²⁰The Lord said, “The cries against Sodom and Gomorrah are very great. Their sin is so bad ²¹that I will go down and see for myself. I want to see if what they have done is as bad as the cries that have reached me. If it is not, then I will know.”

²²The men turned away. They went toward Sodom. But Abraham remained standing in front of the Lord.

²³Then Abraham came up to him. He said, “Will you sweep away godly people along with those who are evil? ²⁴What if there are 50 godly people in the city? Will you really sweep it away? Won’t you spare the place because of the 50 godly people in it?

²⁵“You would never kill godly people along with those who are evil, would you? You wouldn’t treat godly and evil people alike. You would never do anything like that! Won’t the Judge of the whole earth do what is right?”

²⁶The Lord said, “If I find 50 godly people in the city of Sodom, I will save it. I will spare the whole place because of them.”

²⁷Then Abraham spoke up again. He said, “I have been very bold to speak to the Lord. After all, I’m only dust and ashes. ²⁸What if the number of godly people is five less than 50? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?”

“If I find 45 there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”

²⁹Once again Abraham spoke to him. He asked, “What if only 40 are found there?”

He said, “If there are 40, I will not do it.”

³⁰Then Abraham said, “Lord, don’t let your anger burn against me. Let me speak. What if only 30 can be found there?”

He answered, “If there are 30, I will not do it.”

³¹Abraham said, “I have been very bold to speak to the Lord. What if only 20 are found there?”

He said, “If there are 20, I will not destroy it.”

³²Then he said, “Lord, don’t let your anger burn against me. Let me speak just one more time. What if only ten are found there?”

He answered, “If there are ten, I will not destroy it.”

³³When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left. And Abraham returned home.

The Lord Destroys Sodom and Gomorrah

19The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening. Lot was sitting near the gate of the city.

When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them. He bowed down with his face to the ground. ²“My lords,” he said, “please come to my house. You can wash your feet and spend the night here. Then you can go on your way early in the morning.”

“No,” they answered. “We’ll spend the night in the street.”

³But Lot wouldn’t give up. So they went with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them. He baked bread without using yeast. And they ate.

⁴Before Lot and his guests had gone to bed, all of the men came from every part of the city of Sodom. Young and old men alike surrounded the house. ⁵They called out to Lot. They said, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us. We want to have sex with them.”

⁶Lot went outside to meet them. He shut the door behind him. ⁷He said, “No, my friends. Don’t do such an evil thing. ⁸Look, I have two daughters. No man has ever made love to them. I’ll bring them out to you now. Then do to them what you want to. But don’t do anything to these men. I’ve brought them inside so they can be safe.”

⁹“Get out of our way!” the men of Sodom replied. They said, “This fellow came here as an outsider. Now he wants to act like a judge! We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept trying to force Lot to open the door. Then they moved forward to break it down.

¹⁰But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house. They shut the door. ¹¹Then they made the men who were at the door of the house blind. They blinded young and old men alike. So the men couldn’t find the door.

¹²The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here? Do you have sons-in-law, sons or daughters? Does anyone else in the city belong to you? Get them out of here. ¹³We are going to destroy this place. There has been a great cry to the Lord against the people of this city. So he has sent us to destroy it.”

¹⁴Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law. They had promised to get married to his daughters. He said, “Hurry up! Get out of this place! The Lord is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.

¹⁵The sun was coming up. So the angels tried to get Lot to leave. They said, “Hurry up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out! If you don’t, you will be swept away when the city is punished.”

¹⁶Lot didn’t move right away. So the men grabbed him by the hand. They also took hold of the hands of his wife and two daughters. They led all of them safely out of the city. The Lord had mercy on them.

¹⁷As soon as the angels had brought them out, one of them spoke. He said, “Run for your lives! Don’t look back! Don’t stop anywhere in the valley! Run to the mountains! If you don’t, you will be swept away!”

¹⁸But Lot said to them, “No, my lords! Please! ¹⁹You have done me a big favor. You have been very kind to me by sparing my life. But I can’t run to the mountains. This horrible thing that’s going to happen will catch up with me. And then I’ll die.

²⁰“Look, here’s a town near enough to run to. It’s small. Let me run to it. It’s very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.”

²¹The Lord said to Lot, “All right. I will also give you what you are asking for. I will not destroy the town you are talking about. ²²But run there quickly. I can’t do anything until you reach it.”

The town was named Zoar. Zoar means “small.”

²³By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. ²⁴Then the Lord sent down burning sulfur. It came down like rain on Sodom and Gomorrah. It came from the Lord out of the sky. ²⁵He destroyed those cities and the whole valley. All of the people who were living in the cities were wiped out. So were the plants in the land.

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