Genesis 19:1–16

The Doom of Sodom

¹Now the ^atwo angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When ^bLot saw them, he rose to meet them and ¹bowed down with his face to the ground.

²And he said, “Now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your servant’s house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.” They said however, “No, but we shall spend the night in the square.”

³Yet he urged them strongly, so they turned aside to him and entered his house; ^aand he prepared a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

⁴Before they lay down, ^athe men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people ¹from every quarter;

⁵and they called to Lot and said to him, “^aWhere are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may ¹have relations with them.”

⁶But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him,

⁷and said, “Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly.

⁸“Now behold, ^aI have two daughters who have not ¹had relations with man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them ²whatever you like; only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the ³shelter of my roof.”

⁹But they said, “Stand aside.” Furthermore, they said, “This one came in ¹as an alien, and already ^ahe is acting like a judge; now we will treat you worse than them.” So they pressed hard against ²Lot and came near to break the door.

¹⁰But ^athe men reached out their ¹hands and brought Lot into the house ²with them, and shut the door.

^11aThey ¹struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway.

¹²Then the two men said to Lot, “Whom else have you here? A son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of the place;

¹³for we are about to destroy this place, because ^atheir outcry has become so great before the Lord that ^bthe Lord has sent us to destroy it.”

¹⁴Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who ¹were to marry his daughters, and said, “Up, ^aget out of this place, for the Lord will destroy the city.” ^bBut he appeared to his sons-in-law ²to be jesting.

¹⁵When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the ¹punishment of the city.”

¹⁶But he hesitated. So the men ^aseized his hand and the hand of his wife and the ¹hands of his two daughters, for ^bthe compassion of the Lord was upon him; and they brought him out, and put him outside the city.