The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

19 The two angels entered Sodom(A) in the evening as Lot was sitting at Sodom’s gate. When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them. He bowed with his face to the ground and said, “My lords, turn aside to your servant’s house, wash your feet, and spend the night. Then you can get up early and go on your way.”

“No,” they said. “We would rather spend the night in the square.” But he urged them so strongly that they followed him and went into his house. He prepared a feast and baked unleavened bread for them, and they ate.

Before they went to bed, the men of the city of Sodom, both young and old, the whole population, surrounded the house. They called out to Lot and said, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Send them out to us so we can have sex with them!”(B)

Lot went out to them at the entrance and shut the door behind him. He said, “Don’t do this evil, my brothers. Look, I’ve got two daughters who haven’t had sexual relations with a man.(C) I’ll bring them out to you, and you can do whatever you want[a] to them. However, don’t do anything to these men, because they have come under the protection of my roof.”

“Get out of the way!” they said, adding, “This one came here as a foreigner, but he’s acting like a judge!(D) Now we’ll do more harm to you than to them.” They put pressure on Lot and came up to break down the door. 10 But the angels[b] reached out, brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. 11 They struck the men who were at the entrance of the house, both young and old, with a blinding light so that they were unable to find the entrance.(E)

12 Then the angels[c] said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here: a son-in-law, your sons and daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of this place, 13 for we are about to destroy this place because the outcry against its people is so great before the Lord, that the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”(F)

14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were going to marry[d] his daughters. “Get up,” he said. “Get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city!”(G) But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.

15 At daybreak the angels urged Lot on: “Get up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment[e] of the city.” 16 But he hesitated. Because of the Lord’s compassion for him, the men grabbed his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters. Then they brought him out and left him outside the city.

17 As soon as the angels got them outside, one of them[f] said, “Run for your lives! Don’t look back and don’t stop anywhere on the plain! Run to the mountains, or you will be swept away!”

18 But Lot said to them, “No, my lords[g]—please. 19 Your servant has indeed found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness by saving my life. But I can’t run to the mountains; the disaster will overtake me, and I will die. 20 Look, this town is close enough for me to run to. It is a small place. Please let me go there—it’s only a small place, isn’t it?—so that I can survive.”

21 And he said to him, “All right,[h] I’ll grant your request[i] about this matter too and will not demolish the town you mentioned. 22 Hurry up! Run there, for I cannot do anything until you get there.” Therefore the name of the city is Zoar.[j](H)

23 The sun had risen over the land when Lot reached Zoar. 24 Then out of the sky the Lord rained burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord.(I) 25 He demolished these cities, the entire plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and whatever grew on the ground. 26 But his wife looked back and became a pillar of salt.(J)

27 Early in the morning Abraham went to the place where he had stood before the Lord.(K) 28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of the plain, and he saw that smoke was going up from the land like the smoke of a furnace. 29 So it was, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, He remembered Abraham and brought Lot out of the middle of the upheaval when He demolished the cities where Lot had lived.

The Origin of Moab and Ammon

30 Lot departed from Zoar and lived in the mountains along with his two daughters, because he was afraid to live in Zoar. Instead, he and his two daughters lived in a cave. 31 Then the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man in the land to sleep with us as is the custom of all the land. 32 Come, let’s get our father to drink wine so that we can sleep with him and preserve our father’s line.” 33 So they got their father to drink wine that night, and the firstborn came and slept with her father; he did not know when she lay down or when she got up.

34 The next day the firstborn said to the younger, “Look, I slept with my father last night. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight so you can go sleep with him and we can preserve our father’s line.” 35 That night they again got their father to drink wine, and the younger went and slept with him; he did not know when she lay down or when she got up.

36 So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 37 The firstborn gave birth to a son and named him Moab.[k] He is the father of the Moabites of today.(L) 38 The younger also gave birth to a son, and she named him Ben-ammi.[l] He is the father of the Ammonites of today.(M)

Sarah Rescued from Abimelech

20 From there Abraham traveled to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived in Gerar,(N) Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.”(O) So Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.

But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “You are about to die because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”[m]

Now Abimelech had not approached her, so he said, “Lord, would You destroy a nation even though it is innocent? Didn’t he himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ I did this with a clear conscience[n] and clean[o] hands.”

Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience.[p] I have also kept you from sinning against Me. Therefore I have not let you touch her. Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet,(P) and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, know that you will certainly die, you and all who are yours.”

Early in the morning Abimelech got up, called all his servants together, and personally[q] told them all these things, and the men were terrified.

Then Abimelech called Abraham in and said to him, “What have you done to us? How did I sin against you that you have brought such enormous guilt on me and on my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.”(Q) 10 Abimelech also said to Abraham, “What did you intend when you did this thing?”

11 Abraham replied, “I thought, ‘There is absolutely no fear of God in this place.(R) They will kill me because of my wife.’ 12 Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. 13 So when God had me wander from my father’s house,(S) I said to her: Show your loyalty to me wherever we go and say about me: ‘He’s my brother.’”(T)

14 Then Abimelech took sheep and cattle and male and female slaves, gave them to Abraham, and returned his wife Sarah to him. 15 Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you.(U) Settle wherever you want.”[r] 16 And he said to Sarah, “Look, I am giving your brother 1,000 pieces of silver. It is a verification of your honor[s] to all who are with you. You are fully vindicated.”

17 Then Abraham prayed to God,(V) and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female slaves so that they could bear children, 18 for the Lord had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech’s household on account of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

The Birth of Isaac

21 The Lord came to Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what He had promised.(W) Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time God had told him.(X) Abraham named his son who was born to him—the one Sarah bore to him—Isaac.(Y) When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded him.(Z) Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him.(AA)

Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and everyone who hears will laugh with me.”[t](AB) She also said, “Who would have told Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne a son for him[u] in his old age.”

Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away

The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son mocking[v]—the one Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham.(AC) 10 So she said to Abraham, “Drive out this slave with her son, for the son of this slave will not be a coheir with my son Isaac!”(AD)

11 Now this was a very difficult thing for[w] Abraham because of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be concerned[x] about the boy and your slave. Whatever Sarah says to you, listen to her, because your offspring will be traced through Isaac.(AE) 13 But I will also make a nation of the slave’s son(AF) because he is your offspring.”

14 Early in the morning Abraham got up, took bread and a waterskin, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her and the boy away.[y] She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beer-sheba. 15 When the water in the skin was gone, she left the boy under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she said, “I can’t bear to watch the boy die!” So as she sat nearby, she[z] wept loudly.(AG)

17 God heard the voice of the boy, and the[aa] angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What’s wrong, Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy from the place where he is. 18 Get up, help the boy up, and support him, for I will make him a great nation.” 19 Then God opened her eyes,(AH) and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the waterskin and gave the boy a drink. 20 God was with the boy, and he grew; he settled in the wilderness and became an archer. 21 He settled in the Wilderness of Paran, and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

Abraham’s Covenant with Abimelech

22 At that time Abimelech, accompanied by Phicol the commander of his army,(AI) said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do.(AJ) 23 Swear to me by God here and now, that you will not break an agreement with me or with my children and descendants. As I have been loyal to you, so you will be loyal to me and to the country where you are a foreign resident.”

24 And Abraham said, “I swear it.” 25 But Abraham complained to Abimelech because of the water well that Abimelech’s servants had seized.(AK)

26 Abimelech replied, “I don’t know who did this thing. You didn’t report anything to me, so I hadn’t heard about it until today.”

27 Abraham took sheep and cattle[ab] and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.(AL) 28 Abraham separated seven ewe lambs from the flock. 29 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “Why have you separated these seven ewe lambs?”

30 He replied, “You are to accept the seven ewe lambs from my hand so that this act[ac] will serve as my witness that I dug this well.” 31 Therefore that place was called Beer-sheba[ad](AM) because it was there that the two of them swore an oath. 32 After they had made a covenant at Beer-sheba, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, left and returned to the land of the Philistines.

33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and there he called on the name of Yahweh, the Everlasting God.(AN) 34 And Abraham lived as a foreigner in the land of the Philistines for many days.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 19:8 Lit do what is good in your eyes
  2. Genesis 19:10 Lit men
  3. Genesis 19:12 Lit men
  4. Genesis 19:14 Lit take
  5. Genesis 19:15 Or iniquity, or guilt
  6. Genesis 19:17 LXX, Syr, Vg read outside, they
  7. Genesis 19:18 Or My Lord, or My lords
  8. Genesis 19:21 Or Look!
  9. Genesis 19:21 Lit I will lift up your face
  10. Genesis 19:22 In Hb, the name Zoar is related to the phrase “small place” in v. 20; its original name was Bela; Gn 14:2.
  11. Genesis 19:37 = From My Father
  12. Genesis 19:38 = Son of My People
  13. Genesis 20:3 Lit is possessed by a husband
  14. Genesis 20:5 Lit with integrity of my heart
  15. Genesis 20:5 Lit cleanness of my
  16. Genesis 20:6 Lit with integrity of your heart
  17. Genesis 20:8 Lit in their ears
  18. Genesis 20:15 Lit Settle in the good in your eyes
  19. Genesis 20:16 Lit a covering of the eyes
  20. Genesis 21:6 Isaac = He laughs; Gn 17:19
  21. Genesis 21:7 Sam, Tg Jonathan; MT omits him
  22. Genesis 21:9 LXX, Vg add Isaac her son
  23. Genesis 21:11 Lit was very bad in the eyes of
  24. Genesis 21:12 Lit Let it not be bad in your eyes
  25. Genesis 21:14 To “send away” a woman = divorce her; Dt 24:1. To “send away” a slave = free her; Dt 15:13.
  26. Genesis 21:16 LXX reads the boy
  27. Genesis 21:17 Or an
  28. Genesis 21:27 A covenant or treaty was regularly ratified by animal sacrifice (Gn 8:20–9:9; 15:9-17; Ex 24:8) and often involved an exchange of gifts (1Kg 15:19; Hs 12:1). The animals here could serve both purposes.
  29. Genesis 21:30 Lit that it
  30. Genesis 21:31 = Well of the Oath, or Seven Wells

Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed

19 The two angels(A) arrived at Sodom(B) in the evening, and Lot(C) was sitting in the gateway of the city.(D) When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.(E) “My lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet(F) and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.”

“No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.”(G)

But he insisted(H) so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house.(I) He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast,(J) and they ate.(K) Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom(L)—both young and old—surrounded the house. They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”(M)

Lot went outside to meet them(N) and shut the door behind him and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”(O)

“Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner,(P) and now he wants to play the judge!(Q) We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.

10 But the men(R) inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. 11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness(S) so that they could not find the door.

12 The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you?(T) Get them out of here, 13 because we(U) are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great(V) that he has sent us to destroy it.”(W)

14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry[a] his daughters. He said, “Hurry and get out of this place, because the Lord is about to destroy the city!(X)” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.(Y)

15 With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away(Z) when the city is punished.(AA)

16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters(AB) and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them.(AC) 17 As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives!(AD) Don’t look back,(AE) and don’t stop anywhere in the plain!(AF) Flee to the mountains(AG) or you will be swept away!”

18 But Lot said to them, “No, my lords,[b] please! 19 Your[c] servant has found favor in your[d] eyes,(AH) and you[e] have shown great kindness(AI) to me in sparing my life. But I can’t flee to the mountains;(AJ) this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. 20 Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.”

21 He said to him, “Very well, I will grant this request(AK) too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. 22 But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it.” (That is why the town was called Zoar.[f](AL))

23 By the time Lot reached Zoar,(AM) the sun had risen over the land. 24 Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur(AN) on Sodom and Gomorrah(AO)—from the Lord out of the heavens.(AP) 25 Thus he overthrew those cities(AQ) and the entire plain,(AR) destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land.(AS) 26 But Lot’s wife looked back,(AT) and she became a pillar of salt.(AU)

27 Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord.(AV) 28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.(AW)

29 So when God destroyed the cities of the plain,(AX) he remembered(AY) Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe(AZ) that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.(BA)

Lot and His Daughters

30 Lot and his two daughters left Zoar(BB) and settled in the mountains,(BC) for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. 31 One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth. 32 Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line(BD) through our father.”(BE)

33 That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.(BF)

34 The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.”(BG) 35 So they got their father to drink wine(BH) that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.(BI)

36 So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father.(BJ) 37 The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab[g];(BK) he is the father of the Moabites(BL) of today. 38 The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi[h]; he is the father of the Ammonites[i](BM) of today.

