Genesis 18:16–19:28

¹⁶And the men rise from thence, and look on the face of Sodom, and Abraham is going with them to send them away; ¹⁷and Jehovah said, ‘Am I concealing from Abraham that which I am doing, ¹⁸and Abraham certainly becometh a nation great and mighty, and blessed in him have been all nations of the earth? ¹⁹for I have known him, that he commandeth his children, and his house after him (and they have kept the way of Jehovah), to do righteousness and judgment, that Jehovah may bring on Abraham that which He hath spoken concerning him.’ ²⁰And Jehovah saith, ‘The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah—because great; and their sin—because exceeding grievous: ²¹I go down now, and see whether according to its cry which is coming unto Me they have done completely—and if not—I know;’ ²²and the men turn from thence, and go towards Sodom; and Abraham is yet standing before Jehovah.

²³And Abraham draweth nigh and saith, ‘Dost Thou also consume righteous with wicked? ²⁴peradventure there are fifty righteous in the midst of the city; dost Thou also consume, and not bear with the place for the sake of the fifty—the righteous who are in its midst? ²⁵Far be it from Thee to do according to this thing, to put to death the righteous with the wicked; that it hath been—as the righteous so the wicked—far be it from Thee; doth the Judge of all the earth not do justice?’ ²⁶And Jehovah saith, ‘If I find in Sodom fifty righteous in the midst of the city, then have I borne with all the place for their sake.’ ²⁷And Abraham answereth and saith, ‘Lo, I pray thee, I have willed to speak unto the Lord, and I—dust and ashes; ²⁸peradventure there are lacking five of the fifty righteous—dost Thou destroy for five the whole of the city?’ and He saith, ‘I destroy it not, if I find there forty and five.’ ²⁹And he addeth again to speak unto Him and saith, ‘Peradventure there are found there forty?’ and He saith, ‘I do it not, because of the forty.’ ³⁰And he saith, ‘Let it not be, I Pray thee, displeasing to the Lord, and I speak: peradventure there are found there thirty?’ and He saith, ‘I do it not, if I find there thirty.’ ³¹And he saith, ‘Lo, I pray thee, I have willed to speak unto the Lord: peradventure there are found there twenty?’ and He saith, ‘I do not destroy it, because of the twenty.’ ³²And he saith, ‘Let it not be, I pray Thee, displeasing to the Lord, and I speak only this time: peradventure there are found there ten?’ and He saith, ‘I do not destroy it, because of the ten.’ ³³And Jehovah goeth on, when He hath finished speaking unto Abraham, and Abraham hath turned back to his place.

Chapter 19

¹And two of the messengers come towards Sodom at even, and Lot is sitting at the gate of Sodom, and Lot seeth, and riseth to meet them, and boweth himself—face to the earth, ²and he saith, ‘Lo, I pray you, my lords, turn aside, I pray you, unto the house of your servant, and lodge, and wash your feet—then ye have risen early and gone on your way;’ and they say, ‘Nay, but in the broad place we do lodge.’ ³And he presseth on them greatly, and they turn aside unto him, and come in unto his house; and he maketh for them a banquet, and hath baked unleavened things; and they do eat.

⁴Before they lie down, the men of the city—men of Sodom—have come round about against the house, from young even unto aged, all the people from the extremity; ⁵and they call unto Lot and say to him, ‘Where are the men who have come in unto thee to-night? bring them out unto us, and we know them.’ ⁶And Lot goeth out unto them, to the opening, and the door hath shut behind him, ⁷and saith, ‘Do not, I pray you, my brethren, do evil; ⁸lo, I pray you, I have two daughters, who have not known any one; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do to them as is good in your eyes; only to these men do not anything, for therefore have they come in within the shadow of my roof.’ ⁹And they say, ‘Come nigh hither;’ they say also, ‘This one hath come in to sojourn, and he certainly judgeth! now, we do evil to thee more than to them;’ and they press against the man, against Lot greatly, and come nigh to break the door. ¹⁰And the men put forth their hand, and bring in Lot unto them, into the house, and have shut the door; ¹¹and the men who are at the opening of the house they have smitten with blindness, from small even unto great, and they weary themselves to find the opening.

¹²And the men say unto Lot, ‘Whom hast thou here still? son-in-law, thy sons also, and thy daughters, and all whom thou hast in the city, bring out from this place; ¹³for we are destroying this place, for their cry hath been great before the face of Jehovah, and Jehovah doth send us to destroy it.’ ¹⁴And Lot goeth out, and speaketh unto his sons-in-law, those taking his daughters, and saith, ‘Rise, go out from this place, for Jehovah is destroying the city;’ and he is as one mocking in the eyes of his sons-in-law.

¹⁵And when the dawn hath ascended, then the messengers press upon Lot, saying, ‘Rise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters who are found present, lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.’ ¹⁶And he lingereth, and the men lay hold on his hand, and on the hand of his wife, and on the hand of his two daughters, through the mercy of Jehovah unto him, and they bring him out, and cause him to rest without the city. ¹⁷And it cometh to pass when he hath brought them out without, that he saith, ‘Escape for thy life; look not expectingly behind thee, nor stand thou in all the circuit; to the mountain escape, lest thou be consumed.’ ¹⁸And Lot saith unto them, ‘Not so, I pray thee, my lord; ¹⁹lo, I pray thee, thy servant hath found grace in thine eyes, and thou dost make great thy kindness which thou hast done with me by saving my life, and I am unable to escape to the mountain, lest the evil cleave to me, and I have died; ²⁰lo, I pray thee, this city is near to flee thither, and it is little; let me escape, I pray thee, thither, (is it not little?) and my soul doth live.’ ²¹And he saith unto him, ‘Lo, I have accepted thy face also for this thing, without overthrowing the city for which thou hast spoken; ²²haste, escape thither, for I am not able to do anything till thine entering thither;’ therefore hath he calleth the name of the city Zoar. ²³The sun hath gone out on the earth, and Lot hath entered into Zoar.

²⁴And Jehovah hath rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah, from the heavens; ²⁵and He overthroweth these cities, and all the circuit, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which is shooting up from the ground.

²⁶And his wife looketh expectingly from behind him, and she is—a pillar of salt!

²⁷And Abraham riseth early in the morning, unto the place where he hath stood before the face of Jehovah; ²⁸and he looketh on the face of Sodom and Gomorrah, and on all the face of the land of the circuit, and seeth, and lo, the smoke of the land went up as smoke of the furnace.