^19:24Then the Lord rained down⁶⁹ sulfur and fire⁷⁰ on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord.⁷¹^19:25So he overthrew those cities and all that region,⁷² including all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation that grew⁷³ from the ground. ^19:26But Lot’s⁷⁴ wife looked back longingly⁷⁵ and was turned into a pillar of salt.

^19:27Abraham got up early in the morning and went⁷⁶ to the place where he had stood before the Lord. ^19:28He looked out toward⁷⁷ Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of that region.⁷⁸ As he did so, he saw the smoke rising up from the land like smoke from a furnace.⁷⁹

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Genesis 19:26: But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Footnotes

69 The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of the next scene and highlights God’s action.
70 Or “burning sulfur” (the traditional “fire and brimstone”).
71 Heb “from the Lord from the heavens.” The words “It was sent down” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. The text explicitly states that the sulfur and fire that fell on Sodom and Gomorrah was sent down from the sky by the Lord. What exactly this was, and how it happened, can only be left to intelligent speculation, but see J. P. Harland, “The Destruction of the Cities of the Plain,” 6 (1943): 41–54.
72 Or “and all the plain”; Heb “and all the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
73 Heb “and the vegetation of the ground.”
74 Heb “his”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
75 The Hebrew verb means “to look intently; to gaze” (see 15:5). Longingly. Lot’s wife apparently identified with the doomed city and thereby showed lack of respect for God’s provision of salvation. She, like her daughters later, had allowed her thinking to be influenced by the culture of Sodom.
76 The words “and went” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
77 Heb “upon the face of.”
78 Or “all the land of the plain”; Heb “and all the face of the land of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.
79 Heb “And he saw, and look, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.” It is hard to imagine what was going on in Abraham’s mind, but this brief section in the narrative enables the reader to think about the human response to the judgment. Abraham had family in that area. He had rescued those people from the invasion. That was why he interceded. Yet he surely knew how wicked they were. That was why he got the number down to ten when he negotiated with God to save the city. But now he must have wondered, “What was the point?”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven. And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord. And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens. Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord. He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Then out of the sky the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah burning sulfur from the Lord. He demolished these cities, the entire plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and whatever grew on the ground. But Lot’s wife looked back and became a pillar of salt.

Early in the morning Abraham went to the place where he had stood before the Lord. He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of the plain, and he saw that smoke was going up from the land like the smoke of a furnace.

NLTNew Living Translation

Then the Lord rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah. He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, wiping out all the people and every bit of vegetation. But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt.

Abraham got up early that morning and hurried out to the place where he had stood in the Lord’s presence. He looked out across the plain toward Sodom and Gomorrah and watched as columns of smoke rose from the cities like smoke from a furnace.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Yahweh rained down from heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Yahweh. And he overthrew those cities and the whole plain, and the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation of the ground. But his wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham arose early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before Yahweh. 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, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a smelting furnace.

KJV 1900King James Version

Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord: And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.

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