Genesis 19:16-19

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 

[19:16]  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.