1(iii) The two angels came to S’dom that evening, when Lot was sitting at the gate of S’dom. Lot saw them, got up to greet them and prostrated himself on the ground. 2He said, “Here now, my lords, please come over to your servant’s house. Spend the night, wash your feet, get up early, and go on your way.” “No,” they answered, “we’ll stay in the square.” 3But he kept pressing them; so they went home with him; and he made them a meal, baking matzah for their supper, which they ate.

4But before they could go to bed, the men of the city surrounded the house — young and old, everyone from every neighborhood of S’dom. 5They called Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to stay with you tonight? Bring them out to us! We want to have sex with them!” 6Lot went out to them and stood in the doorway, closing the door behind him, 7and said, “Please, my brothers, don’t do such a wicked thing. 8Look here, I have two daughters who are virgins. Please, let me bring them out to you, and you can do with them what seems good to you; but don’t do anything to these men, since they are guests in my house.” 9“Stand back!” they replied. “This guy came to live here, and now he’s decided to play judge. For that we’ll deal worse with you than with them!” Then they crowded in on Lot, in order to get close enough to break down the door. 10But the men inside reached out their hands, brought Lot into the house to them and shut the door. 11Then they struck the men at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they couldn’t find the doorway.

12The men said to Lot, “Do you have any people here besides yourself? Whomever you have in the city — son-in-law, your sons, your daughters — bring them out of this place; 13because we are going to destroy it. Adonai has become aware of the great outcry against them, and Adonai has sent us to destroy it.” 14Lot went out and spoke with his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Get up and leave this place, because Adonai is going to destroy the city.” But his sons-in-law didn’t take him seriously.

15When morning came, the angels told Lot to hurry. “Get up,” they said, “and take your wife and your two daughters who are here; otherwise you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16But he dallied, so the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand and the hands of his two daughters — Adonai was being merciful to him — and led them, leaving them outside the city. 17When they had brought them out, he said, “Flee for your life! Don’t look behind you, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain, but escape to the hills! Otherwise you will be swept away.” 18Lot said to them, “Please, no, my lord! 19Here, your servant has already found favor in your sight, and you have shown me even greater mercy by saving my life. But I can’t escape to the hills, because I’m afraid the disaster will overtake me, and I will die. 20Look, there’s a town nearby to flee to, and it’s a small one. Please let me escape there — isn’t it just a small one? — and that way I will stay alive.”

(iv) 21He replied, “All right, I agree to what you have asked. I won’t overthrow the city of which you have spoken. 22Hurry, and escape to that place, because I can’t do anything until you arrive there.” For this reason the city was named Tzo‘ar [small].

23By the time Lot had come to Tzo‘ar, the sun had risen over the land. 24Then Adonai caused sulfur and fire to rain down upon S’dom and ‘Amora from Adonai out of the sky. 25He overthrew those cities, the entire plain, all the inhabitants of the cities and everything growing in the ground. 26But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a column of salt.

27Avraham got up early in the morning, went to the place where he had stood before Adonai, 28and looked out toward S’dom and ‘Amora, scanning the entire plain. There before him the smoke was rising from the land like smoke from a furnace! 29But when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Avraham and sent Lot out, away from the destruction, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.

30Lot went up from Tzo‘ar and lived in the hills with his two daughters, because he was afraid to stay in Tzo‘ar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. 31The firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there isn’t a man on earth to come in to us in the manner customary in the world. 32Come, let’s have our father drink wine; then we’ll sleep with him, and that way we’ll enable our father to have descendants.”

33So they plied their father with wine that night, and the older one went in and slept with her father; he didn’t know when she lay down or when she got up. 34The following day, the older said to the younger, “Here, I slept last night with my father. Let’s make him drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him, and that way we’ll enable our father to have descendants.” 35They plied their father with wine that night also, and the younger one got up and slept with him, and he didn’t know when she lay down or when she got up. 36Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father.

37The older one gave birth to a son and called him Mo’av; he is the ancestor of Mo’av to this day. 38The younger also gave birth to a son, and she called him Ben-‘Ammi; he is the ancestor of the people of ‘Amon to this day.

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Genesis 19

The Sinfulness of Sodom

1When the two angels came to Sodom that evening, Lot was sitting at the city gate. As soon as he saw them, he got up and went to meet them. He bowed down before them 2and said, “Sirs, I am here to serve you. Please come to my house. You can wash your feet and spend the night. In the morning you can get up early and go on your way.”

But they answered, “No, we will spend the night here in the city square.”

3He kept on urging them, and finally they went with him to his house. Lot ordered his servants to bake some bread and prepare a fine meal for the guests. When it was ready, they ate it.

4Before the guests went to bed, the men of Sodom surrounded the house. All the men of the city, both young and old, were there. 5#Jg 19.22-24 They called out to Lot and asked, “Where are the men who came to stay with you tonight? Bring them out to us!” The men of Sodom wanted to have sex with them.

6Lot went outside and closed the door behind him. 7He said to them, “Friends, I beg you, don't do such a wicked thing! 8Look, I have two daughters who are still virgins. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do whatever you want with them. But don't do anything to these men; they are guests in my house, and I must protect them.”

9But they said, “Get out of our way, you foreigner! Who are you to tell us what to do? Out of our way, or we will treat you worse than them.” They pushed Lot back and moved up to break down the door. 10But the two men inside reached out, pulled Lot back into the house, and shut the door. 11#2 K 6.18 Then they struck all the men outside with blindness, so that they couldn't find the door.

Lot Leaves Sodom

12The two men said to Lot, “If you have anyone else here—sons, daughters, sons-in-law, or any other relatives living in the city—get them out of here, 13because we are going to destroy this place. The Lord has heard the terrible accusations against these people and has sent us to destroy Sodom.”

14Then Lot went to the men that his daughters were going to marry, and said, “Hurry up and get out of here; the Lord is going to destroy this place.” But they thought he was joking.

15At dawn the angels tried to make Lot hurry. “Quick!” they said. “Take your wife and your two daughters and get out, so that you will not lose your lives when the city is destroyed.” 16#2 P 2.7 Lot hesitated. The Lord, however, had pity on him; so the men took him, his wife, and his two daughters by the hand and led them out of the city. 17Then one of the angels said, “Run for your lives! Don't look back and don't stop in the valley. Run to the hills, so that you won't be killed.”

18But Lot answered, “No, please don't make us do that, sir. 19You have done me a great favor and saved my life. But the hills are too far away; the disaster will overtake me, and I will die before I get there. 20Do you see that little town? It is near enough. Let me go over there—you can see it is just a small place—and I will be safe.”

21He answered, “All right, I agree. I won't destroy that town. 22Hurry! Run! I can't do anything until you get there.”

Because Lot called it small, the town was named Zoar.#19.22: Zoar: This name sounds like the Hebrew for “small.”

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

23The sun was rising when Lot reached Zoar. 24#Mt 10.15; 11.23,24; Lk 10.12; 17.29; 2 P 2.6; Jd 7 Suddenly the Lord rained burning sulfur on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah 25and destroyed them and the whole valley, along with all the people there and everything that grew on the land. 26#Ws 10.7; Lk 17.32 But Lot's wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt.

27Early the next morning Abraham hurried to the place where he had stood in the presence of the Lord. 28He looked down at Sodom and Gomorrah and the whole valley and saw smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a huge furnace. 29But when God destroyed the cities of the valley where Lot was living, he kept Abraham in mind and allowed Lot to escape to safety.

The Origin of the Moabites and Ammonites

30Because Lot was afraid to stay in Zoar, he and his two daughters moved up into the hills and lived in a cave. 31The older daughter said to her sister, “Our father is getting old, and there are no men in the whole world#19.31: the whole world; or this land. to marry us so that we can have children. 32Come on, let's get our father drunk, so that we can sleep with him and have children by him.” 33That night they gave him wine to drink, and the older daughter had intercourse with him. But he was so drunk that he didn't know it.

34The next day the older daughter said to her sister, “I slept with him last night; now let's get him drunk again tonight, and you sleep with him. Then each of us will have a child by our father.” 35So that night they got him drunk, and the younger daughter had intercourse with him. Again he was so drunk that he didn't know it. 36In this way both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their own father. 37The older daughter had a son, whom she named Moab.#19.37: Moab: This name sounds like the Hebrew for “from my father.” He was the ancestor of the present-day Moabites. 38The younger daughter also had a son, whom she named Benammi.#19.38: Benammi: This name in Hebrew means “son of my relative” and sounds like the Hebrew for “Ammonite.” He was the ancestor of the present-day Ammonites.

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B'resheet (Gen) 19

Genesis 19