Genesis 19:3-23

3 And he urged them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house. And he made them a repast, and baked unleavened cakes; and they ate.
4 Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, from the youngest to the oldest -- all the people from every quarter.
5 And they called to Lot, and said to him, Where are the men that have come in to thee to-night? bring them out to us that we may know them.
6 And Lot went out to them to the entrance, and shut the door after him,
7 and said, I pray you, my brethren, do not wickedly!
8 Behold now, I have two daughters who have not known a man: let me now bring them out to you; and do to them as is good in your sight: only, to these men do nothing; for therefore have they come under the shadow of my roof.
9 And they said, Back there! And they said [again], This one came to sojourn, and he must be a judge? Now we will deal worse with thee than with them. And they pressed hard on the man -- on Lot; and drew near to break the door.
10 And the men stretched out their hand, and brought Lot into the house to them, and shut the door.
11 And they smote the men that were at the entrance of the house with blindness, from the smallest to the greatest; and they wearied themselves to find the entrance.
12 And the men said to Lot, Whom hast thou here besides? a son-in-law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and all whom thou hast in the city -- bring [them] out of the place.
13 For we are going to destroy this place, because the cry of them is great before Jehovah, and Jehovah has sent us to destroy it.
14 And Lot went out, and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, Up, go out of this place, for Jehovah will destroy the city. But he was as if he jested, in the sight of his sons-in-law.
15 And as the dawn arose, the angels urged Lot, saying, Up, take thy wife and thy two daughters who are present, lest thou perish in the iniquity of the city.
16 And as he lingered, the men laid hold on his hand, and on the hand of his wife, and on the hand of his two daughters, Jehovah being merciful to him; and they led him out, and set him without the city.
17 And it came to pass when they had brought them outside, that he said, Escape for thy life: look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain: escape to the mountain, lest thou perish.
18 And Lot said to them, Not [so], I pray thee, Lord;
19 behold now, thy servant has found favour in thine eyes, and thou hast magnified thy goodness, which thou hast shewn to me in preserving my soul alive; but I cannot escape to the mountain, lest calamity lay hold on me, that I die.
20 Behold now, this city is near to flee to, and it is small: I pray thee, let me escape thither -- is it not small? -- and my soul shall live.
21 And he said to him, Behold, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow the city of which thou hast spoken.
22 Haste, escape thither; for I cannot do anything until thou art come there. Therefore the name of the city is called Zoar.
23 The sun rose upon the earth when Lot came to Zoar.

Genesis 19:3-23 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 19

The contents of this chapter are Lot's entertainment of two angels that came to Sodom, Ge 19:1-3; the rude behaviour of the men of Sodom towards them, who for it were smote with blindness, Ge 19:4-11; the deliverance of Lot, his wife and two daughters, by means of the angels he entertained, Ge 19:12-17; the sparing of the city of Zoar at the entreaty of Lot, to which he was allowed to flee, Ge 19:18-22; the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah, Ge 19:23-25; Lot's wife turned into a pillar of salt for looking back, Ge 19:26; Abraham's view of the conflagration of the cities, Ge 19:28,29; Lot's betaking himself to a mountain, and dwelling in a cave with his two daughters, by whom he had two sons, the one called Moab, and the other Benammi, Ge 19:30-38.

Footnotes 8

  • [a]. Lit. 'from the end,' with the force of 'to the end,' 'extremity;' see ch. 47.2,21.
  • [b]. The force is, 'again and again:' see ch. 31.15.
  • [c]. Or 'were to marry;' lit. 'the takers of.'
  • [d]. Lit. 'are found.'
  • [e]. Or 'punishment.' See Zech. 14.19.
  • [f]. See ch. 13.10.
  • [g]. Chesed: see 2 Chron. 6.42.
  • [h]. Small.
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.