19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while 1 Lot was sitting in the city’s gateway. 2 When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground.
19:2 He said, “Here, my lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house. Stay the night 3 and wash your feet. Then you can be on your way early in the morning.” 4 “No,” they replied, “we’ll spend the night in the town square.” 5
19:3 But he urged 6 them persistently, so they turned aside with him and entered his house. He prepared a feast for them, including bread baked without yeast, and they ate. 19:4 Before they could lie down to sleep, 7 all the men – both young and old, from every part of the city of Sodom – surrounded the house. 8 19:5 They shouted to Lot, 9 “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sex 10 with them!”
19:6 Lot went outside to them, shutting the door behind him. 19:7 He said, “No, my brothers! Don’t act so wickedly! 11 19:8 Look, I have two daughters who have never had sexual relations with 12 a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do to them whatever you please. 13 Only don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection 14 of my roof.” 15
19:9 “Out of our way!” 16 they cried, and “This man came to live here as a foreigner, 17 and now he dares to judge us! 18 We’ll do more harm 19 to you than to them!” They kept 20 pressing in on Lot until they were close enough 21 to break down the door.
19:10 So the men inside 22 reached out 23 and pulled Lot back into the house 24 as they shut the door. 19:11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, from the youngest to the oldest, 25 with blindness. The men outside 26 wore themselves out trying to find the door. 19:12 Then the two visitors 27 said to Lot, “Who else do you have here? 28 Do you have 29 any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or other relatives in the city? 30 Get them out of this 31 place 19:13 because we are about to destroy 32 it. The outcry against this place 33 is so great before the Lord that he 34 has sent us to destroy it.”
19:14 Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were going to marry his daughters. 35 He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy 36 the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them. 37
19:15 At dawn 38 the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, 39 or else you will be destroyed when the city is judged!” 40 19:16 When Lot 41 hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them. 42 They led them away and placed them 43 outside the city. 19:17 When they had brought them outside, they 44 said, “Run 45 for your lives! Don’t look 46 behind you or stop anywhere in the valley! 47 Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!”
19:18 But Lot said to them, “No, please, Lord! 48 19:19 Your 49 servant has found favor with you, 50 and you have shown me great 51 kindness 52 by sparing 53 my life. But I am not able to escape to the mountains because 54 this disaster will overtake 55 me and I’ll die. 56 19:20 Look, this town 57 over here is close enough to escape to, and it’s just a little one. 58 Let me go there. 59 It’s just a little place, isn’t it? 60 Then I’ll survive.” 61
19:21 “Very well,” he replied, 62 “I will grant this request too 63 and will not overthrow 64 the town you mentioned. 19:22 Run there quickly, 65 for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” (This incident explains why the town was called Zoar.) 66
19:23 The sun had just risen 67 over the land as Lot reached Zoar. 68 19:24 Then the Lord rained down 69 sulfur and fire 70 on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord. 71 19:25 So he overthrew those cities and all that region, 72 including all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation that grew 73 from the ground. 19:26 But Lot’s 74 wife looked back longingly 75 and was turned into a pillar of salt.
19:27 Abraham got up early in the morning and went 76 to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 19:28 He looked out toward 77 Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of that region. 78 As he did so, he saw the smoke rising up from the land like smoke from a furnace. 79
19:29 So when God destroyed 80 the cities of the region, 81 God honored 82 Abraham’s request. He removed Lot 83 from the midst of the destruction when he destroyed 84 the cities Lot had lived in.
19:30 Lot went up from Zoar with his two daughters and settled in the mountains because he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. 19:31 Later the older daughter said 85 to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere nearby 86 to have sexual relations with us, 87 according to the way of all the world. 19:32 Come, let’s make our father drunk with wine 88 so we can have sexual relations 89 with him and preserve 90 our family line through our father.” 91
19:33 So that night they made their father drunk with wine, 92 and the older daughter 93 came and had sexual relations with her father. 94 But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. 95 19:34 So in the morning the older daughter 96 said to the younger, “Since I had sexual relations with my father last night, let’s make him drunk again tonight. 97 Then you go and have sexual relations with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” 98 19:35 So they made their father drunk 99 that night as well, and the younger one came and had sexual relations with him. 100 But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. 101
19:36 In this way both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 19:37 The older daughter 102 gave birth to a son and named him Moab. 103 He is the ancestor of the Moabites of today. 19:38 The younger daughter also gave birth to a son and named him Ben-Ammi. 104 He is the ancestor of the Ammonites of today.
