Genesis 19:12–19

19:12 Then the two visitors27 said to Lot, “Who else do you have here?28 Do you have29 any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or other relatives in the city?30 Get them out of this31 place 19:13 because we are about to destroy32 it. The outcry against this place33 is so great before the Lord that he34 has sent us to destroy it.”

19:14 Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were going to marry his daughters.35 He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy36 the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them.37

19:15 At dawn38 the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here,39 or else you will be destroyed when the city is judged!”40 19:16 When Lot41 hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them.42 They led them away and placed them43 outside the city. 19:17 When they had brought them outside, they44 said, “Run45 for your lives! Don’t look46 behind you or stop anywhere in the valley!47 Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!”

19:18 But Lot said to them, “No, please, Lord!48 19:19 Your49 servant has found favor with you,50 and you have shown me great51 kindness52 by sparing53 my life. But I am not able to escape to the mountains because54 this disaster will overtake55 me and I’ll die.56

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27	tn Heb “the men,” referring to the angels inside Lot’s house. The word “visitors” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
28	tn Heb “Yet who [is there] to you here?”
29	tn The words “Do you have” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
30	tn Heb “a son-in-law and your sons and your daughters and anyone who (is) to you in the city.”
31	tn Heb “the place.” The Hebrew article serves here as a demonstrative.
32	tn The Hebrew participle expresses an imminent action here.
33	tn Heb “for their outcry.” The words “about this place” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
34	tn Heb “the Lord.” The repetition of the divine name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun “he” for stylistic reasons.
35	sn The language has to be interpreted in the light of the context and the social customs. The men are called “sons-in-law” (literally “the takers of his daughters”), but the daughters had not yet had sex with a man. It is better to translate the phrase “who were going to marry his daughters.” Since formal marriage contracts were binding, the husbands-to-be could already be called sons-in-law.
36	tn The Hebrew active participle expresses an imminent action.
37	tn Heb “and he was like one taunting in the eyes of his sons-in-law.” These men mistakenly thought Lot was ridiculing them and their lifestyle. Their response illustrates how morally insensitive they had become.
38	tn Heb “When dawn came up.”
39	tn Heb “who are found.” The wording might imply he had other daughters living in the city, but the text does not explicitly state this.
40	tn Or “with the iniquity [i.e., punishment] of the city” (cf. NASB, NRSV).
41	tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
42	tn Heb “in the compassion of the Lord to them.”
43	tn Heb “brought him out and placed him.” The third masculine singular suffixes refer specifically to Lot, though his wife and daughters accompanied him (see v. 17). For stylistic reasons these have been translated as plural pronouns (“them”).
44	tn Or “one of them”; Heb “he.” Several ancient versions (LXX, Vulgate, Syriac) read the plural “they.” See also the note on “your” in v. 19.
45	tn Heb “escape.”
46	tn The Hebrew verb translated “look” signifies an intense gaze, not a passing glance. This same verb is used later in v. 26 to describe Lot’s wife’s self-destructive look back at the city.
47	tn Or “in the plain”; Heb “in the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
48	tn Or “my lords.” See the following note on the problem of identifying the addressee here. The Hebrew term is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
49	tn The second person pronominal suffixes are singular in this verse (note “your eyes,” “you have made great,” and “you have acted”). Verse 18a seems to indicate that Lot is addressing the angels, but the use of the singular and the appearance of the divine title “Lord” (אֲדֹנָי, ’adonay) in v. 18b suggests he is speaking to God.
50	tn Heb “in your eyes.”
51	tn Heb “you made great your kindness.”
52	sn The Hebrew word חֶסֶד (khesed) can refer to “faithful love” or to “kindness,” depending on the context. The precise nuance here is uncertain.
53	tn The infinitive construct explains how God has shown Lot kindness.
54	tn Heb “lest.”
55	tn The Hebrew verb דָּבַק (davaq) normally means “to stick to, to cleave, to join.” Lot is afraid he cannot outrun the coming calamity.
56	tn The perfect verb form with vav consecutive carries the nuance of the imperfect verbal form before it.

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