Genesis 19:21

19:21 “Very well,” he replied, ¹  “I will grant this request too ²  and will not overthrow ³  the town you mentioned.

Genesis 19:25

19:25 So he overthrew those cities and all that region, ⁴  including all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation that grew ⁵  from the ground.

Genesis 19:29

19:29 So when God destroyed ⁶  the cities of the region, ⁷  God honored ⁸  Abraham’s request. He removed Lot ⁹  from the midst of the destruction when he destroyed ¹⁰  the cities Lot had lived in.

[19:21]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “I have lifted up your face [i.e., shown you favor] also concerning this matter.”

[19:21]  ³ 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”).

[19:25]  ⁴ tn Or “and all the plain”; Heb “and all the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

[19:25]  ⁵ tn Heb “and the vegetation of the ground.”

[19:29]  ⁷ tn The construction is a temporal clause comprised of the temporal indicator, an infinitive construct with a preposition, and the subjective genitive.

[19:29]  ⁸ tn Or “of the plain”; Heb “of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

[19:29]  ⁹ tn Heb “remembered,” but this means more than mental recollection here. Abraham’s request (Gen 18:23-32) was that the Lord not destroy the righteous with the wicked. While the requisite minimum number of righteous people (ten, v. 32) needed for God to spare the cities was not found, God nevertheless rescued the righteous before destroying the wicked.

[19:29]  ¹⁰ sn God’s removal of Lot before the judgment is paradigmatic. He typically delivers the godly before destroying their world.

[19:29]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the overthrow when [he] overthrew.”