4:1 Now 111 the man had marital relations with 112 his wife Eve, and she became pregnant 113 and gave birth to Cain. Then she said, “I have created 114 a man just as the Lord did!” 115
20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev 116 region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident 117 in Gerar,
3:5 When Haman saw that Mordecai was not bowing or paying homage to him, he 118 was filled with rage. 3:6 But the thought of striking out against 119 Mordecai alone was repugnant to him, for he had been informed 120 of the identity of Mordecai’s people. 121 So Haman sought to destroy all the Jews (that is, the people of Mordecai) 122 who were in all the kingdom of Ahasuerus.
17:12 It is better for a person to meet 123 a mother bear being robbed of her cubs,
than 124 to encounter 125 a fool in his folly. 126
27:3 A stone is heavy and sand is weighty,
but vexation 127 by a fool is more burdensome 128 than the two of them.
29:22 An angry person 129 stirs up dissension,
and a wrathful person 130 is abounding in transgression. 131
1 tn The disjunctive clause is temporal here, indicating what Lot was doing at the time of their arrival.
2 tn Heb “sitting in the gate of Sodom.” The phrase “the gate of Sodom” has been translated “the city’s gateway” for stylistic reasons.
3 tn The imperatives have the force of invitation.
4 tn These two verbs form a verbal hendiadys: “you can rise up early and go” means “you can go early.”
5 sn The town square refers to the wide street area at the gate complex of the city.
6 tn The Hebrew verb פָּצַר (patsar, “to press, to insist”) ironically foreshadows the hostile actions of the men of the city (see v. 9, where the verb also appears). The repetition of the word serves to contrast Lot to his world.
7 tn The verb שָׁכַב (shakhav) means “to lie down, to recline,” that is, “to go to bed.” Here what appears to be an imperfect is a preterite after the adverb טֶרֶם (terem). The nuance of potential (perfect) fits well.
8 tn Heb “and the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, from the young to the old, all the people from the end [of the city].” The repetition of the phrase “men of” stresses all kinds of men.
9 tn The Hebrew text adds “and said to him.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.
10 tn The Hebrew verb יָדַע (yada’, “to know”) is used here in the sense of “to lie with” or “to have sex with” (as in Gen 4:1). That this is indeed the meaning is clear from Lot’s warning that they not do so wickedly, and his willingness to give them his daughters instead.
11 tn Heb “may my brothers not act wickedly.”
12 tn Heb “who have not known.” Here this expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
13 tn Heb “according to what is good in your eyes.”
14 tn Heb “shadow.”
15 sn This chapter portrays Lot as a hypocrite. He is well aware of the way the men live in his city and is apparently comfortable in the midst of it. But when confronted by the angels, he finally draws the line. But he is nevertheless willing to sacrifice his daughters’ virginity to protect his guests. His opposition to the crowds leads to his rejection as a foreigner by those with whom he had chosen to live. The one who attempted to rescue his visitors ends up having to be rescued by them.
16 tn Heb “approach out there” which could be rendered “Get out of the way, stand back!”
17 tn Heb “to live as a resident alien.”
18 tn Heb “and he has judged, judging.” The infinitive absolute follows the finite verbal form for emphasis. This emphasis is reflected in the translation by the phrase “dares to judge.”
19 tn The verb “to do wickedly” is repeated here (see v. 7). It appears that whatever “wickedness” the men of Sodom had intended to do to Lot’s visitors – probably nothing short of homosexual rape – they were now ready to inflict on Lot.
20 tn Heb “and they pressed against the man, against Lot, exceedingly.”
21 tn Heb “and they drew near.”
22 tn Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “inside” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
23 tn The Hebrew text adds “their hand.” These words have not been translated for stylistic reasons.
24 tn Heb “to them into the house.”
25 tn Heb “from the least to the greatest.”
