Genesis, 19

1. When the two angels reached Sodom in the evening, Lot was sitting at the gate of Sodom. As soon as Lot saw them, he stood up to greet them, and bowed to the ground.

1. The two angels came to Sodom in the evening; and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and bowed himself with his face to the earth,

2. 'My lords,' he said, 'please come down to your servant's house to stay the night and wash your feet. Then you can make an early start on your journey.' 'No,' they said, 'we shall spend the night in the square.'

2. and said, "My lords, turn aside, I pray you, to your servant's house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise up early and go on your way." They said, "No; we will spend the night in the street."

3. But he pressed them so much that they went home with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking unleavened bread, and they had supper.

3. But he urged them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

4. They had not gone to bed when the house was surrounded by the townspeople, the men of Sodom both young and old, all the people without exception.

4. But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house;

5. Calling out to Lot they said, 'Where are the men who came to you tonight? Send them out to us so that we can have intercourse with them.'

5. and they called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them."

6. Lot came out to them at the door and, having shut the door behind him,

6. Lot went out of the door to the men, shut the door after him,

7. said, 'Please, brothers, do not be wicked.

7. and said, "I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly.

8. Look, I have two daughters who are virgins. I am ready to send them out to you, for you to treat as you please, but do nothing to these men since they are now under the protection of my roof.'

8. Behold, I have two daughters who have not known man; let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please; only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof."

9. But they retorted, 'Stand back! This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to play the judge. Now we shall treat you worse than them.' Then they forced Lot back and moved forward to break down the door.

9. But they said, "Stand back!" And they said, "This fellow came to sojourn, and he would play the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them." Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door.

10. But the men reached out, pulled Lot back into the house with them, and shut the door.

10. But the men put forth their hands and brought Lot into the house to them, and shut the door.

11. And they dazzled those who were at the door of the house, one and all, with a blinding light, so that they could not find the doorway.

11. And they struck with blindness the men who were at the door of the house, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves groping for the door.

12. The men said to Lot, 'Have you anyone else here? Your sons, your daughters and all your people in the city, take them away,

12. Then the men said to Lot, "Have you any one else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or any one you have in the city, bring them out of the place;

13. for we are about to destroy this place, since the outcry to Yahweh against those in it has grown so loud that Yahweh has sent us to destroy it.'

13. for we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it."

14. So Lot went off and spoke to his future sons-in-law who were to marry his daughters. 'On your feet!' he said, 'Leave this place, for Yahweh is about to destroy the city.' But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.

14. So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, "Up, get out of this place; for the LORD is about to destroy the city." But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.

15. When dawn broke the angels urged Lot on, 'To your feet! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.'

15. When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city."

16. And as he hesitated, the men seized his hand and the hands of his wife and his two daughters -- Yahweh being merciful to him -- and led him out and left him outside the city.

16. But he lingered; so the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him forth and set him outside the city.

17. When they had brought him outside, he was told, 'Flee for your life. Do not look behind you or stop anywhere on the plain. Flee to the hills or you will be swept away.'

17. And when they had brought them forth, they said, "Flee for your life; do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley; flee to the hills, lest you be consumed."

18. 'Oh no, my lord!' Lot said to them,

18. And Lot said to them, "Oh, no, my lords;

19. 'You have already been very good to your servant and shown me even greater love by saving my life, but I cannot flee to the hills, or disaster will overtake me and I shall die.

19. behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life; but I cannot flee to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me, and I die.

20. That town over there is near enough to flee to, and is small. Let me flee there-after all it is only a small place -- and so survive.'

20. Behold, yonder city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there -- is it not a little one? -- and my life will be saved!"

21. He replied, 'I grant you this favour too, and will not overthrow the town you speak of.

21. He said to him, "Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken.

22. Hurry, flee to that one, for I cannot do anything until you reach it.' That is why the town is named Zoar.

22. Make haste, escape there; for I can do nothing till you arrive there." Therefore the name of the city was called Zo'ar.

23. The sun rose over the horizon just as Lot was entering Zoar.

23. The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zo'ar.

24. Then Yahweh rained down on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire of his own sending.

24. Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomor'rah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;

25. He overthrew those cities and the whole plain, with all the people living in the cities and everything that grew there.

25. and he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.

26. But Lot's wife looked back, and was turned into a pillar of salt.

26. But Lot's wife behind him looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

27. Next morning, Abraham hurried to the place where he had stood before Yahweh,

27. And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD;

28. and looking towards Sodom and Gomorrah and the whole area of the plain, he saw the smoke rising from the ground like smoke from a furnace.

28. and he looked down toward Sodom and Gomor'rah and toward all the land of the valley, and beheld, and lo, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.

29. Thus it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he did not forget Abraham and he rescued Lot from the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities where Lot was living.

29. So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt.

30. After leaving Zoar Lot settled in the hill country with his two daughters, for he dared not stay at Zoar. He lived in a cave, he and his two daughters.

30. Now Lot went up out of Zo'ar, and dwelt in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to dwell in Zo'ar; so he dwelt in a cave with his two daughters.

31. The elder said to the younger, 'Our father is an old man, and there is no one here to marry us in the normal way of the world.

31. And the first-born said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth.

32. Come on, let us ply our father with wine and sleep with him. In this way we can preserve the race by our father.'

32. Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve offspring through our father."

33. That night they made their father drunk, and the elder slept with her father though he was unaware of her coming to bed or of her leaving.

33. So they made their father drink wine that night; and the first-born went in, and lay with her father; he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.

34. The next day the elder said to the younger, 'Last night, I was the one who slept with our father. Let us make him drunk again tonight, and you go and sleep with him. In this way we can preserve the race by our father.'

34. And on the next day, the first-born said to the younger, "Behold, I lay last night with my father; let us make him drink wine tonight also; then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve offspring through our father."

35. They made their father drunk that night too, and the younger went and slept with him, though he was unaware of her coming to bed or of her leaving.

35. So 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. Both Lot's daughters thus became pregnant by their father.

36. Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father.

37. The elder gave birth to a son whom she named Moab; and he is the ancestor of the Moabites of our own times.

37. The first-born bore a son, and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day.

38. The younger also gave birth to a son whom she named Ben-Ammi; and he is the ancestor of the Bene-Ammon of our own times.

38. The younger also bore a son, and called his name Ben-ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites to this day.