Genesis 19

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening whilet Lot was sitting in the city’s gateway.ts When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground.

2 He said, “Here, my lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house. Stay the nightt and wash your feet. Then you can be on your way early in the morning.”t “No,” they replied, “we’ll spend the night in the town square.”s
3 But he urgedt them persistently, so they turned aside with him and entered his house. He prepared a feast for them, including bread baked without yeast, and they ate.4 Before they could lie down to sleep,t all the men – both young and old, from every part of the city of Sodom – surrounded the house.t

5 They shouted to Lot,t “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sexts with them!”
6 Lot went outside to them, shutting the door behind him.7 He said, “No, my brothers! Don’t act so wickedly!t

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

9 “Out of our way!”t they cried, and “This man came to live here as a foreigner,t and now he dares to judge us!t We’ll do more harmt to you than to them!” They keptt pressing in on Lot until they were close enought to break down the door.
10 So the men insidet reached outt and pulled Lot back into the houset as they shut the door.11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, from the youngest to the oldest,t with blindness. The men outsidet wore themselves out trying to find the door.12 Then the two visitorst said to Lot, “Who else do you have here?t Do you havet any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or other relatives in the city?t Get them out of thist place

13 because we are about to destroyt it. The outcry against this placet is so great before the Lord that het has sent us to destroy it.”

14 Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were going to marry his daughters.s He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroyt the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them.t
15 At dawnt the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here,t or else you will be destroyed when the city is judged!”t16 When Lott hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them.t They led them away and placed themt outside the city.

17 When they had brought them outside, theyt said, “Runt for your lives! Don’t lookt behind you or stop anywhere in the valley!t Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!”
18 But Lot said to them, “No, please, Lord!t19 Yourt servant has found favor with you,t and you have shown me greatt kindnesss by sparingt my life. But I am not able to escape to the mountains becauset this disaster will overtaket me and I’ll die.t

20 Look, this townt over here is close enough to escape to, and it’s just a little one.t Let me go there.t It’s just a little place, isn’t it?t Then I’ll survive.”t
21 “Very well,” he replied,t “I will grant this request toot and will not overthrowt the town you mentioned.

22 Run there quickly,t for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” (This incident explains why the town was called Zoar.)t
23 The sun had just risens over the land as Lot reached Zoar.t24 Then the Lord rained downt sulfur and firet on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord.ts25 So he overthrew those cities and all that region,t including all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation that grewt from the ground.

26 But Lot’st wife looked back longinglyts and was turned into a pillar of salt.
27 Abraham got up early in the morning and wentt to the place where he had stood before the Lord.

28 He looked out towardt Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of that region.t As he did so, he saw the smoke rising up from the land like smoke from a furnace.ts

29 So when God destroyedt the cities of the region,t God honoredts Abraham’s request. He removed Lots from the midst of the destruction when he destroyedt the cities Lot had lived in.
30 Lot went up from Zoar with his two daughters and settled in the mountains because he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters.31 Later the older daughter saidt to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere nearbyt to have sexual relations with us,t according to the way of all the world.

32 Come, let’s make our father drunk with winet so we can have sexual relationst with him and preservet our family line through our father.”ts
33 So that night they made their father drunk with wine,t and the older daughtert came and had sexual relations with her father.t But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up.t34 So in the morning the older daughtert said to the younger, “Since I had sexual relations with my father last night, let’s make him drunk again tonight.t Then you go and have sexual relations with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.”t

35 So they made their father drunkt that night as well, and the younger one came and had sexual relations with him.t But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up.t
36 In this way both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father.37 The older daughtert gave birth to a son and named him Moab.s He is the ancestor of the Moabites of today.

38 The younger daughter also gave birth to a son and named him Ben-Ammi.s He is the ancestor of the Ammonites of today.

Genesis 20

Abraham and Abimelech

1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negevts region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary residentt in Gerar,

2 Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her.

3 But God appearedt to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as deadt because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.”t
4 Now Abimelech had not gone near her. He said, “Lord,t would you really slaughter an innocent nation?t

5 Did Abrahamt not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said,t ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear consciencet and with innocent hands!”
6 Then in the dream God replied to him, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience.t That is why I have kept yout from sinning against me and whyt I did not allow you to touch her.