26 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Sodom outside the door) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
27 tn Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “visitors” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
28 tn Heb “Yet who [is there] to you here?”
29 tn The words “Do you have” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
30 tn Heb “a son-in-law and your sons and your daughters and anyone who (is) to you in the city.”
31 tn Heb “the place.” The Hebrew article serves here as a demonstrative.
32 tn The Hebrew participle expresses an imminent action here.
33 tn Heb “for their outcry.” The words “about this place” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
34 tn Heb “the
35 sn The language has to be interpreted in the light of the context and the social customs. The men are called “sons-in-law” (literally “the takers of his daughters”), but the daughters had not yet had sex with a man. It is better to translate the phrase “who were going to marry his daughters.” Since formal marriage contracts were binding, the husbands-to-be could already be called sons-in-law.
36 tn The Hebrew active participle expresses an imminent action.
37 tn Heb “and he was like one taunting in the eyes of his sons-in-law.” These men mistakenly thought Lot was ridiculing them and their lifestyle. Their response illustrates how morally insensitive they had become.
38 tn Heb “When dawn came up.”
39 tn Heb “who are found.” The wording might imply he had other daughters living in the city, but the text does not explicitly state this.
40 tn Or “with the iniquity [i.e., punishment] of the city” (cf. NASB, NRSV).
41 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
42 tn Heb “in the compassion of the
43 tn Heb “brought him out and placed him.” The third masculine singular suffixes refer specifically to Lot, though his wife and daughters accompanied him (see v. 17). For stylistic reasons these have been translated as plural pronouns (“them”).
44 tn Or “one of them”; Heb “he.” Several ancient versions (LXX, Vulgate, Syriac) read the plural “they.” See also the note on “your” in v. 19.
45 tn Heb “escape.”
46 tn The Hebrew verb translated “look” signifies an intense gaze, not a passing glance. This same verb is used later in v. 26 to describe Lot’s wife’s self-destructive look back at the city.
47 tn Or “in the plain”; Heb “in the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
48 tn Or “my lords.” See the following note on the problem of identifying the addressee here. The Hebrew term is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
49 tn The second person pronominal suffixes are singular in this verse (note “your eyes,” “you have made great,” and “you have acted”). Verse 18a seems to indicate that Lot is addressing the angels, but the use of the singular and the appearance of the divine title “Lord” (אֲדֹנָי, ’adonay) in v. 18b suggests he is speaking to God.
50 tn Heb “in your eyes.”
51 tn Heb “you made great your kindness.”
52 sn The Hebrew word חֶסֶד (khesed) can refer to “faithful love” or to “kindness,” depending on the context. The precise nuance here is uncertain.
53 tn The infinitive construct explains how God has shown Lot kindness.
54 tn Heb “lest.”
55 tn The Hebrew verb דָּבַק (davaq) normally means “to stick to, to cleave, to join.” Lot is afraid he cannot outrun the coming calamity.
56 tn The perfect verb form with vav consecutive carries the nuance of the imperfect verbal form before it.
57 tn The Hebrew word עִיר (’ir) can refer to either a city or a town, depending on the size of the place. Given that this place was described by Lot later in this verse as a “little place,” the translation uses “town.”
58 tn Heb “Look, this town is near to flee to there. And it is little.”
59 tn Heb “Let me escape to there.” The cohortative here expresses Lot’s request.
60 tn Heb “Is it not little?”
61 tn Heb “my soul will live.” After the cohortative the jussive with vav conjunctive here indicates purpose/result.
62 tn Heb “And he said, ‘Look, I will grant.’” The order of the clauses has been rearranged for stylistic reasons. The referent of the speaker (“he”) is somewhat ambiguous: It could be taken as the angel to whom Lot has been speaking (so NLT; note the singular references in vv. 18-19), or it could be that Lot is speaking directly to the
63 tn Heb “I have lifted up your face [i.e., shown you favor] also concerning this matter.”
64 tn The negated infinitive construct indicates either the consequence of God’s granting the request (“I have granted this request, so that I will not”) or the manner in which he will grant it (“I have granted your request by not destroying”).
65 tn Heb “Be quick! Escape to there!” The two imperatives form a verbal hendiadys, the first becoming adverbial.
