered].” word study 21 “Very well,” he answered [in agreement, with acceptance], “I will grant [accept, approve] this request [plea, petition] as well [also, too], and will not demolish [overthrow, destroy] the town [city, settlement] you indicate [have spoken of, mentioned]. word study 22 Hurry [make haste, escape quickly]! Run there [to that place, thither] quickly, for I cannot [am not able, have no power] do anything [make or accomplish something] until you reach [come to, arrive at] it.” That is why [therefore, thus] the town [city, settlement] was called [named, designated] Zoar [a small or insignificant place]. word study 23 And by the time the sun [the sun; the east or the west] had risen [come out, gone up] over the land [earth, territory], Lot [Abraham’s nephew, a man of faith] had reached [entered into, come to] Zoar [a city near the Dead Sea, a place of refuge]. word study 24 Then the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] rained down [sent pouring, caused to fall] sulfur [brimstone, a highly flammable substance] and fire [burning, flame] on Sodom [a city known for its wickedness] and Gomorrah [a city ultimately destroyed by God]—from the LORD [the supreme God, ruler of the heavens] out of the heavens [the visible universe, the abode of God]. word study 25 Thus He [completely, utterly] destroyed these cities [and all their inhabitants, towns] and the entire plain [valley, lowland], including all the inhabitants [people, dwellers] of the cities and everything [all green things, vegetation] that grew [sprouted, branched out] on the ground [land, earth]. word study 26 But Lot’s wife [who was lagging behind, looking back from behind him] looked back [to see what was happening], and she became [turned into, was transformed into] a pillar [garrison, monument] of salt [easily pulverized and dissolved, used to season food]. word study 27 Early [in the morning, at dawn] the next morning, Abraham [the father of many nations] got up [to rise, to start early] and returned [went back, came again] to the place [location, spot] where he had stood [been standing, remained] before [in the presence of, face to face with] the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God]. word study 28 He looked down [gazed, overlooked] toward Sodom [a city of wickedness] and Gomorrah [a city of corruption] and all [every part of] the land [earth, territory] of the plain [lowland, valley], and he saw [beheld, perceived] the smoke [thick cloud of smoke] rising [ascending, going up] from the land [earth, country] like [similar to, comparable with] smoke [vapor, fumes] from a furnace [kiln, hot oven]. word study 29 So when God [the Supreme Being, Elohim] destroyed [brought ruin, overthrew] the cities [towns, settlements] of the plain [lowland, valley], He remembered [recalled, kept in mind] Abraham [the father of faith], and He brought [rescued, delivered] Lot out of the catastrophe [overthrow, destruction] that destroyed [ruined, devastated] the cities [towns, settlements] where he had lived [dwelt, resided]. word study 30 Lot [Abraham’s nephew, a righteous man] and his two [a pair, a dual unity] daughters left Zoar [a city near the Dead Sea, spared from destruction] and settled [to dwell, to remain] in the mountains [a high and elevated place]—for he was afraid [to fear, to revere] to stay [to dwell, to abide] in Zoar [a place of refuge, a city of safety]—where they lived [to sit, to reside] in a cave [a dark and hidden place, a hole in the rock]. word study 31 One day the older [firstborn] daughter said to the younger [little, insignificant], “Our father [the patriarch] is old [advanced in years, aged], and there is no [none, nothing] man [male, individual] in the land [earth, territory] to sleep with us, as is the custom [way, manner] over all [the entirety of] the earth [world, planet]. word study 32 Come, let us get our father [make him drunk, intoxicated] drunk with wine [fermented wine] so we can sleep [lie down, have sexual relations] with him and preserve [keep, maintain] his line [seed, offspring, descendants].” word study 33 So that night [in the darkness, under cover of evening] they got their father [their male parent] drunk [intoxicated, in a state of stupor] with wine [fermented drink], and the firstborn [the eldest daughter] went in [entered, came into the room] and slept [lay down, had sexual relations] with her father [abih, her male parent]; he was not aware [did not know, had no knowledge] when she lay down [rested or had relations] or when she got up [rose or stood]. word study 34 The next day [on the morrow, following day] the older daughter [firstborn, eldest child] said to the younger, “Look [behold, pay attention], I slept [lay down, had sexual relations] with my father [parent, ancestor] last night [yesterday, previous evening]. Let us get him drunk [intoxicated, under the influence] with wine [fermented drink] again tonight [this evening, night] so you can go in [enter, approach] and sleep [lie down, have relations] with him and we can preserve [protect, keep] our father’s line [family, seed, descendants, legacy].” word study 35 So again [once more, that night also] that night they got their father [their male parent] drunk [intoxicated, under the influence] with wine [fermented wine], and the younger [little, young] daughter went in and slept [to lie down, have sexual relations] with him; he was not aware [did not know, had no knowledge] when she lay down [to rest, sleep] or when she got up [rose, stood up]. word study 36 Thus both [the two] of Lot’s [Abraham’s nephew, covering] daughters [female children, women] became pregnant [to conceive] by their father [parent]. word study 37 The older [firstborn, first in birth order] daughter gave birth [beget, to bring forth] to a son [descendant, male child] and named [called out to, designated] him Moab [the land and descendants of Lot’s son]. He [as the father, ancestor] is the father [abba, paternal ancestor] of the Moabites [the people group descended from Moab] of today [until this day, in the present time]. word study 38 The younger [little, insignificant] daughter also gave birth [to beget, brought forth] to a son [a male child, descendant], and she named [to call, designated] him Ben-ammi [son of my people, Ammi meaning my kinsman]. He is the father [parent, ancestor] of the Ammonites [children of Ammon, a nation] of today [until this day, in the present time]. word study