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New King James Version

Genesis 19:16

And 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.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Angel (a Spirit);   Children;   God Continued...;   Sodom;   Thompson Chain Reference - Angels;   Delay, Causes of;   Deliverance;   Divine;   Forgiveness;   God's;   Haste-Delay;   Mercifulness-Unmercifulness;   Ministering Angels;   Procrastination;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Judgments;   Mercy of God, the;   Procrastination;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Lot;   Miracle;   Sodom;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Lot;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Family Life and Relations;   Mercy;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - All-Sufficiency of God;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Abraham;   Lot;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Angel;   Compassion;   Lot;   Remnant;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Admah;   Ammon, Ammonites;   Ben-Ammi;   Greek Versions of Ot;   Israel;   Mercy, Merciful;   Moab, Moabites;   Plain, Cities of the;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Sodom, Sodoma ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Lot;   Sodom;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Cities;   Lot;   Sodom;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Cities;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Lot (1);   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Lot;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for March 20;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
But he lingered; and the men laid hold on his hand, and on the hand of his wife, and on the hand of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful to him; and they took him out, and set him outside of the city.
King James Version
And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the Lord being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.
Lexham English Bible
But when he lingered, the men seized him by his hand and his wife's hand, and his two daughters by hand, on account of the mercy of Yahweh upon him. And they brought him out and set him outside of the city.
New Century Version
But Lot delayed. So the two men took the hands of Lot, his wife, and his two daughters and led them safely out of the city. So the Lord was merciful to Lot and his family.
New English Translation
When Lot hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them. They led them away and placed them outside the city.
Amplified Bible
But Lot hesitated and lingered. The men took hold of his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, because the LORD was merciful to him [for Abraham's sake]; and they brought him out, and left him outside the city [with his family].
New American Standard Bible
But he hesitated. So the men grasped his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, because the compassion of the LORD was upon him; and they brought him out and put him outside the city.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And as he prolonged the time, the men caught both him and his wife, and his two daughters by the hands (the Lord being mercifull vnto him) and they brought him foorth, and set him without the citie.
Legacy Standard Bible
But he hesitated. So the men seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, for the compassion of Yahweh was upon him; and they brought him out and put him outside the city.
Contemporary English Version
At first, Lot just stood there. But the Lord wanted to save him. So the angels took Lot, his wife, and his two daughters by the hand and led them out of the city.
Complete Jewish Bible
But he dallied, so the men took hold of his hand, his wife's hand and the hands of his two daughters — Adonai was being merciful to him — and led them, leaving them outside the city.
Darby Translation
And as he lingered, the men laid hold on his hand, and on the hand of his wife, and on the hand of his two daughters, Jehovah being merciful to him; and they led him out, and set him without the city.
Easy-to-Read Version
When Lot did not move fast enough, the two men grabbed his hand. They also took the hands of his wife and his two daughters. The two men led Lot and his family safely out of the city. The Lord was kind to Lot and his family.
English Standard Version
But 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.
George Lamsa Translation
But Lot lingered; then the angels held his hand, the hand of his wife, and the hands of his two daughters, because the LORD pitied him; and they took him out and set him outside the city.
Good News Translation
Lot hesitated. The Lord , however, had pity on him; so the men took him, his wife, and his two daughters by the hand and led them out of the city.
Christian Standard Bible®
But he hesitated. Because of the Lord’s compassion for him, the men grabbed his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters. They brought him out and left him outside the city.
Literal Translation
And he lingered. And the men lay hold of his hand and his wife's hand, and on the hand of his two daughters, Jehovah having mercy on him. And they caused him to go out, and they put him down outside the city.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But whyle he prolonged the tyme, the men caught him and his wife, and his two doughters by the hande (because the LORDE was mercifull vnto him,) and brought him forth, & set him without the cite.
American Standard Version
But he lingered; and the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters, Jehovah being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.
Bible in Basic English
But while he was waiting, the men took him and his wife and his daughters by the hand, for the Lord had mercy on them, and put them outside the town.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And as he prolonged the tyme, the men caught both him, his wife, and his two daughters by the handes, the Lorde beyng mercyfull vnto hym: and they brought hym foorth, and set hym without the citie.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
But he lingered; and the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him. And they brought him forth, and set him without the city.
King James Version (1611)
And while he lingred, the men laid hold vpon his hand, and vpon the hand of his wife, and vpon the hand of his two daughters, the LORD being mercifull vnto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the citie.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And they were troubled, and the angels laid hold on his hand, and the hand of his wife, and the hands of his two daughters, in that the Lord spared him.
English Revised Version
But he lingered; and the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.
Berean Standard Bible
But when Lot hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and his two daughters. And they led them safely out of the city, because of the LORD's compassion for them.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
While he dissymelide, thei token his hond, and the hond of his wijf, and of his twey doutris; for the Lord sparide hym.
Young's Literal Translation
And he lingereth, and the men lay hold on his hand, and on the hand of his wife, and on the hand of his two daughters, through the mercy of Jehovah unto him, and they bring him out, and cause him to rest without the city.
Webster's Bible Translation
And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters: the LORD being merciful to him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.
World English Bible
But he lingered; and the men laid hold on his hand, and on the hand of his wife, and on the hand of his two daughters, Yahweh being merciful to him; and they took him out, and set him outside of the city.
New Living Translation
When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the Lord was merciful.
New Life Bible
But Lot was slow to move. So the men took him, his wife and two daughters by the hand and brought them out of the city. For the Lord had loving-pity for him.
New Revised Standard
But 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 left him outside the city.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And he lingered - so the men laid hold of his hand and of the hand of his wife and of the hand of his two daughters, in the tenderness of Yahweh towards him, - and they brought him out and led him forth outside the city.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And as he lingered, they took his hand, and the hand of his wife, and of his two daughters, because the Lord spared him.
Revised Standard Version
But 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 forth and set him outside the city.
Update Bible Version
But he lingered; and the men laid hold on his hand, and on the hand of his wife, and on the hand of his two daughters, Yahweh being merciful to him; and they brought him forth, and set him outside the city.
THE MESSAGE
Lot was dragging his feet. The men grabbed Lot's arm, and the arms of his wife and daughters— God was so merciful to them!—and dragged them to safety outside the city. When they had them outside, Lot was told, "Now run for your life! Don't look back! Don't stop anywhere on the plain—run for the hills or you'll be swept away."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
But he hesitated. So the men seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, for the compassion of the LORD was upon him; and they brought him out, and put him outside the city.

