Genesis 19:11

11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.

Genesis 19:11 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
11 And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
English Standard Version (ESV)
11 And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door.
New Living Translation (NLT)
11 Then they blinded all the men, young and old, who were at the door of the house, so they gave up trying to get inside.
The Message Bible (MSG)
11 Then they struck blind the men who were trying to break down the door, both leaders and followers, leaving them groping in the dark.
American Standard Version (ASV)
11 And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
11 Then they struck all the men who were in the doorway of the house, young and old alike, with blindness so that they gave up trying to find the door.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
11 They struck the men who were at the door of the house, both young and old, with a blinding light so that they were unable to find the door.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
11 Then they made the men who were at the door of the house blind. They blinded young and old men alike. So the men couldn't find the door.

Genesis 19:11 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 19:11

And they smote the men that [were] at the door of the house
with blindness, both small and great
with "blindnesses" F14; with extreme blindness, with blindness both of eye and heart, as Aben Ezra interprets it; and indeed had they not been given up to a judicial blindness and hardness of heart, such a stroke upon them might have convinced them that their ways were evil, and their works not right, and that by them they had incurred the displeasure of God, and would desisted from their enterprise; but, on the contrary, they went on with it, and sought with all diligence and labour as much as possible to effect it. The word for "blindness" is only used here and in ( 2 Kings 6:18 ) , and denotes a peculiar sort of blindness; not an entire blindness with respect to every object, but only with regard to that they were intent upon; for otherwise they would not have continued about Lot's house, or fatigued themselves with searching for the door of it, but would rather have been glad to have groped to their own houses as well as they could: and thus it was with the Syrians, when they were smitten at the prayer of Elisha, it was not total, for they could follow the prophet in the way he went and led them, but they could not see their way to the place where they intended to go; and so these men of Sodom could see other objects, but not the door of Lot's house, their heads were so confused, and their imaginations so disturbed as in drunken men; or the medium of the visive faculty, the air, so altered, or the form of the object to be seen so changed, that they could not discern it; when they saw the door, it looked like the wall, and that which seemed to them to be the door, proved to be the wall: so that they wearied themselves to find the door;
went backwards and forwards, fancying the door was here, and then it was there, and when they came to it, they perceived it was not; and thus they went to and fro, until they were quite weary of seeking it, and despaired of finding it, and left off.


FOOTNOTES:

F14 (Myrwnob) "caecitatibus", Pagninus, Montanus

Genesis 19:11 In-Context

9 “Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to play the judge! We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.
10 But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door.
11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.
12 The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here,
13 because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.”

Cross References 1

  • 1. Deuteronomy 28:28-29; 2 Kings 6:18; Acts 13:11
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