Genesis 19:16-25

19:16 When Lot ¹  hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them. ²  They led them away and placed them ³  outside the city. 19:17 When they had brought them outside, they ⁴  said, “Run ⁵  for your lives! Don’t look ⁶  behind you or stop anywhere in the valley! ⁷  Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!”

19:18 But Lot said to them, “No, please, Lord! ⁸  19:19 Your ⁹  servant has found favor with you, ¹⁰  and you have shown me great ¹¹  kindness ¹²  by sparing ¹³  my life. But I am not able to escape to the mountains because ¹⁴  this disaster will overtake ¹⁵  me and I’ll die. ¹⁶  19:20 Look, this town ¹⁷  over here is close enough to escape to, and it’s just a little one. ¹⁸  Let me go there. ¹⁹  It’s just a little place, isn’t it? ²⁰  Then I’ll survive.” ²¹ 

19:21 “Very well,” he replied, ²²  “I will grant this request too ²³  and will not overthrow ²⁴  the town you mentioned. 19:22 Run there quickly, ²⁵  for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” (This incident explains why the town was called Zoar.) ²⁶ 

19:23 The sun had just risen ²⁷  over the land as Lot reached Zoar. ²⁸  19:24 Then the Lord rained down ²⁹  sulfur and fire ³⁰  on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord. ³¹  19:25 So he overthrew those cities and all that region, ³²  including all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation that grew ³³  from the ground.

Deuteronomy 29:23-25

29:23 The whole land will be covered with brimstone, salt, and burning debris; it will not be planted nor will it sprout or produce grass. It will resemble the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord destroyed in his intense anger. ³⁴  29:24 Then all the nations will ask, “Why has the Lord done all this to this land? What is this fierce, heated display of anger ³⁵  all about?” 29:25 Then people will say, “Because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.

Isaiah 1:9

1:9 If the Lord who commands armies ³⁶  had not left us a few survivors,

we would have quickly become like Sodom, ³⁷ 

we would have become like Gomorrah.

Isaiah 13:19

13:19 Babylon, the most admired ³⁸  of kingdoms,

the Chaldeans’ source of honor and pride, ³⁹ 

will be destroyed by God

just as Sodom and Gomorrah were. ⁴⁰ 

Jeremiah 50:40

50:40 I will destroy Babylonia just like I did

Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring towns.

No one will live there. ⁴¹ 

No human being will settle in it,”

says the Lord. ⁴² 

Hosea 11:8

The Divine Dilemma: Judgment or Mercy?

11:8 How can I give you up, ⁴³  O Ephraim?

How can I surrender you, O Israel?

How can I treat you like Admah?

How can I make you like Zeboiim?

I have had a change of heart! ⁴⁴ 

All my tender compassions are aroused! ⁴⁵ 

Amos 4:11

4:11 “I overthrew some of you the way God ⁴⁶  overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. ⁴⁷ 

You were like a burning stick ⁴⁸  snatched from the flames.

Still you did not come back to me.”

The Lord is speaking!

Zephaniah 2:9

2:9 Therefore, as surely as I live,” says the Lord who commands armies, the God of Israel,

“be certain that Moab will become like Sodom

and the Ammonites like Gomorrah.

They will be overrun by weeds, ⁴⁹ 

filled with salt pits, ⁵⁰ 

and permanently desolate.

Those of my people who are left ⁵¹  will plunder their belongings; ⁵² 

those who are left in Judah ⁵³  will take possession of their land.”

Matthew 11:23-24

11:23 And you, Capernaum, ⁵⁴  will you be exalted to heaven? ⁵⁵  No, you will be thrown down to Hades! ⁵⁶  For if the miracles done among you had been done in Sodom, it would have continued to this day. 11:24 But I tell you, it will be more bearable for the region of Sodom ⁵⁷  on the day of judgment than for you!”