7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeedt he is a prophets and he will pray for you; thus you will live.ts But if you don’t give her back,t know that you will surely diet along with all who belong to you.”
8 Early in the morningt Abimelech summonedt all his servants. When he told them about all these things,t theyt were terrified.9 Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? What sin did I commit against you that would cause you to bring such great guilt on me and my kingdom?t You have done things to me that should not be done!”t

10 Then Abimelech askedt Abraham, “What prompted you to do this thing?”t
11 Abraham replied, “Because I thought,t ‘Surely no one fears God in this place. They will kill me because oft my wife.’12 What’s more,t she is indeed my sister, my father’s daughter, but not my mother’s daughter. She became my wife.

13 When God made me wandert from my father’s house, I told her, ‘This is what you can do to show your loyalty to me:t Every place we go, say about me, “He is my brother.”’”
14 So Abimelech gavet sheep, cattle, and male and female servants to Abraham. He also gave his wife Sarah back to him.

15 Then Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you; live wherever you please.”t

16 To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silvers to your ‘brother.’s This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.”t
17 Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, as well as his wife and female slaves so that they were able to have children.

18 For the Lordt had caused infertility to strike every womants in the household of Abimelech because he tookt Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

Genesis 21

The Birth of Isaac

1 The Lord visiteds Sarah just as he had said he would and didt for Sarah what he had promised.t2 So Sarah became pregnantt and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the appointed time that God had told him.3 Abraham named his son – whom Sarah bore to him – Isaac.t4 When his son Isaac was eight days old,t Abraham circumcised him just as God had commanded him to do.s

5 (Now Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.)t
6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh.t Everyone who hears about thist will laughs with me.”

7 She went on to say,t “Who wouldt have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have given birth to a son for him in his old age!”
8 The child grew and was weaned. Abraham preparedt a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.s9 But Sarah noticedt the son of Hagar the Egyptian – the son whom Hagar had borne to Abraham – mocking.ts

10 So she said to Abraham, “Banisht that slave woman and her son, for the son of that slave woman will not be an heir along with my son Isaac!”
11 Sarah’s demand displeased Abraham greatly because Ishmael was his son.t12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be upsett about the boy or your slave wife. Dot all that Sarah is tellingt you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted.t

13 But I will also make the son of the slave wife into a great nation, for he is your descendant too.”
14 Early in the morning Abraham tookt some foodt and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He put them on her shoulders, gave her the child,t and sent her away. So she went wanderingt aimlessly through the wildernesst of Beer Sheba.15 When the water in the skin was gone, she shovedt the child under one of the shrubs.

16 Then she went and sat down by herself across from him at quite a distance, about a bowshots away; for she thought,t “I refuse to watch the child die.”t So she sat across from him and wept uncontrollably.t
17 But God heard the boy’s voice.s The angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and asked her, “What is the matter,t Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heards the boy’s voice right where he is crying.18 Get up! Help the boy up and hold him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”

19 Then God enabled Hagar to see a well of water.t She went over and filled the skin with water, and then gave the boy a drink.
20 God was with the boy as he grew. He lived in the wilderness and became an archer.

21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran.s His mother found a wife for him from the land of Egypt.t
22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with yous in all that you do.

23 Now swear to me right here in God’s namet that you will not deceive me, my children, or my descendants.t Show me, and the landt where you are staying,t the same loyaltyt that I have shown you.”t
24 Abraham said, “I swear to do this.”t25 But Abraham lodged a complaintt against Abimelech concerning a wellt that Abimelech’s servants had seized.t

26 “I do not know who has done this thing,” Abimelech replied. “Moreover,t you did not tell me. I did not hear about it until today.”
27 Abraham took some sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech. The two of them made a treaty.t28 Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs apart from the flock by themselves.29 Abimelech asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of theset seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?”30 He replied, “You must take these seven ewe lambs from my hand as legal prooft that I dug this well.”s

31 That is why he named that placet Beer Sheba,s because the two of them swores an oath there.
32 So they made a treatyt at Beer Sheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, returnedt to the land of the Philistines.s33 Abrahamt planted a tamarisk trees in Beer Sheba. There he worshiped the Lord,t the eternal God.

34 So Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for quite some time.t