Contextual Overview

15 When 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." 16 And 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. 17 So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he [fn] said, "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed." 18 Then Lot said to them, "Please, no, my lords! 19 Indeed 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. 20 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." 21 And he said to him, "See, I have favored you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken. 22 Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there." Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. 23 The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

lingered: Psalms 119:60, John 6:44

the Lord: Exodus 34:6, Numbers 14:18, Deuteronomy 4:31, 1 Chronicles 16:34, Psalms 34:12, Psalms 86:5, Psalms 86:15, Psalms 103:8-10, Psalms 103:13, Psalms 106:1, Psalms 106:8, Psalms 107:1, Psalms 111:4, Psalms 118:1, Psalms 136:1, Isaiah 63:9, Lamentations 3:22, Micah 7:18, Micah 7:19, Luke 6:35, Luke 6:36, Luke 18:13, Romans 9:15, Romans 9:16, Romans 9:18, 2 Corinthians 1:3, Ephesians 2:4, Ephesians 2:5, Titus 3:5

brought: Joshua 6:22, 2 Peter 2:9

Reciprocal: Genesis 43:10 - General Exodus 15:13 - Thou Daniel 3:28 - hath sent Luke 17:29 - General Acts 12:7 - Arise Hebrews 1:14 - sent Hebrews 8:9 - I took 2 Peter 2:7 - delivered

