English Standard Version
Genesis 19:20
20Behold, 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!"
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.”
- 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.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)See, there is a small village nearby. Please let me go there instead; don’t you see how small it is? Then my life will be saved.”
Context of Genesis 19:20
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. 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!" 21He said to him, "Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. 22Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there." Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
Read all of Genesis 19Genesis 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 19:30Now Lot went up out of Zoar and lived in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters.
- Proverbs 3:5Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
- Amos 3:6Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has done it?
- Genesis 12:13Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake."
- Psalms 119:175Let my soul live and praise you, and let your rules help me.
- Isaiah 55:3Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for 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
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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