Genesis19
American Standard Version · Public Domain
1And the two angels came to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot saw them, and rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face to the earth;
2and he said, Behold now, my lords, turn aside, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your way. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.
3And he urged them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.
4But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both young and old, all the people from every quarter;
5and they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men that came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.
6And Lot went out unto them to the door, and shut the door after him.
7And he said, I pray you, my brethren, do not so wickedly.
8Behold now, I have two daughters that have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing, forasmuch as they are come under the shadow of my roof.
9And they said, Stand back. And they said, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and drew near to break the door.
10But the men put forth their hand, and brought Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.
11And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
12And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son-in-law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whomsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of the place:
13for we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxed great before Jehovah; and Jehovah hath sent us to destroy it.
14And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons-in-law, who married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for Jehovah will destroy the city. But he seemed unto his sons-in-law as one that mocked.
15And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters that are here, lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.
16But he lingered; and the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters, Jehovah being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.
17And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the Plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.
18And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my lord:
19behold now, thy servant hath found favor in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy lovingkindness, which thou hast showed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest evil overtake me, and I die:
20behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one. Oh let me escape thither (is it not a little one?), and my soul shall live.
21And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow the city of which thou hast spoken.
22Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do anything till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
23The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot came unto Zoar.
24Then Jehovah rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of heaven;
25and he overthrew those cities, and all the Plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.
26But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
27And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he had stood before Jehovah:
28and he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the Plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace.
29And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the Plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt.
30And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.
31And the first-born said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:
32come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
33And they made their father drink wine that night: and the first-born went in, and lay with her father; and he knew not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
34And it came to pass on the morrow, that the first-born said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
35And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he knew not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
36Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.
37And the first-born bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.
38And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Ben-ammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Genesis 19.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The destruction of Sodom, and the deliverance of Lot. (1–29). The sin and disgrace of Lot. (30–38).
vv1-29
Lot was good, but there was not one more of the same character in the city. All the people of Sodom were very wicked and vile. Care was therefore taken for saving Lot and his family. Lot lingered; he trifled. Thus many who are under convictions about their spiritual state, and the necessity of a change, defer that needful work. The salvation of the most righteous men is of God's mercy, not by their own merit. We are saved by grace. God's power also must be acknowledged in bringing souls out of a sinful state If God had not been merciful to us, our lingering had been our ruin. Lot must flee for his life. He must not hanker after Sodom. Such commands as these are given to those who, through grace, are delivered out of a sinful state and condition. Return not to sin and Satan. Rest not in self and the world. Reach toward Christ and heaven, for that is escaping to the mountain, short of which we must not stop. Concerning this destruction, observe that it is a revelation of the wrath of God against sin and sinners of all ages. Let us learn from hence the evil of sin, and its hurtful nature; it leads to ruin.
vv30-38
See the peril of security. Lot, who kept chaste in Sodom, and was a mourner for the wickedness of the place, and a witness against it, when in the mountain, alone, and, as he thought, out of the way of temptation, is shamefully overtaken. Let him that thinks he stands high, and stands firm, take heed lest he fall. See the peril of drunkenness; it is not only a great sin itself, but lets in many sins, which bring a lasting wound and dishonour. Many a man does that, when he is drunk, which, when he is sober, he could not think of without horror. See also the peril of temptation, even from relations and friends, whom we love and esteem, and expect kindness from. We must dread a snare, wherever we are, and be always upon our guard. No excuse can be made for the daughters, nor for Lot. Scarcely any account can be given of the affair but this, The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? From the silence of the Scripture concerning Lot henceforward, learn that drunkenness, as it makes men forgetful, so it makes them to be forgotten.
Key Words
שְׁנַיִם: two; also (as ordinal) twofold
מֲלְאָךְ: a messenger; specifically, of God, i.e. an angel (also a prophet, priest or teacher)
בּוֹא: to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)
סְדֹם: Sedom, a place near the Dead Sea
עֶרֶב: dusk
לוֹט: Lot, Abraham's nephew
יָשַׁב: properly, to sit down (specifically as judge. in ambush, in quiet); by implication, to dwell, to remain; causatively, to settle, to marry
שַׁעַר: an opening, i.e. door or gate
רָאָה: to see, literally or figuratively (in numerous applications, direct and implied, transitive, intransitive and causative)
קוּם: to rise (in various applications, literal, figurative, intensive and causative)
Cross References
Genesis 19Peter explicitly identifies Lot as a 'righteous man' vexed by the filthy conversation of the wicked.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB
Jesus directly warns his disciples regarding judgment by commanding them to 'Remember Lot's wife' looking back.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Alludes to Lot and Abraham entertaining angels unawares through hospitable reception of strangers.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
A striking moral parallel where wicked men surround a house demanding to carnally 'know' a male guest.
Supported by Matthew Poole
New Testament verification that God delivered 'just Lot,' vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked.
Supported by JFB
God explicitly remembered His covenant-friend Abraham's intercession by rescuing Lot from the impending destruction.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Paul's theological description of the unnatural, shameful lusts that characterized Sodom's sin.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Isaiah describes Israel's open, impudent boasting of their sin, declaring it 'as Sodom'.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Parallel moral compromise offering daughters to protect male guests under the shadow of the roof.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin
Classical Old Testament summary of the standard covenant curse depicting the brimstone and burning of Sodom.
Supported by JFB
Sodom and Gomorrah are set forth as an eternal warning, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Jesus cites the historical reality of the day when fire and brimstone rained from heaven.
Supported by JFB
Contrasts with Lot's compromise, showing the biblical principle that we must not do evil for good.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Another historical event where God smote an attacking force with blindness to deliver His servants.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin
Parallels the sons-in-law's mocking disbelief with end-time scoffers who mock warnings of judgment.
Supported by JFB
Jesus highlights the worldly complacency and sudden ruin of Sodom as a pattern of His coming.
Supported by Matthew Henry
God commands Israel not to distress Moab, because He gave Ar to the descendants of Lot.
Supported by Matthew Poole
God commands Israel not to distress Ammon, because their territory was given to the children of Lot.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Connects back to the two angels departing from Mamre to head down toward Sodom.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Lot's identical offer of hospitality (washing feet, resting) mirrors Abraham's earlier welcome.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Moses warns the congregation to depart from the wicked tents lest they be consumed in their sins.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The tragic outcome of disobeying the command 'look not behind thee' in this immediate context.
Supported by JFB
Illustrates God 'accepting' a mediator's prayer, parallel to accepting Lot's request for Zoar's sparing.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Parallels the volcanic/atmospheric imagery of 'the fire of God fallen from heaven' burning up victims.
Supported by JFB
Parallels the tragic vulnerability of godly patriarchs falling into shameful sin through excessive wine.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Prophetic allusion comparing the total overthrow of Babylon to God's historic destruction of Sodom.
Supported by JFB
Lot's wife explicitly violated the angel's strict command given in verse 17: 'look not behind thee.'
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Lot fled Zoar for the mountain, fearing to stay in the city he previously begged to save.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The tragic legacy: Moabites and Ammonites are excluded from entering the congregation of the Lord.
Supported by Matthew Poole