CHAPTER 19
1 And (the) twain angels came to Sodom in the eventide, while Lot sat in the gates of the city. And when he had seen them, he rose, and went to meet them, and worshipped low to the earth, (And the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, while Lot sat at the city gates. And when he had seen them, he arose, and went to meet them, and bowed low to the ground,)
2 and said, My lords, I beseech, bow ye [down] into the house of your servant, and dwell ye there; wash ye your feet, and in the morrowtide ye shall go into your way (or and in the morning ye shall go on your way). Which said, Nay, but we shall dwell in the street.
3 He constrained them greatly, that they should turn (in) to him. And when they entered into his house, he made a feast, and baked therf bread, and they ate. (But he greatly constrained them, that they should turn in at his house. And so when they had entered into his house, he made a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.)
4 Forsooth before that they went to sleep, men of the city compassed his house, from a child till to an eld man (or from a youth unto an old man), all the people together;
5 and they called (to) Lot, and said to him, Where be the men that entered to thee tonight? (or Where be the men who have entered into thy house tonight?) bring them out hither, (so) that we (may) know them, that is, by lechery against kind.
6 And Lot went out to them behind the back, and closed the door, (And Lot went out to them, and closed the door behind him,)
7 and said, I beseech, do not ye, my brethren, do not ye do this evil.
8 I have two daughters, that knew not yet (a) man; I shall lead out them to you (or I shall lead them out to you), and mis-use ye them as it pleaseth you, so (long as) that ye do none evil to these men, for they (have) entered under the shadow of my roof.
9 And they said, Go thou (away) from hence. And again they said, Thou enteredest [in] hither as a comeling; whether that thou shalt deem us? therefore we shall torment thee more than these. And they did violently to Lot full greatly (or And they did great violence to Lot). Then it was nigh that they would break (down) the doors;
10 and lo! the (two) men put (forth their) hand(s), and led in Lot to them (or and brought Lot back in with them), and they closed the door.
11 And they smote with blindness they that were withoutforth (or And then they struck with blindness those who were outside), from the least till to the most; so that they might not find the door.
12 Forsooth they said to Lot, Hast thou here any man of thine, (a) husband of thy daughter, or sons, or daughters(?); (if so), lead thou out of this city all men that be thine,
13 for we shall do away this place, for the cry of them increased before the Lord, which sent us that we (should) lose them. (for we shall do away this place, for the outcry against them hath increased before the Lord, who sent us to destroy them.)
14 And Lot went out, and spake to the husbands (to be) of his daughters, that should take his daughters, and said, Rise ye, and go ye out of this place; for the Lord shall do away this city. And he was seen to them to speak as playing. (And Lot went out, and spoke to the husbands-to-be of his daughters, who were betrothed to his daughters, and said, Rise ye up, and go ye out of this place; for the Lord shall do away this city. But he was seen by them as only to be joking.)
15 And when the morrowtide was (made), the angels constrained Lot, and said, Rise thou (up), and take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which thou hast, lest also thou perish (al)together in the sin of the city (or lest also thou altogether perish amidst the sin of this city).
16 While he dissembled, they took his hand, and the hand of his wife, and of his two daughters; for the Lord spared him. And they led out him, and set him without the city. (And while he hesitated, they took his hand, and the hand of his wife, and the hands of his two daughters; for the Lord had spared him. And they led them away, and brought them outside the city.)
17 There they spake to him, and said, Save thou thy life; do not thou behold behind thy back, neither stand thou in all the country(side) about, but make thee safe in the hill(s); lest also thou perish (al)together. (And they spoke to him there, and said, Save thou thy life; do not thou look behind thy back, nor stand thou in all the countryside about, but make thee safe in the hills; lest also thou altogether perish.)
18 And Lot said to them, My Lord (or My lords), I beseech,
19 for thy servant hath found grace before thee, and thou hast magnified thy grace and mercy, which thou hast done to me, (so) that thou shouldest save my life, (I am most grateful); (but) I may not be saved in the hill(s), lest peradventure evil (over)take me, and I die, (or but I cannot be saved in the hills, for before that I can get there, the destruction shall surely overtake me, and I shall die);
20 a little city is here beside (or there is a little city here), to which I may flee, and I shall be safe therein; whether it is not (such) a little city? and my soul shall live therein.
21 And he said to Lot, Lo! also in this I have received thy prayers, that I destroy not the city, for which thou hast spoken; (And he said to Lot, Behold! also in this I have received thy prayers, and I shall not destroy the city, of which thou hast spoken;)
22 haste thee, and be thou saved there, for I may not do anything till thou enter [in] thither. Therefore the name of that city was called Zoar. (haste thee, and be thou made safe there, for I shall not do anything until thou hast entered in there. And so that is why that city was called Zoar, or Small.)
23 (And so) The sun rose (up) on [the] earth, and Lot entered into Zoar.
24 Therefore the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire, from the Lord of heaven, (And so the Lord rained down fire and brimstone from the heavens on Sodom and Gomorrah,)
25 and destroyed these cities, and all the country(side) about; he destroyed all the dwellers of those cities (or he destroyed all the inhabitants of those cities), and all (the) green things of [the] earth.
26 And Lot’s wife looked aback, and she was turned into an image of salt. (And Lot’s wife looked back, and she was turned into a pillar of salt.)
27 Forsooth Abraham rising (up) early, (went to) where he (had) stood before with the Lord,
28 (and) beheld Sodom and Gomorrah, and all the land of that country(side) (about); and he saw a dead spark going up from the earth, as the smoke of a furnace.
29 For when God destroyed the cities of that country(side), he had mind of Abraham, and delivered Lot from [the] destroying of the cities in which he dwelled.
30 And Lot went up from Zoar, and dwelled in the hill(s), and his two daughters with him, for he dreaded to dwell in Zoar; and he dwelled in a den (or and he lived in a cave), he and his two daughters with him.
31 And the more daughter said to the less (or And the elder daughter said to the younger one), Our father is eld, and no man is left on (the) earth that may enter [in] to us, by the custom of all (the) earth;
32 come thou, make we him drunken of wine, and sleep we with him, that we may keep the seed of our father. (come thou, make we him drunk with wine, and sleep we with him, so that we can keep our father’s seed, or our father’s family, alive.)
33 And so they gave to their father to drink wine in that night (or And so that night they gave their father some wine to drink), and the more, or the elder, daughter entered, and slept with her father; and he feeled not, neither when the daughter lay down, neither when she [a] rose.
34 And the tother day the more daughter said to the less, or the younger (one), Lo! I slept yesterday with my father; give we to him to drink wine also in this night; and thou sleep with him, that we save the seed of our father. (And the next day the elder daughter said to the younger one, Behold! yesterday I slept with my father; tonight we shall also give him some wine to drink, and then thou sleep with him, so that we shall most assuredly save our father’s seed, or our father’s family.)
35 And they gave to their father also in that night to drink wine, and the less daughter entered, and slept with him; and soothly he feeled not then when she lay down, neither when she [a] rose. (And so also that night they gave their father some wine to drink, and the younger daughter entered, and slept with him; and truly he felt nothing when she lay down, nor when she arose.)
36 Therefore the two daughters of Lot conceived of their father. (And so Lot’s two daughters conceived by their father.)
37 And the more daughter childed a son, and called his name Moab; he is the father of (the) men of Moab unto this present day.
38 And the less daughter childed a son, and called his name Benammi, that is, The son of my people; he is the father of (the) men of Ammon till to [this] day.