Genesis 19:17

Genesis 19:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And 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.
• New International Version (NIV)As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And as they brought them out, one said, "Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away."
• New King James Version (NKJV)So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.”

Context of Genesis 19:17

15At dawn, the two angels told Lot he must leave quickly. They said to him, ‘Hurry! Take your wife and take your two daughters who are here. If you do not go quickly, you will all die when the Lord destroys the city.’ 16But Lot did not move. So the angels took hold of Lot's hand, as well as the hands of his wife and his two daughters. The Lord was very kind to Lot and his family and the angels led them away from the city. When they had reached a place outside the city, one of the angels said, ‘Now run! Your lives are in danger. Do not look behind you! Do not stop anywhere in this valley. Run up into the mountains or you will die.’ 18But Lot said, ‘No! Please, my lords, I cannot do that! 19I am your humble servant and you have been very kind to me. You have saved my life. But I cannot run away into the mountains. If I try to do that, this punishment will catch me before I reach there. Then I will surely die.

Genesis 19:17 word by word

וַיְהִי֩ כְהוֹצִיאָ֨ם אֹתָ֜ם הַח֗וּצָה וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ הִמָּלֵ֣ט עַל־נַפְשֶׁ֔ךָ אַל־תַּבִּ֣יט אַחֲרֶ֔יךָ וְאַֽל־תַּעֲמֹ֖ד בְּכָל־הַכִּכָּ֑ר הָהָ֥רָה הִמָּלֵ֖ט פֶּן־תִּסָּפֶֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And it came to pass, when they had brought them forthיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: sendH3318
• abroadחוּץchûts chûts · outsideH2351
• that he saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Escapeמָלַטmâlaţ · to escapeH4422
• forעַל‛al · uponH5921
• thy lifeנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: lifeH5315
• lookנָבַטnâbaţ · to lookH5027
• not behind theeאַחַר'achar · afterH310
• neither stayעָמַד‛âmad · to stand: standH5975
• thou in all the plainכִּכָּרkikâr · talentH3603
• to the mountainהַרhar · mountain: mountH2022
• lest thou be consumedסָפָהsâphâh · to snatchH5595

Cross-references for Genesis 19:17

• Genesis 18:22The other two men then turned away and they went towards Sodom. But Abraham stayed there to talk with the Lord.
• Genesis 19:14So Lot went out of his house. He spoke to the men who would marry his daughters. He said to them, ‘Hurry! Leave this city now, because the Lord has decided to destroy it.’ But the men did not believe Lot. They thought he was not being serious.
• 1 Samuel 19:11Saul sent some of his servants to watch David's house. Saul told them to kill David when he came out in the morning. But David's wife Michal warned him. She said, ‘You must run away tonight. If you do not escape, tomorrow you will die!’
• 1 Kings 19:3Elijah became very afraid. He ran away to save his life. He arrived at Beersheba in Judah. He left his servant there.
• Psalms 121:1As I travel, I look up towards the hills. I will find no help there.
• Matthew 3:7Many Pharisees and Sadducees came to John. They wanted John to baptize them. He said to them, ‘You are like dangerous snakes. God is angry. You are trying to run away from him. But he will soon punish people like you.
• Matthew 24:16At that time, people in Judea must run away to the hills to hide.
• Hebrews 2:3As for us, God has shown us the way that he will save us from our sins. So we must not forget God's message about his great way to save us. If we do, he will certainly punish us. The Lord Jesus himself first spoke that message about how God would save people. Then the people who heard Jesus told the message to us. That is how we know that it is true.
• Genesis 19:26But as they ran away, Lot's wife looked back at the city. When she did that, she became a large piece of salt, like a pillar.
• Luke 9:62Jesus replied, ‘A man that ploughs a field must continue to look straight in front of him. If he looks behind him, he cannot plough well. People that look back behind them cannot work well for the kingdom of God.’
• Luke 17:31On that day, a person who is up on the roof of his house must not go back down into the house. He must not get his things that are inside the house to take with him. In the same way, people that are working outside in their fields must not go back to their homes.
• Philippians 3:13My Christian friends, I do not think that I have reached that place yet. But this is what I do: I do not think about past things that have already happened. Instead, I try hard to reach the things that are in front of me.

Commentaries on Genesis 19:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17When they had brought them forth, etc. - Every word here is emphatic, Escape for thy Life; thou art in the most imminent danger of perishing; thy life and thy soul are both at stake. Look not behind thee - thou hast but barely time enough to escape from the judgment that is now descending; no lingering, or thou art lost! one look back may prove fatal to thee, and God commands thee to avoid it. Neither stay thou in all the plain, because God will destroy…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-38Verses 1-38 - The Destruction of Sodom and Amorah 9. גשׁ־ gesh -hāl'âh “approach to a distant point,” stand back. 11. סנורים sanevērı̂ym “blindness,” affecting the mental more than the ocular vision. 37. מואב mô'āb Moab; מאב mē'āb “from a father.” בן־עמי ben -‛amı̂y Ben-ammi, “son of my people.” עמון ‛amôn Ammon, “of the people.” This chapter is the continuation and conclusion of the former. It records a part of God‘s strange work - strange…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15-23Lot escaped God's judgment because of God's grace, but Lot was still hesitant to leave Sodom. Israel would forever remember Lot as someone who hesitated and needed angels to pull him to safety. The Lord was merciful and spared Lot because of Abraham (18:23; 19:29). Today, people who follow God often feel pressure to copy the wrong ways that many people live. God asks his followers to live differently from people who do not follow him. This means…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 15-1715-17. The kindly interest the angels took in the preservation of Lot is beautifully displayed. But he "lingered." Was it from sorrow at the prospect of losing all his property, the acquisition of many years? Or was it that his benevolent heart was paralyzed by thoughts of the awful crisis? This is the charitable way of accounting for a delay that would have been fatal but for the friendly urgency of the angel.Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 19:17

• Angel (a Spirit)
• Lot
• Sodom

In the dictionaries

• Abraham
• Angel
• Cave
• Concerning
• Deal
• Escape
• Lot
• Pillar
• Plain
• Press

Commentaries on Genesis 19

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings