Genesis 19

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

1 The two angels entered Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting at Sodom's gate. When Lot saw [them], he got up to meet them. He bowed [with his] face to the ground

2 and said, "My lords, turn aside to your servant's house, wash your feet, and spend the night. Then you can get up early and go on your way."
"No," they said. "We would rather spend the night in the square."

3 But he urged them so strongly that they followed him and went into his house. He prepared a feast and baked unleavened bread for them, and they ate.
4 Before they went to bed, the men of the city of Sodom, both young and old, the whole population, surrounded the house.

5 They called out to Lot and said, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Send them out to us so we can have sex with them!"
6 Lot went out to them at the entrance and shut the door behind him. 7 He said, "Don't do [this] evil, my brothers.

8 Look, I've got two daughters who haven't had sexual relations with a man. I'll bring them out to you, and you can do whatever you want to them. However, don't do anything to these men, because they have come under the protection of my roof."
9 "Get out of the way!" they said, adding, "This one came here as a foreigner, but he's acting like a judge! Now we'll do more harm to you than to them." They put pressure on Lot and came up to break down the door. 10 But the angels reached out, brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door.

11 They struck the men who were at the entrance of the house, both young and old, with a blinding light so that they were unable to find the entrance.
12 Then the angels said to Lot, "Do you have anyone else here: a son-in-law, your sons and daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of this place,

13 for we are about to destroy this place because the outcry against its people is so great before the Lord, that the Lord has sent us to destroy it."

14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were going to marry his daughters. "Get up," he said. "Get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city!" But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.
15 At daybreak the angels urged Lot on: "Get up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city."

16 But he hesitated. Because of the Lord's compassion for him, the men grabbed his hand, his wife's hand, and the hands of his two daughters. Then they brought him out and left him outside the city.

17 As soon as the angels got them outside, one of them said, "Run for your lives! Don't look back and don't stop anywhere on the plain! Run to the mountains, or you will be swept away!"
18 But Lot said to them, "No, my lords-please. 19 Your servant has indeed found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness by saving my life. But I can't run to the mountains; the disaster will overtake me, and I will die.

20 Look, this town is close enough for me to run to. It is a small place. Please let me go there-it's only a small place, isn't it?-so that I can survive."
21 And he said to him, "All right, I'll grant your request about this matter too and will not demolish the town you mentioned.

22 Hurry up! Run there, for I cannot do anything until you get there." Therefore the name of the city is Zoar.
23 The sun had risen over the land when Lot reached Zoar. 24 Then out of the sky the Lord rained burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord. 25 He demolished these cities, the entire plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and whatever grew on the ground.

26 But his wife looked back and became a pillar of salt.
27 Early in the morning Abraham went to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of the plain, and he saw that smoke was going up from the land like the smoke of a furnace.

29 So it was, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, He remembered Abraham and brought Lot out of the middle of the upheaval when He demolished the cities where Lot had lived.

The Origin of Moab and Ammon

30 Lot departed from Zoar and lived in the mountains along with his two daughters, because he was afraid to live in Zoar. Instead, he and his two daughters lived in a cave. 31 Then the firstborn said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is no man in the land to sleep with us [as is] the custom of all the land. 32 Come, let's get our father to drink wine so that we can sleep with him and preserve our father's line."

33 So they got their father to drink wine that night, and the firstborn came and slept with her father; he did not know when she lay down or when she got up.
34 The next day the firstborn said to the younger, "Look, I slept with my father last night. Let's get him to drink wine again tonight so you can go sleep with him and we can preserve our father's line."

35 That night they again got their father to drink wine, and the younger went and slept with him; he did not know when she lay down or when she got up.
36 So both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father. 37 The firstborn gave birth to a son and named him Moab. He is the father of the Moabites of today.

38 The younger also gave birth to a son, and she named him Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites of today.

Genesis 19

The evil city of Sodom

1 That evening the two angelst arrived in Sodom, while Lot was sitting near the city gate.t When Lot saw them, he got up, bowed down low,

2 and said, “Gentlemen, I am your servant. Please come to my home. You can wash your feet, spend the night, and be on your way in the morning.”
They told him, “No, we'll spend the night in the city square.”

3 But Lot kept insisting, until they finally agreed and went home with him. He baked some bread,t cooked a meal, and they ate.
4 Before Lot and his guests could go to bed, every man in Sodom, young and old, came and stood outside his house

5 and started shouting, “Where are your visitors? Send them out, so we can have sex with them!”t
6 Lot went outside and shut the door behind him. 7 Then he said, “Friends, please don't do such a terrible thing!

8 I have two daughters who have never been married. I'll bring them out, and you can do what you want with them. But don't harm these men. They are guests in my home.”

9 “Don't get in our way,” the crowd answered. “You're an outsider. What right do you have to order us around? We'll do worse things to you than we're going to do to them.”
The crowd kept arguing with Lot. Finally, they rushed towards the door to break it down. 10 But the two angels in the house reached out and pulled Lot safely inside.

11 Then they struck everyone in the crowd blind, and none of them could even find the door.t

12-13 The two angels said to Lot, “The Lord has heard many terrible things about the people of Sodom, and he has sent us here to destroy the city. Take your family and leave. Take every relative you have in the city, as well as the men your daughters are going to marry.”

14 Lot went to the men who were engaged to his daughters and said, “Hurry and get out of here! The Lord is going to destroy this city.” But they thought he was joking, and they laughed at him.
15 Early the next morning the two angels tried to make Lot hurry and leave. They said, “Take your wife and your two daughters and get out of here as fast as you can! If you don't, every one of you will be killed when the Lord destroys the city.” 16 At first, Lot just stood there. But the Lord wanted to save him. So the angels took Lot, his wife, and his two daughters by the hand and led them out of the city.t

17 When they were outside, one of the angels said, “Run for your lives! Don't even look back. And don't stop in the valley. Run to the hills, where you will be safe.”
18-19 Lot answered, “You have done us a great favour, sir. You have saved our lives, but please don't make us go to the hills. That's too far away. The city will be destroyed before we can get there, and we will be killed when it happens.

20 There's a town near here. It's only a small place, but my family and I will be safe, if you let us go there.”
21 “All right, go there,” he answered. “I won't destroy that town.

22 Hurry! Run! I can't do anything until you are safely there.”
The town was later called Zoart because Lot had said it was small.

Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed

25 He destroyed those cities and everyone who lived in them, as well as their land and the trees and grass that grew there.

26 On the way, Lot's wife looked back and was turned into a block of salt.t
27 That same morning Abraham got up and went to the place where he had stood and spoken with the Lord.

28 He looked down towards Sodom and Gomorrah and saw smoke rising from all over the land—it was like a flaming furnace.

29 When God destroyed the cities of the valley where Lot lived, he remembered his promise to Abraham and saved Lot from the terrible destruction.

Moab and Ammon

33 That night they got their father drunk, and the elder daughter got in bed with him, but he was too drunk even to know she was there.
34 The next day the elder daughter said to her sister, “I slept with my father last night. We'll get him drunk again tonight, so you can go to bed with him, and we can each have a child.”

35 That night they got their father drunk, and this time the younger sister slept with him. But once again he was too drunk even to know she was there.
36 That's how Lot's two daughters had their children. 37 The elder daughter named her son Moab,t and he is the ancestor of the Moabites. 38 The younger daughter named her son Benammi,t and he is the ancestor of the Ammonites.