God’s Word Translation
Genesis 19:20
20Look, there’s a city near enough to flee to, and it’s small. Why don’t you let me run there? Isn’t it small? Then 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.”
- 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
18Lot answered, “Oh no! 19Even though you’ve been so good to me and though you’ve been very kind to me by saving my life, I can’t run as far as the hills. This disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. Look, there’s a city near enough to flee to, and it’s small. Why don’t you let me run there? Isn’t it small? Then my life will be saved.” 21The angel said to him, “Alright, I will grant you this request too. I will not destroy the city you’re talking about. 22Run there quickly, because I can’t do anything until you get there.” (The city is named Zoar [Small].)
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 19:30Lot left Zoar because he was afraid to stay there. He and his two daughters settled in the mountains where they lived in a cave.
- Proverbs 3:5Trust the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding.
- Amos 3:6If a ram’s horn sounds an alarm in a city, won’t the people be alarmed? If there is a disaster in a city, hasn’t the Lord done it?
- Genesis 12:13Please say that you’re my sister. Then everything will be alright for me, and because of you I will live.”
- Psalms 119:175Let my soul have new life so that it can praise you. Let your regulations help me.
- Isaiah 55:3Open your ears, and come to me! Listen so that you may live! I will make an everlasting promise to you— the blessings I promised to 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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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