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That evening the two angels arrived at {the city of} Sodom, while Lot was sitting at the gate of the city. When Lot saw them, he stood up and greeted them and {then} bowed {before them} with his face to the ground {to show respect}. 2 Then he said {to them}, "Sirs, please listen. Please come to my house so that I can serve you and you can lodge for the night {there}. {That way} too {you can} wash {the dust off} your feet, then {tomorrow morning} you can get up early and continue traveling.” But the two angels replied, "Thank you, but we will {just} stay in the public square tonight.” 3 However Lot continued to urgently invite them until they {finally agreed and} went with him to his house. Then Lot prepared a big meal for them, including {some} flat bread, and they {sat down and} ate {the meal}.4 {But} {after supper,} before they could lie down {to sleep}, {all} the men in the city of Sodom surrounded Lot's house, including men of all ages. {In fact,} all the people from every part {of the city were there}. 5 Then they shouted to Lot, "Where are the {two} men who came to lodge with you tonight? Bring them outside to us so that we can have relations with them!” 6 But Lot went outside near the doorway {to talk} to them, and he shut the door {of the house} behind him. 7 Then he pleaded {with them}, "I beg you, my friends, do not do such an evil thing! 8 Listen please, I have two daughters who have never had marital relations with a man. Please let me bring them out to you, so that you can do with them whatever you want. But do not harm these men, because they are my guests and I am responsible for their safety.” 9 But the men of Sodom shouted {at him}, "Get out of our way!” Then they said {to each other}, "This guy came {here} as a foreigner, and now he wants to judge us!” {Then they shouted at Lot,} "{Now} we will treat you worse than {we will treat} your {two} guests!” Then they started shoving hard against Lot and surged forward to break down the door {of his house}. 10 But Lot's {two} guests {opened the door}, reached outside and {quickly} pulled him {back} into the house with them and closed the door. 11 Then they caused the men who were at the door of the house to be blind, every last one of them, so that they exhausted themselves {groping around} trying to find the door.
12 Then the {two} angels asked Lot, "Do you have any other relatives here in Sodom? If you have sons-in-law or sons or daughters or any other relatives here, {hurry up and} get them away from this city, 13 because we are about to destroy it. Yahweh has heard that the people of this city are guilty of serious sins, so he has sent us to destroy the city.” 14 So Lot went to his {future} sons-in-law who were engaged to his daughters, and he warned them, "Hurry up {and} leave this city, because Yahweh is about to destroy it!” But his sons-in-law thought that he was joking, {so they ignored him}.
15 Early the next morning, the {two} angels urged Lot by saying, "Hurry up {and} take your wife and your two daughters {out of the city}! If you don't, you will die when {God} punishes {the people of} the city.” 16 Lot hesitated, but Yahweh was being merciful to him, so the {two} men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and his two daughters, and took them outside the city. 17 As {soon as} the angels had taken them outside {the city}, one of them said {to Lot}, "Run away from here as fast as you can! Do not look behind you, and do not stop anywhere in the valley! Hurry to the mountains, or else you will die!” 18 But Lot replied to them, "I beg you, sirs, please don't {make us do that}. 19 Listen please. You have treated me well even though I am unimportant, and you have been very kind to me and saved my life. But I am not able to run {all the way} to the mountains before the disaster occurs and kills me. 20 {So} listen {to this} please: that town {up ahead} is near {enough} to run to {in time}, and it is {just} a small {town}. Please let us run there {and do not destroy it}, especially since it is so small. Then we can stay alive.” 21 The angel replied to Lot, "Alright, I will allow you to go to the {small} town that you're talking about and I will not destroy it. 22 {But} hurry up {now and} run there, because I cannot destroy anything until you get there.” Since Lot said the town was small, the name of the town is Zoar {which means "small”}.
23 The sun was rising over the land as Lot {and his family} reached {the town of} Zoar. 24 Then Yahweh caused fire and burning rocks to fall like {heavy} rain from the sky on {the cities of} Sodom and Gomorrah. 25 {In that way,} he {completely} destroyed those {two} cities and the entire valley, including everyone who lived in the cities and {all} the plants in the area. 26 But Lot's wife, {who was} {walking} behind him, looked back {at the city}, and she turned into a statue of {solid} salt {rock}.
27 {Meanwhile} early that same morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood with Yahweh {the day before}. 28 He looked down at {the cities of} Sodom and Gomorrah and all {the rest of} the valley, and there in front of him, he saw that {lots of thick} smoke was billowing up over the land like smoke from a {huge} fire.
29 So it was {that} when God destroyed the cities in the valley, he did not forget Abraham, and so he saved Lot from the catastrophe that {completely} destroyed the cities which Lot had lived in.
30 After that, Lot was afraid to stay in {the town of} Zoar, so he and his two daughters moved from there to the mountains and lived in a cave. 31 Then {one day} his oldest {daughter} said to the younger one, "Our father is old and there aren't any men around here to marry us, which is the custom {that people have} everywhere else in the world. 32 {So} come on, let's get our father drunk on wine, then let's have relations with him, so that we can continue our family line with him.” 33 So that night they got their father drunk on wine. Then the older {daughter} went {to him} and had relations with him. But {he was so drunk that} he was not {even} aware that she got in bed {with him} or that she left.
34 The next day Lot's older {daughter} said to the younger one, "Listen, last night I slept with our father. Let's get him drunk on wine again tonight, then you {also} go {and} have relations with him, so that we can continue our family line with him.” 35 So that night Lot's daughters got their father drunk on wine again. Then the younger {daughter} went and had relations with him. And {once again} {he was so drunk that} he was not aware that she got in bed {with him} or that she left.
36 In that way, both of Lot's daughters became pregnant from {having relations with} their father. 37 Later his older {daughter} gave birth to a son, and she named him Moab {which means "from my father”}. He became the ancestor of the Moabite people {who are still living} today. 38 Lot's younger {daughter} also gave birth to a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi {which means "son of my people”}. He became the ancestor of the Ammonite people {who are still living} today.