Genesis 19:20

Genesis 19:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.
• New International Version (NIV)Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there—is it not a little one?—and my life will be saved!"
• New King James Version (NKJV)See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.”

Context of Genesis 19:20

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. Look! See that town over there. It is near and I can run to it safely. And it is a small town. So please let me run there. You can see that it is only a small place. If I go there, I will stay alive.’ 21The angel said to Lot, ‘OK, I will let you do what you have asked. I will not destroy that town. 22But run there quickly. I cannot do anything until you arrive in the town.’ (The name of the town became ‘Zoar’, because it was small.)

Genesis 19:20 word by word

הִנֵּה־נָ֠א הָעִ֨יר הַזֹּ֧את קְרֹבָ֛ה לָנ֥וּס שָׁ֖מָּה וְהִ֣יא מִצְעָ֑ר אִמָּלְטָ֨ה נָּ֜א שָׁ֗מָּה הֲלֹ֥א מִצְעָ֛ר הִ֖וא וּתְחִ֥י נַפְשִֽׁי׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Behold now, this cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• nearקָרֹבqârôb qârôb · nearH7138
• to fleeנוּסnûs · to fleeH5127
• unto, and itהוּאhû' hîy' · he/she/itH1931
• a little oneמִצְעָרmits‛âr · littleH4705
• Oh, let me escapeמָלַטmâlaţ · to escapeH4422
• and my soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: lifeH5315
• shall liveחָיָהchâyâh · to liveH2421

Cross-references for Genesis 19:20

• Genesis 19:30Lot was afraid to live in Zoar. So he took his two daughters and they went up into the mountains. They lived together in a cave.
• Proverbs 3:5Trust in the Lord completely. Do not think that you understand things well enough for yourself.
• Amos 3:6Also, if the people in a city hear a trumpet's sound, they become very afraid. If bad trouble comes to a city, it means that the Lord has sent it.
• Genesis 12:13So tell them that you are my sister. Then they will do good things to me, because they want to please you. They will not kill me because they will think that you are my sister.’
• Psalms 119:175Keep my life safe, so that I can praise you. Use your laws to give me help.
• Isaiah 55:3Come to me and listen carefully. If you accept my teaching, you will have real life! Then I will make a covenant with you, to be my people. My promise will continue for ever, like the promise that I made to King David.

Commentaries on Genesis 19:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20It is a little one - Probably Lot wished to have it for an inheritance, and therefore pleaded its being a little one, that his request might be the more readily granted. Or he might suppose, that being a little city, it was less depraved than Sodom and Gomorrah, and therefore not so ripe for punishment; which was probably the case.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. 18-22Lot asked the angels for permission to live in the small town of Zoar (which means "little place") even after they saved him.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-381. there came two angels--most probably two of those that had been with Abraham, commissioned to execute the divine judgment against Sodom. Lot sat in the gate of Sodom--In Eastern cities it is the market, the seat of justice, of social intercourse and amusement, especially a favorite lounge in the evenings, the arched roof affording a pleasant shade.Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 19:20

• Angel (a Spirit)
• Disobedience to God
• Lot
• Prayer
• Sodom
• Zoar

In the dictionaries

• Abraham
• Angel
• Bela
• Cave
• Concerning
• Deal
• Escape
• Lot
• Pillar
• 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