1That evening the two angels came to the entrance of the city of Sodom. Lot was sitting there as they arrived. When he saw them, he got up to greet them. Then he welcomed them and bowed low to the ground. 2»My lords,« he said, »come to my home to wash your feet, and be my guests for the night. You may get up in the morning as early as you like and be on your way again.« »Oh no,« they said, »We will spend the night out here in the city square.« 3Lot insisted, so at last they went home with him. He set a great feast before them, complete with fresh unleavened unfermented bread. 4They prepared to retire for the night when suddenly all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. 5They shouted to Lot: »Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out so we can have sex with them!« 6Lot stepped outside to talk to them, shutting the door behind him. 7»Please, my brothers,« he begged, »do not do such a wicked thing. 8»I have two virgin daughters. Do with them as you wish, but leave these men alone, for they are under my protection.« 9»Stand back!« they shouted. »Who do you think you are? We let you settle among us, and now you are trying to tell us what to do! We will treat you far worse than those other men!« They pushed Lot and began breaking down the door. 10But the two angels reached out and pulled Lot in and bolted the door. 11Then they blinded the men of Sodom so they could not find the doorway. 12»Do you have any other relatives here in the city?« The angels asked. »Get them out of this place, sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else. 13»We will destroy the city completely. The stench of the place has reached Jehovah. He has sent us to destroy it.« 14Lot rushed out to tell his sons-in-law: »Hurry! Get out of the city! Jehovah is going to destroy it.« But the young men thought he was only joking. 15At dawn the next morning the angels became insistent. They said to Lot: »Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out of here right now, or you will be caught in the destruction of the city.« 16Lot still hesitated. So the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for Jehovah was merciful. 17»Run for your lives!« The angels warned. »Do not stop and do not look behind you! Escape to the mountains, or you will die.« 18»Oh no, my lords, please,« Lot begged. 19»You have been so kind to me and saved my life, and you have granted me such mercy. But I cannot go to the mountains. Disaster would catch up to me there, and I would soon die. 20»There is a small village nearby. Please let me go there instead. Do you see how small it is? Then my life will be saved.« 21The angel said to him: »All right, I will grant you this request too. I will not destroy the city you are talking about. 22»Run there quickly! I cannot do anything until you get there." The city is named Zoar Small. 23The sun had just risen over the land as Lot came to Zoar. 24Jehovah made burning sulfur and fire rain out of the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah. 25He destroyed those cities, the whole Plain, all who lived in the cities, and whatever grew on the ground. 26Lot’s wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt. 27Early the next morning Abraham came to the place where he had stood in front of Jehovah. 28He looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land in the Plain. He saw smoke rising from the land like the thick smoke of a furnace. 29When God destroyed the cities of the valley where Lot was living, he kept Abraham in mind and allowed Lot to escape to safety. 30Lot was afraid to stay in Zoar. So 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. There are no men in the whole world to marry us so we can have children. 32»Come, let us get our father drunk. Then we can sleep with him and have children by him.« 33That night they gave him wine to drink. The older daughter had intercourse with him. But he was so drunk that he did not know it. 34The next day the older daughter said to her sister: »I slept with him last night. Let us 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. The younger daughter had intercourse with him. Again he was so drunk that he did not know it. 36Both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their own father. 37The older daughter had a son, whom she named Moab. He was the ancestor of the present-day Moabites. 38The younger daughter also had a son, whom she named Ben-ammi. He was the ancestor of the present-day Ammonites.