Matthew 11:2

Jesus and John the Baptist

11:2 Now when John ⁵⁸  heard in prison about the deeds Christ ⁵⁹  had done, he sent his disciples to ask a question: ⁶⁰ 

Matthew 2:6

2:6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are in no way least among the rulers of Judah,

for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” ⁶¹ 

Jude 1:7

1:7 So also ⁶²  Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring towns, ⁶³  since they indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire ⁶⁴  in a way similar to ⁶⁵  these angels, ⁶⁶  are now displayed as an example by suffering the punishment of eternal fire.

Revelation 11:8

11:8 Their ⁶⁷  corpses will lie in the street ⁶⁸  of the great city that is symbolically ⁶⁹  called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was also crucified.

[19:16]  ¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:16]  ² tn Heb “in the compassion of the Lord to them.”

[19:16]  ³ 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”).

[19:17]  ⁴ 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.

[19:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “escape.”

[19:17]  ⁶ 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.

[19:17]  ⁷ tn Or “in the plain”; Heb “in the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

[19:18]  ⁸ tn Or “my lords.” See the following note on the problem of identifying the addressee here. The Hebrew term is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[19:19]  ⁹ 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.

[19:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in your eyes.”

[19:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “you made great your kindness.”

[19:19]  ¹² sn The Hebrew word חֶסֶד (khesed) can refer to “faithful love” or to “kindness,” depending on the context. The precise nuance here is uncertain.

[19:19]  ¹³ tn The infinitive construct explains how God has shown Lot kindness.

[19:19]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “lest.”

[19:19]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew verb דָּבַק (davaq) normally means “to stick to, to cleave, to join.” Lot is afraid he cannot outrun the coming calamity.

[19:19]  ¹⁶ tn The perfect verb form with vav consecutive carries the nuance of the imperfect verbal form before it.

[19:20]  ¹⁷ 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.”

[19:20]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Look, this town is near to flee to there. And it is little.”

[19:20]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Let me escape to there.” The cohortative here expresses Lot’s request.

[19:20]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Is it not little?”

[19:20]  ²¹ tn Heb “my soul will live.” After the cohortative the jussive with vav conjunctive here indicates purpose/result.

[19:21]  ²² 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 Lord here. Most English translations leave the referent of the pronoun unspecified and maintain the ambiguity.

[19:21]  ²³ tn Heb “I have lifted up your face [i.e., shown you favor] also concerning this matter.”

[19:21]  ²⁴ 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”).

[19:22]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Be quick! Escape to there!” The two imperatives form a verbal hendiadys, the first becoming adverbial.

[19:22]  ²⁶ 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).

[19:23]  ²⁷ sn The sun had just risen. There was very little time for Lot to escape between dawn (v. 15) and sunrise (here).

[19:23]  ²⁸ 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.

[19:24]  ²⁹ tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of the next scene and highlights God’s action.

[19:24]  ³⁰ tn Or “burning sulfur” (the traditional “fire and brimstone”).

[19:24]  ³¹ tn Heb “from the Lord from the heavens.” The words “It was sent down” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:25]  ³² tn Or “and all the plain”; Heb “and all the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

[19:25]  ³³ tn Heb “and the vegetation of the ground.”

[29:23]  ³⁴ tn Heb “the anger and the wrath.” This construction is a hendiadys intended to intensify the emotion.

[29:24]  ³⁵ tn Heb “this great burning of anger”; KJV “the heat of this great anger.”

[1:9]  ³⁶ tn Traditionally, “the Lord of hosts.” The title pictures God as the sovereign king who has at his disposal a multitude of attendants, messengers, and warriors to do his bidding. In some contexts, like this one, the military dimension of his rulership is highlighted. In this case, the title pictures him as one who leads armies into battle against his enemies.

[1:9]  ³⁷ tc The translation assumes that כִּמְעָט (kim’at, “quickly,” literally, “like a little”) goes with what follows, contrary to the MT accents, which take it with what precedes. In this case, one could translate the preceding line, “If the Lord who commands armies had not left us a few survivors.” If כִּמְעָט goes with the preceding line (following the MT accents), this expression highlights the idea that there would only be a few survivors (H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:20; H. Zobel, TDOT 8:456). Israel would not be almost like Sodom but exactly like Sodom.

