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 to them, “No, please, Lord! 19Your servant has found favor with you, and you have shown me great kindness by sparing my life. But I am not able to escape to the mountains because this disaster will overtake me and I’ll die. Look, this town over here is close enough to escape to, and it’s just a little one. Let me go there. It’s just a little place, isn’t it? Then I’ll survive.” 21“Very well,” he replied, “I will grant this request too and will not overthrow the town you mentioned. 22Run there quickly, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” (This incident explains why the town was called Zoar.)

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 went up from Zoar with his two daughters and settled in the mountains because 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 rely on your own understanding.
• Amos 3:6If an alarm sounds in a city, do people not fear? If disaster overtakes a city, is the Lord not responsible?
• Genesis 12:13So tell them you are my sister so that it may go well for me because of you and my life will be spared on account of you.”
• Psalms 119:175May I live and praise you! May your regulations help me!
• Isaiah 55:3Pay attention and come to me! Listen, so you can live! Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to you, just like the reliable covenantal promises I made 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

• 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