New King James Version
Genesis 19:17
17So 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.”
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!”
- English Standard Version (ESV)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."
- 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
15When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.” 16And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 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.” 18Then Lot said to them, “Please, no, my lords! 19Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil 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 18:22Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.
- Genesis 19:14So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Get up, get out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city!” But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking.
- 1 Samuel 19:11Saul also sent messengers to David’s house to watch him and to kill him in the morning. And Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.”
- 1 Kings 19:3And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
- Psalms 121:1I will lift up my eyes to the hills— From whence comes my help?
- Matthew 3:7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
- Matthew 24:16“then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
- Hebrews 2:3how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,
- Genesis 19:26But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
- Luke 9:62But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
- Luke 17:31“In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back.
- Philippians 3:13Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are 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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries