The Evil City of Sodom
1 That evening, while Lot was sitting near the city gate, the two angels arrived in Sodom. When Lot saw them, he got up, bowed down low, 2 and said, “Gentlemen, I am your servant. Please come to my home. You can wash your feet, spend the night, and be on your way in the morning.”
They told him, “No, we'll spend the night in the city square.” 3 But Lot kept insisting, until they finally agreed and went home with him. He quickly baked some bread, cooked a meal, and they ate.
4 Before Lot and his guests could go to bed, every man in Sodom, young and old, came and stood outside his house 5 and started shouting, “Where are your visitors? Send them out, so we can have sex with them!”
6 Lot went outside and shut the door behind him. 7 Then he said, “Friends, please don't do such a terrible thing! 8 I have two daughters who have never had sex. I'll bring them out, and you can do what you want with them. But don't harm these men. They are guests in my home.”
9 “Don't get in our way,” the crowd answered. “You're a foreigner. What right do you have to order us around? We'll do worse things to you than we're going to do to them.”
The crowd kept arguing with Lot. Finally, they rushed toward the door to break it down. 10 But the two angels in the house reached out and pulled Lot safely inside. 11 Then they struck blind everyone in the crowd, and none of them could even find the door.
12-13 The two angels said to Lot, “The Lord has heard many terrible things about the people of Sodom, and he has sent us here to destroy the city. Take your family and leave. Take every relative you have in the city, as well as the men your daughters are going to marry.”
14 Lot went to the men who were engaged to his daughters and said, “Hurry up and get out of here! The Lord is going to destroy this city.” But they thought he was joking, and they laughed at him.
15 Early the next morning the two angels tried to make Lot hurry and leave. They said, “Take your wife and your two daughters and get away from here as fast as you can! If you don't, every one of you will be killed when the Lord destroys the city.” 16 At first, Lot just stood there. But the Lord wanted to save him. So the angels took Lot, his wife, and his two daughters by the hand and led them out of the city. 17 When they were outside, one of the angels said, “Run for your lives! Don't even look back. And don't stop in the valley. Run to the hills, where you'll be safe.”
18-19 Lot answered, “You have done us a great favor, sir. You have saved our lives, but please don't make us go to the hills. That's too far away. The city will be destroyed before we can get there, and we will be killed when it happens. 20 There's a town near here. It's only a small place, but my family and I will be safe, if you let us go there.”
21 “All right, go there,” he answered. “I won't destroy that town. 22 Hurry! Run! I can't do anything until you are safely there.”
The town was later called Zoar because Lot had said it was small.
Sodom and Gomorrah Are Destroyed
23 The sun was coming up as Lot reached the town of Zoar, 24 and the Lord sent burning sulfur down like rain on Sodom and Gomorrah. 25 He destroyed those cities and everyone who lived in them, as well as their land and the trees and grass that grew there.
26 On the way, Lot's wife looked back and was turned into a block of salt.
27 That same morning Abraham got up and went to the place where he had stood and spoken with the Lord. 28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and saw smoke rising from all over the land—it was like a flaming furnace.
29 When God destroyed the cities of the valley where Lot lived, he remembered his promise to Abraham and saved Lot from the terrible destruction.
Moab and Ammon
30 Lot was afraid to stay on in Zoar. So he took his two daughters and moved to a cave in the hill country. 31 One day his older daughter said to her sister, “Our father is old, and there are no men anywhere for us to marry. 32 Let's get our father drunk! Then we can sleep with him and have children.” 33 That night they got their father drunk, and the older daughter got in bed with him, but he was too drunk even to know she was there.
34 The next day the older daughter said to her sister, “I slept with my father last night. We'll get him drunk again tonight, so you can sleep with him, and we can each have a child.” 35 That night they got their father drunk, and this time the younger sister slept with him. But once again he was too drunk even to know she was there.
36 That's how Lot's two daughters had children. 37 The older daughter named her son Moab, and he is the ancestor of the Moabites. 38 The younger daughter named her son Benammi, and he is the ancestor of the Ammonites.
1 And in the euening there came two Angels to Sodom: and Lot sate at the gate of Sodom, and Lot sawe them, and rose vp to meete them, and he bowed himselfe with his face to the ground. 2 And he saide, See my Lords, I pray you turne in nowe into your seruants house, and tarie all night, and wash your feete, and ye shall rise vp early and goe your wayes. Who saide, Nay, but we will abide in the streete all night. 3 Then he preassed vpon them earnestly, and they turned in to him, and came to his house, and he made them a feast, and did bake vnleauened bread, and they did eate. 4 But before they went to bed, the men of the citie, euen the men of Sodom compassed the house rounde about from the yong euen to the olde, all the people from all quarters. 5 Who crying vnto Lot said to him, Where are the men, which came to thee this night? bring them out vnto vs that we may knowe them. 6 Then Lot went out at the doore vnto them, and shut the doore after him, 7 And said, I pray you, my brethren, do not so wickedly. 8 Beholde nowe, I haue two daughters, which haue not knowen man: them will I bring out now vnto you, and doe to them as seemeth you good: onely vnto these men doe nothing: for therefore are they come vnder the shadowe of my roofe. 9 Then they said, Away hence, and they said, He is come alone as a stranger, and shall he iudge and rule? we will nowe deale worse with thee then with them. So they preassed sore vpon Lot himselfe, and came to breake the doore. 10 But the men put forth their hand and pulled Lot into the house to them and shut to ye doore. 11 Then they smote the men that were at the doore of the house with blindnes both small and great, so that they were wearie in seeking the doore. 12 Then the men said vnto Lot, Whom hast thou yet here? either sonne in lawe, or thy sonnes, or thy daughters, or whatsoeuer thou hast in the citie, bring it out of this place. 13 For we will destroy this place, because the crye of them is great before the Lord, and the Lord hath sent vs to destroy it. 14 Then Lot went out and spake vnto his sonnes in lawe, which maried his daughters, and said, Arise, get you out of this place: for the Lord will destroy the citie: but he seemed to his sonnes in lawe as though he had mocked. 15 And when the morning arose, the Angels hasted Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife and thy two daughters which are here, lest thou be destroyed in the punishment of the citie. 16 And as he prolonged the time, the men caught both him and his wife, and his two daughters by the hands (the Lord being mercifull vnto him) and they brought him foorth, and set him without the citie. 17 And when they had brought them out, the Angel said, Escape for thy life: looke not behinde thee, neither tarie thou in all the plaine: escape into ye mountaine, least thou be destroyed. 18 And Lot saide vnto them, Not so, I pray thee, my Lord. 19 Behold now, thy seruant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercie, which thou hast shewed vnto me in sauing my life: and I cannot escape in the mountaine, least some euill take me, and I die. 20 See nowe this citie hereby to flee vnto, which is a litle one: Oh let me escape thither: is it not a litle one, and my soule shall liue? 21 Then he said vnto him, Beholde, I haue receiued thy request also concerning this thing, that I will not ouerthrow this citie, for the which thou hast spoken. 22 Haste thee, saue thee there: for I can doe nothing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the citie was called Zoar. 23 The sunne did rise vpon the earth, when Lot entred into Zoar. 24 Then the Lord rained vpon Sodom and vpon Gomorah brimstone, and fire from the Lord out of heauen, 25 And ouerthrewe those cities and all the plaine, and all the inhabitants of the cities; and that that grewe vpon the earth. 26 Now his wife behind him looked backe, and she became a pillar of salt. 27 And Abraham rising vp earely in ye morning went to the place, where he had stand before the Lord, 28 And looking towarde Sodom and Gomorah and toward all the land of the plaine, behold, he sawe the smoke of the lande mounting vp as the smoke of a fornace. 29 But yet when God destroyed the cities of the plaine, God thought vpon Abraham, and sent Lot out from the middes of the destruction, when he ouerthrewe the cities, wherein Lot dwelled. 30 Then Lot went vp from Zoar, and dwelt in the mountaine with his two daughters: for he feared to tarie in Zoar, but dwelt in a caue, he, and his two daughters. 31 And the elder saide vnto the yonger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth, to come in vnto vs after the maner of all ye earth. 32 Come, wee will make our father drinke wine, and lie with him, that we may preserue seede of our father. 33 So they made their father drinke wine that night, and the elder went and lay with her father: but he perceiued not, neither whe she lay downe, neither when she rose vp. 34 And on the morowe the elder saide to the yonger, Behold, yester night lay I with my father: let vs make him drinke wine this night also, and goe thou and lie with him, that we may preserue seede of our father. 35 So they made their father drinke wine that night also, and the yonger arose, and lay with him, but he perceiued not, when she lay downe, neither when she rose vp. 36 Thus were both the daughters of Lot with childe by their father. 37 And the elder bare a sonne, and she called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites vnto this day. 38 And the yonger bare a sonne also, and she called his name Ben-ammi: the same is the father of the Ammonites vnto this day.