[13:19]  ³⁸ tn Or “most beautiful” (NCV, TEV).

[13:19]  ³⁹ tn Heb “the beauty of the pride of the Chaldeans.”

[13:19]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “and Babylon…will be like the overthrow by God of Sodom and Gomorrah.” On מַהְפֵּכַת (mahpekhat, “overthrow”) see the note on the word “destruction” in 1:7.

[50:40]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “‘Like [when] God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring towns,’ oracle of the Lord, ‘no man will live there.’” The Lord is speaking so the first person has been substituted for “God.” The sentence has again been broken up to better conform with contemporary English style.

[50:40]  ⁴² tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[11:8]  ⁴³ tn The imperfect verbs in 11:8 function as imperfects of capability. See IBHS 564 §34.1a.

[11:8]  ⁴⁴ tn The phrase נֶהְפַּךְ עָלַי לִבִּי (nehpakh ’alay libbi) is an idiom that can be taken in two ways: (1) emotional sense: to describe a tumult of emotions, not just a clash of ideas, that are afflicting a person (Lam 1:20; HALOT 253 s.v. הפך 1.c) and (2) volitional sense: to describe a decisive change of policy, that is, a reversal of sentiment from amity to hatred (Exod 14:5; Ps 105:25; BDB 245 s.v. הָפַךְ 1; HALOT 253 s.v. 3). The English versions alternate between these two: (1) emotional discomfort and tension over the prospect of destroying Israel: “mine heart is turned within me” (KJV), “my heart recoils within me” (RSV, NRSV), “My heart is turned over within Me” (NASB), “My heart is torn within me” (NLT); and (2) volitional reversal of previous decision to totally destroy Israel: “I have had a change of heart” (NJPS), “my heart is changed within me” (NIV), and “my heart will not let me do it!” (TEV). Both BDB 245 s.v. 1.b and HALOT 253 s.v. 3 suggest that the idiom describes a decisive change of heart (reversal of decision to totally destroy Israel once and for all) rather than emotional turbulence of God shifting back and forth between whether to destroy or spare Israel. This volitional nuance is supported by the modal function of the 1st person common singular imperfects in 11:8 (“I will not carry out my fierce anger…I will not destroy Ephraim…I will not come in wrath”) and by the prophetic announcement of future restoration in 11:10-11. Clearly, a dramatic reversal both in tone and in divine intention occurs between 11:5-11.

[11:8]  ⁴⁵ tn The Niphal of כָּמַר (kamar) means “to grow warm, tender” (BDB 485 s.v. כָּמַר), as its use in a simile with the oven demonstrates (Lam 5:10). It is used several times to describe the arousal of the most tender affection (Gen 43:30; 1 Kgs 3:26; Hos 11:8; BDB 485 s.v. 1; HALOT 482 s.v. כמר 1). Cf. NRSV “my compassion grows warm and tender.”

[4:11]  ⁴⁶ tn Several English versions substitute the first person pronoun (“I”) here for stylistic reasons (e.g., NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[4:11]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “like God’s overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah.” The divine name may be used in an idiomatic superlative sense here, in which case one might translate, “like the great [or “disastrous”] overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah.”

[4:11]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “like that which is burning.”

[2:9]  ⁴⁹ tn The Hebrew text reads מִמְשַׁק חָרוּל (mimshaq kharul, “[?] of weeds”). The meaning of the first word is unknown. The present translation (“They will be overrun by weeds”) is speculative, based on the general sense of the context. For a defense of “overrun” on linguistic grounds, see R. D. Patterson, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (WEC), 347. Cf. NEB “a pile of weeds”; NIV “a place of weeds”; NRSV “a land possessed by nettles.”

[2:9]  ⁵⁰ tn The Hebrew text reads וּמִכְרֵה־מֶלַח (umikhreh-melakh, “and a [?] of salt”). The meaning of the first word is unclear, though “pit” (NASB, NIV, NRSV; NKJV “saltpit”), “mine,” and “heap” (cf. NEB “a rotting heap of saltwort”) are all options. The words “filled with” are supplied for clarification.

[2:9]  ⁵¹ tn Or “The remnant of my people.”

[2:9]  ⁵² tn Heb “them.” The actual object of the plundering, “their belongings,” has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:9]  ⁵³ tn Heb “[the] nation.” For clarity the “nation” has been specified as “Judah” in the translation.

[11:23]  ⁵⁴ sn Capernaum was a town on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region.

[11:23]  ⁵⁵ tn The interrogative particle introducing this question expects a negative reply.

[11:23]  ⁵⁶ sn In the OT, Hades was known as Sheol. It is the place where the unrighteous will reside (Luke 10:15; 16:23; Rev 20:13-14).

[11:24]  ⁵⁷ sn The allusion to Sodom, the most wicked of OT cities from Gen 19:1-29, shows that to reject the current message is even more serious, and will result in more severe punishment, than the worst sins of the old era. The phrase region of Sodom is in emphatic position in the Greek text.

[11:2]  ⁵⁸ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[11:2]  ⁵⁹ tc The Western codex D and a few other mss (0233 1424 al) read “Jesus” here instead of “Christ.” This is not likely to be original because it is not found in the earliest and most important mss, nor in the rest of the ms tradition.

[11:2]  ⁶⁰ tc Instead of “by his disciples” (see the tn below for the reading of the Greek), the majority of later mss (C³ L ˹ Ï lat bo) have “two of his disciples.” The difference in Greek, however, is only two letters: διὰ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ vs. δύο τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ (dia twn maqhtwn autou vs. duo twn maqhtwn autou). Although an accidental alteration could account for either of these readings, it is more likely that δύο is an assimilation to the parallel in Luke 7:18. Further, διά is read by a good number of early and excellent witnesses (א B C* D P W Z Δ Θ 0233 ˹³ 33 sa), and thus should be considered original.

[2:6]  ⁶¹ sn A quotation from Mic 5:2.

[1:7]  ⁶² tn Grk “as.”

[1:7]  ⁶³ tn Grk “the towns [or cities] surrounding them.”

[1:7]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “strange flesh.” This phrase has been variously interpreted. It could refer to flesh of another species (such as angels lusting after human flesh). This would aptly describe the sin of the angels, but not easily explain the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah. It could refer to the homosexual practices of the Sodomites, but a difficulty arises from the use of ἕτερος ({etero"; “strange,” “other”). When this is to be distinguished from ἄλλος (allos, “another”) it suggests “another of a different kind.” If so, would that properly describe homosexual behavior? In response, the language could easily be compact: “pursued flesh other than what was normally pursued.” However, would this find an analogy in the lust of angels (such would imply that angels normally had sexual relations of some sort, but cf. Matt 22:30)? Another alternative is that the focus of the parallel is on the activity of the surrounding cities and the activity of the angels. This is especially plausible since the participles ἐκπορνεύσασαι (ekporneusasai, “having indulged in sexual immorality”) and ἀπελθοῦσαι (apelqousai, “having pursued”) have concord with “cities” (πόλεις, poleis), a feminine plural noun, rather than with Sodom and Gomorrah (both masculine nouns). If so, then their sin would not necessarily have to be homosexuality. However, most likely the feminine participles are used because of constructio ad sensum (construction according to sense). That is, since both Sodom and Gomorrah are cities, the feminine is used to imply that all the cities are involved. The connection with angels thus seems to be somewhat loose: Both angels and Sodom and Gomorrah indulged in heinous sexual immorality. Thus, whether the false teachers indulge in homosexual activity is not the point; mere sexual immorality is enough to condemn them.

[1:7]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “in the same way as.”

[1:7]  ⁶⁶ tn “Angels” is not in the Greek text; but the masculine demonstrative pronoun most likely refers back to the angels of v. 6.

[11:8]  ⁶⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[11:8]  ⁶⁸ tn The Greek word πλατεῖα (plateia) refers to a major (broad) street (L&N 1.103).

[11:8]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “spiritually.”