English Standard Version
Genesis 19:17
17And 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."
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!”
- 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.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)When they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, “Run for your lives! And don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away!”
Context of Genesis 19:17
15As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city." 16But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 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." 18And Lot said to them, "Oh, no, my lords. 19Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die.
Read all of Genesis 19Genesis 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 18:22So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.
- Genesis 19:14So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, "Up! Get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city." But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.
- 1 Samuel 19:11Saul sent messengers to David's house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, told him, "If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed."
- 1 Kings 19:3Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
- Psalms 121:1I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
- Matthew 3:7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
- Matthew 24:16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
- Hebrews 2:3how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard,
- Genesis 19:26But Lot's wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
- Luke 9:62Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
- Luke 17:31On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back.
- Philippians 3:13Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
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
In the dictionaries
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
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