66 tn Heb “Therefore the name of the city is called Zoar.” The name of the place, צוֹעַר (tso’ar) apparently means “Little Place,” in light of the wordplay with the term “little” (מִצְעָר, mits’ar) used twice by Lot to describe the town (v. 20).
67 sn The sun had just risen. There was very little time for Lot to escape between dawn (v. 15) and sunrise (here).
68 tn The juxtaposition of the two disjunctive clauses indicates synchronic action. The first action (the sun’s rising) occurred as the second (Lot’s entering Zoar) took place. The disjunctive clauses also signal closure for the preceding scene.
69 tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of the next scene and highlights God’s action.
70 tn Or “burning sulfur” (the traditional “fire and brimstone”).
71 tn Heb “from the
72 tn Or “and all the plain”; Heb “and all the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
73 tn Heb “and the vegetation of the ground.”
74 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
75 tn The Hebrew verb means “to look intently; to gaze” (see 15:5).
76 tn The words “and went” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
77 tn Heb “upon the face of.”
78 tn Or “all the land of the plain”; Heb “and all the face of the land of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
79 tn Heb “And he saw, and look, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.”
80 tn The construction is a temporal clause comprised of the temporal indicator, an infinitive construct with a preposition, and the subjective genitive.
81 tn Or “of the plain”; Heb “of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
82 tn Heb “remembered,” but this means more than mental recollection here. Abraham’s request (Gen 18:23-32) was that the
83 sn God’s removal of Lot before the judgment is paradigmatic. He typically delivers the godly before destroying their world.
84 tn Heb “the overthrow when [he] overthrew.”
85 tn Heb “and the firstborn said.”
86 tn Or perhaps “on earth,” in which case the statement would be hyperbolic; presumably there had been some men living in the town of Zoar to which Lot and his daughters had initially fled.
87 tn Heb “to enter upon us.” This is a euphemism for sexual relations.
88 tn Heb “drink wine.”
89 tn Heb “and we will lie down.” The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive is subordinated to the preceding cohortative and indicates purpose/result.
90 tn Or “that we may preserve.” Here the cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates their ultimate goal.
91 tn Heb “and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”
92 tn Heb “drink wine.”
93 tn Heb “the firstborn.”
94 tn Heb “and the firstborn came and lied down with her father.” The expression “lied down with” here and in the following verses is a euphemism for sexual relations.
95 tn Heb “and he did not know when she lay down and when she arose.”
96 tn Heb “the firstborn.”
97 tn Heb “Look, I lied down with my father. Let’s make him drink wine again tonight.”
98 tn Heb “And go, lie down with him and we will keep alive from our father descendants.”
99 tn Heb “drink wine.”
100 tn Heb “lied down with him.”
101 tn Heb “And he did not know when she lied down and when she arose.”
102 tn Heb “the firstborn.”
103 sn The meaning of the name Moab is not certain. The name sounds like the Hebrew phrase “from our father” (מֵאָבִינוּ, me’avinu) which the daughters used twice (vv. 32, 34). This account is probably included in the narrative in order to portray the Moabites, who later became enemies of God’s people, in a negative light.
104 sn The name Ben-Ammi means “son of my people.” Like the account of Moab’s birth, this story is probably included in the narrative to portray the Ammonites, another perennial enemy of Israel, in a negative light.
105 tn Heb “good.”
106 tn The Hebrew term translated “pearls” may be a reference to resin (cf. NIV “aromatic resin”) or another precious stone (cf. NEB, NASB, NRSV “bdellium”).
107 tn Or “onyx.”
108 sn The Letter to the Hebrews explains the difference between the brothers as one of faith – Abel by faith offered a better sacrifice. Cain’s offering as well as his reaction to God’s displeasure did not reflect faith. See further B. K. Waltke, “Cain and His Offering,” WTJ 48 (1986): 363-72.
109 tn Heb “and it was hot to Cain.” This Hebrew idiom means that Cain “burned” with anger.
110 tn Heb “And his face fell.” The idiom means that the inner anger is reflected in Cain’s facial expression. The fallen or downcast face expresses anger, dejection, or depression. Conversely, in Num 6 the high priestly blessing speaks of the
111 tn The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) introduces a new episode in the ongoing narrative.
112 tn Heb “the man knew,” a frequent euphemism for sexual relations.
113 tn Or “she conceived.”
114 tn Here is another sound play (paronomasia) on a name. The sound of the verb קָנִיתִי (qaniti, “I have created”) reflects the sound of the name Cain in Hebrew (קַיִן, qayin) and gives meaning to it. The saying uses the Qal perfect of קָנָה (qanah). There are two homonymic verbs with this spelling, one meaning “obtain, acquire” and the other meaning “create” (see Gen 14:19, 22; Deut 32:6; Ps 139:13; Prov 8:22). The latter fits this context very well. Eve has created a man.
115 tn Heb “with the
116 tn Or “the South [country]”; Heb “the land of the Negev.”
117 tn Heb “and he sojourned.”
118 tn Heb “Haman.” The pronoun (“he”) was used in the translation for stylistic reasons. Repeating the proper name here is redundant according to contemporary English style, although the name is repeated in NASB and NRSV.
119 tn Heb “to send a hand against”; KJV, NRSV “to lay hands on.”
120 tn Heb “they had related to him.” For stylistic reasons this has been translated as a passive construction.
121 tc The entire first half of the verse is not included in the LXX.
122 tc This parenthetical phrase is not included in the LXX. Some scholars emend the MT reading עַם (’am, “people”) to עִם (’im, “with”), arguing that the phrase is awkwardly placed and syntactically inappropriate. While there is some truth to their complaint, the MT makes sufficient sense to be acceptable here, and is followed by most English versions.
123 tn Heb “Let a man meet” (so NASB); NLT “It is safer to meet.” The infinitive absolute פָּגוֹשׁ (pagosh, “to meet”) functions as a jussive of advice. The bear meeting a man is less dangerous than a fool in his folly. It could be worded as a “better” saying, but that formula is not found here.
124 tn The second colon begins with וְאַל (vÿ’al), “and not.” This negative usually appears with volitives, so the fuller expression of the parallel line would be “and let not a fool in his folly [meet someone].”
125 tn The words “to meet” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied by the parallelism and are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
126 sn The human, who is supposed to be rational and intelligent, in such folly becomes more dangerous than the beast that in this case acts with good reason. As R. L. Alden comments, “Consider meeting a fool with a knife, or gun, or even behind the wheel of a car” (Proverbs, 134). See also E. Loewenstamm, “Remarks on Proverbs 17:12 and 20:27,” VT 37 (1967): 221-24. For a slightly different nuance cf. TEV “some fool busy with a stupid project.”
127 tn The subject matter is the vexation produced by a fool. The term כַּעַס (ca’as) means “vexation” (ASV); provocation” (NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); “anger” (KJV “wrath”) and usually refers to undeserved treatment. Cf. NLT “the resentment caused by a fool.”
128 sn The contrast is made between dealing with the vexation of a fool and physical labor (moving stones and sand). More tiring is the vexation of a fool, for the mental and emotional effort it takes to deal with it is more draining than physical labor. It is, in the sense of this passage, almost unbearable.
129 tn Heb “a man of anger.” Here “anger” is an attributive (“an angry man”). This expression describes one given to or characterized by anger, not merely temporarily angry. The same is true of the next description.
130 tn Heb “possessor of wrath.” Here “wrath” is an attributive (cf. ASV “a wrathful man”; KJV “a furious man”).
131 tn Heb “an abundance of transgression.” The phrase means “abounding in transgression” (BDB 913 s.v. רַב 1.d]). Not only does the angry person stir up dissension, but he also frequently causes sin in himself and in others (e.g., 14:17, 29; 15:18; 16:32; 22:24).
132 tn The term ἄνοια (anoia) denotes a kind of insane or mindless fury; the opponents were beside themselves with rage. They could not rejoice in the healing, but could only react against Jesus.
133 tn The use of the optative (ποιήσαιεν, poihsaien, “might do”) in an indirect question indicates that the formal opposition and planning of Jesus’ enemies started here (BDF §§385.1; 386.1).