Abraham and Abimelek(BN)

20 Now Abraham moved on from there(BO) into the region of the Negev(BP) and lived between Kadesh(BQ) and Shur.(BR) For a while(BS) he stayed in Gerar,(BT) and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.(BU)” Then Abimelek(BV) king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.(BW)

But God came to Abimelek(BX) in a dream(BY) one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead(BZ) because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”(CA)

Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation?(CB) Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,(CC)’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience(CD) and clean hands.(CE)

Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept(CF) you from sinning against me.(CG) That is why I did not let you touch her. Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet,(CH) and he will pray for you(CI) and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die.”(CJ)

Early the next morning Abimelek summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. Then Abimelek called Abraham in and said, “What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.(CK) 10 And Abimelek asked Abraham, “What was your reason for doing this?”

11 Abraham replied, “I said to myself, ‘There is surely no fear of God(CL) in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’(CM) 12 Besides, she really is my sister,(CN) the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. 13 And when God had me wander(CO) from my father’s household,(CP) I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”

14 Then Abimelek(CQ) brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham,(CR) and he returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelek said, “My land is before you; live wherever you like.”(CS)

16 To Sarah he said, “I am giving your brother a thousand shekels[j] of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated.”

17 Then Abraham prayed to God,(CT) and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again, 18 for the Lord had kept all the women in Abimelek’s household from conceiving because of Abraham’s wife Sarah.(CU)

The Birth of Isaac

21 Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah(CV) as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised.(CW) Sarah became pregnant and bore a son(CX) to Abraham in his old age,(CY) at the very time God had promised him.(CZ) Abraham gave the name Isaac[k](DA) to the son Sarah bore him. When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him,(DB) as God commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old(DC) when his son Isaac was born to him.

Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter,(DD) and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”(DE)

Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away

The child grew and was weaned,(DF) and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham(DG) was mocking,(DH) 10 and she said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman(DI) and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.”(DJ)

11 The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son.(DK) 12 But God said to him, “Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring[l] will be reckoned.(DL) 13 I will make the son of the slave into a nation(DM) also, because he is your offspring.”

14 Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar.(DN) He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba.(DO)

15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there, she[m] began to sob.(DP)

17 God heard the boy crying,(DQ) and the angel of God(DR) called to Hagar from heaven(DS) and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid;(DT) God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.(DU)

19 Then God opened her eyes(DV) and she saw a well of water.(DW) So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

20 God was with the boy(DX) as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. 21 While he was living in the Desert of Paran,(DY) his mother got a wife for him(DZ) from Egypt.

The Treaty at Beersheba

22 At that time Abimelek(EA) and Phicol the commander of his forces(EB) said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do.(EC) 23 Now swear(ED) to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or my descendants.(EE) Show to me and the country where you now reside as a foreigner the same kindness I have shown to you.”(EF)

24 Abraham said, “I swear it.”

25 Then Abraham complained to Abimelek about a well of water that Abimelek’s servants had seized.(EG) 26 But Abimelek said, “I don’t know who has done this. You did not tell me, and I heard about it only today.”

27 So Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelek, and the two men made a treaty.(EH) 28 Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock, 29 and Abimelek asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs you have set apart by themselves?”

30 He replied, “Accept these seven lambs from my hand as a witness(EI) that I dug this well.(EJ)

31 So that place was called Beersheba,[n](EK) because the two men swore an oath(EL) there.

32 After the treaty(EM) had been made at Beersheba,(EN) Abimelek and Phicol the commander of his forces(EO) returned to the land of the Philistines.(EP) 33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree(EQ) in Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the Lord,(ER) the Eternal God.(ES) 34 And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines(ET) for a long time.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 19:14 Or were married to
  2. Genesis 19:18 Or No, Lord; or No, my lord
  3. Genesis 19:19 The Hebrew is singular.
  4. Genesis 19:19 The Hebrew is singular.
  5. Genesis 19:19 The Hebrew is singular.
  6. Genesis 19:22 Zoar means small.
  7. Genesis 19:37 Moab sounds like the Hebrew for from father.
  8. Genesis 19:38 Ben-Ammi means son of my father’s people.
  9. Genesis 19:38 Hebrew Bene-Ammon
  10. Genesis 20:16 That is, about 25 pounds or about 12 kilograms
  11. Genesis 21:3 Isaac means he laughs.
  12. Genesis 21:12 Or seed
  13. Genesis 21:16 Hebrew; Septuagint the child
  14. Genesis 21:31 Beersheba can mean well of seven and well of the oath.