Genesis 19:17

19:17 When they had brought them outside, they ¹  said, “Run ²  for your lives! Don’t look ³  behind you or stop anywhere in the valley! ⁴  Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!”

Genesis 19:8

19:8 Look, I have two daughters who have never had sexual relations with ⁵  a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do to them whatever you please. ⁶  Only don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection ⁷  of my roof.” ⁸ 

[19:17]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “escape.”

[19:17]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Or “in the plain”; Heb “in the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

[19:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “who have not known.” Here this expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[19:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “according to what is good in your eyes.”

[19:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “shadow.”

[19:8]  ⁸ 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.