12 Then the men said to Lot, “Who is here with you? Bring out from the place your sons-in-law, and your sons and your daughters, and all who are with you in the city. 13 For we are about to destroy this place, because their cry has become great before Yahweh. Yahweh sent us to destroy it.” 14 Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were takingg his daughters and said, “Get up! Go out from this place, because Yahweh is going to destroy the city!” But ⌊it seemed like a joke⌋h in the eyes of his sons-in-law. 15 And as the dawn came up the angels urged Lot saying, “Get up, take your wife and your two daughters ⌊who are staying with you⌋,i lest you be destroyed with the punishment of the city.” 16 But when he lingered, the men seized him by his hand and his wife’s hand, and his two daughters by hand, on account of the mercy of Yahweh upon him. And they brought him out and set him outside of the city. 17 And after bringing them outside one said, “Flee for your life; do not look behind you, and do not stand anywhere in the plain. Flee to the mountains lest you be destroyed.” 18 And Lot said to them, “No, please, my lords. 19 Behold, your servant has found favor in your eyes and ⌊you have shown me great kindness⌋j in saving my life. But I cannot flee to the mountains, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. 20 Behold, this city is near enough to flee there, and it is a little one. Please, let me flee there. Is it not a little one? Then my life shall be saved.” 21 And he said to him, “Behold, ⌊I will grant this favor as well⌋;k that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. 22 Escape there quickly, for I cannot do this thing until you get there.” Therefore, the name of the city was called Zoar.

The Destruction of Sodom

23 After the sun ⌊had risen⌋l upon the earth and Lot had entered Zoar, 24 Yahweh rained down from heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Yahweh. 25 And he overthrew those cities and the whole plain, and the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation of the ground. 26 But hism wife looked ⌊back⌋,n and she became a pillar of salt. 27 And Abraham arose early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before Yahweh. 28 And he looked down upon the surface of Sodom and Gomorrah, and upon the whole surface of the land, the plain. And he saw that,o behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a smelting furnace. 29 So it was, when God destroyed the cities of the plain that God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out from the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.

Lot and His Daughters

30 And Lot went out from Zoar and settled in the hill countryp with his two daughters, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. So he lived in a cave, he and his two daughters. 31 And the firstborn daughter said to the younger one, “Our father is old, and there is no man in the land to come in to us according to the manner of all the land. 32 Come, let us give our father wine to drink and let us lie with himq that ⌊we may secure descendants through our father⌋.”r 33 And they gave their father wine to drink that night, and the firstborn went and lay with her father, but he did not know when she lay down or when she got up. 34 And it happened that, the next day the firstborn said to the younger one, “Look, I laid with my father last night. Let us give him wine to drink also tonight, then go and lie with him that ⌊we may secure descendants through our father⌋.”s 35 And they gave their father wine to drink again that night, and the younger got up and lay with him, but he did not know when she lay down or when she got up. 36 And the two daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. 37 The firstborn gave birth to a son, and she called his name Moab. He is the father of Moab until this day. 38 And the younger, she also gave birth to a son, and she called his name Ben-Ammi. He is the father of the ⌊Ammonites⌋t until this day.

Abraham and Abimelech

20 And Abraham journeyed from there to the land of the Negev, and he settled between Kadesh and Shur. And he dwelled as an alien in Gerar. 2 And Abraham said about Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3 And God came to Abimelech in a dream at night. And he said to him, “Look, you are a dead man on account of the woman you have taken. For she is ⌊a married woman⌋.”a 4 Now Abimelech had not approached her, so he said, “my Lord, will you even kill a righteous people?” 5 Did not he himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ With integrity of my heart and with cleanness of my hands I did this.” 6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes,b I know that in the integrity of your heart you did this, and I also ⌊kept you from sinning⌋c against me. Therefore, I did not allow you to touch her. 7 So now, return the wife of the man, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you and you will live. And ⌊if you do not return her⌋,d know that you will certainly die, and all that are yours.”

8 So Abimelech rose early in the morning. And he called all his servants and ⌊told them all these things⌋,e and the men were very afraid. 9 And Abimelech called for Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you that you brought upon me and upon my kingdom a great sin? You have done things to me that should not be done.” 10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “⌊What were you thinking⌋f that you did this thing?” 11 And Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place; they will kill me on account of the matter of my wife. 12 ⌊Besides⌋,g she is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother. And she became my wife. 13 And it happened that as God caused me to wander from the house of my father I said to her, ‘This is your loyal kindness that you must do for me at every place where we come: say concerning me, “He is my brother.” ’ ” 14 And Abimelech took sheep and cattle and male slaves and female slaves, and he gave them to Abraham. And he returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelech said, “Here is my land before you; settle ⌊where it pleases you⌋.”h 16 And to Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver to your brother. It shall be ⌊an exoneration⌋.i ⌊You are vindicated before all who are with you⌋.”j 17 And Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his female servants so that they could bear children again. 18 For Yahweh had completely closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of the matter of Sarah, the wife of Abraham.