Cross-References

Genesis 19:4
Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house.
Genesis 19:5
And they called to Lot and said to him, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally."
Genesis 19:8
See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof."
Genesis 19:10
But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door.
Genesis 19:15
When 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."
Genesis 19:16
And 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.
Genesis 19:18
Then Lot said to them, "Please, no, my lords!
Genesis 19:19
Indeed 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.
Genesis 19:35
Then they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.
Genesis 19:36
Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And while he lingered,.... Delayed going out of his house, either loath to leave his goods and substance behind him; or waiting to see whether his sons-in-law would come to him; or, as others, praying that God would spare the city: though rather the sense is, that he was so amazed, and filled with horror and trembling at the thought of what judgments were coming on the city, that he was like one stupid, that had no power to stir nor move, which seems best to agree with the sense of the word used u:

the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; one of them took hold of his hand with one of his hands, and on his wife's with the other, and the second took hold of one of his daughters with one hand, and of the other with his other hand, and so led them out:

the Lord being merciful unto him; and so saved them from the ruin and destruction of the city, in which had they stayed a little longer they would have been involved. It was not owing to their merits, but to the mercy of God that they were spared:

and they brought him forth, and set him without the city; not him only, but his wife and two daughters also, and having so done, left them and returned to the city; for so the last clause may be rendered, "and left him without the city" w, to shift for themselves; or rather well knowing that there would be one that would immediately appear and take them under his care and protection, as the event shows.

u ויתמהמה a תמה "admiratus est". w וינחהו "et reliquerunt", Drusius, Schmidt.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

- The Destruction of Sodom and Amorah

9. גשׁ־<הלאה 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, because it consists in punishment, and because it is foreign to the covenant of grace. Yet it is closely connected with Abraham’s history, inasmuch as it is a signal chastisement of wickedness in his neighborhood, a memorial of the righteous judgment of God to all his posterity, and at the same time a remarkable answer to the spirit, if not to the letter, of his intercessory prayer. His kinsman Lot, the only righteous man in Sodom, with his wife and two daughters, is delivered from destruction in accordance with his earnest appeal on behalf of the righteous.

Genesis 19:1-3

The two angels. - These are the two men who left Abraham standing before the Lord Genesis 18:22. “Lot sat in the gate,” the place of public resort for news and for business. He courteously rises to meet them, does obeisance to them, and invites them to spend the night in his house. “Nay, but in the street will we lodge.” This is the disposition of those who come to inquire, and, it may be, to condemn and to punish. They are twice in this chapter called angels, being sent to perform a delegated duty. This term, however, defines their office, not their nature. Lot, in the first instance, calls them “my lords,” which is a term of respect that may be addressed to men Genesis 31:35. He afterward styled one of them Adonai, with the special vowel pointing which limits it to the Supreme Being. He at the same time calls himself his servant, appeals to his grace and mercy, and ascribes to him his deliverance. The person thus addressed replies, in a tone of independence and authority, “I have accepted thee.” “I will not overthrow this city for which thou hast spoken.” “I cannot do anything until thou go thither.” All these circumstances point to a divine personage, and are not so easily explained of a mere delegate. He is pre-eminently the Saviour, as he who communed with Abraham was the hearer of prayer. And he who hears prayer and saves life, appears also as the executor of his purpose in the overthrow of Sodom and the other cities of the vale. It is remarkable that only two of the three who appeared to Abraham are called angels. Of the persons in the divine essence two might be the angels or deputies of the primary in the discharge of the divine purpose. These three men, then, either immediately represent, or, if created angels, mediately shadow forth persons in the Godhead. Their number indicates that the persons in the divine unity are three.

Lot seems to have recognized something extraordinary in their appearance, for he made a lowly obeisance to them. The Sodomites heed not the strangers. Lot’s invitation; at first declined, is at length accepted, because Lot is approved of God as righteous, and excepted from the doom of the city.

Genesis 19:4-11

The wicked violence of the citizens displays itself. They compass the house, and demand the men for the vilest ends. How familiar Lot had become with vice, when any necessity whatever could induce him to offer his daughters to the lust of these Sodomites! We may suppose it was spoken rashly, in the heat of the moment, and with the expectation that he would not be taken at his word. So it turned out. “Stand back.” This seems to be a menace to frighten Lot out of the way of their perverse will. It is probable, indeed, that he and his family would not have been so long safe in this wicked place, had he not been the occasion of a great deliverance to the whole city when they were carried away by the four kings. The threat is followed by a taunt, when the sorely vexed host hesitated to give up the strangers. “He will needs be a judge.” It is evident Lot had been in the habit of remonstrating with them. From threats and taunts they soon proceed to violence. His guests now interfere. They rescue Lot, and smite the rioters with blindness, or a wandering of the senses, so that they cannot find the door. This ebullition of the vilest passion seals the doom of the city.

Genesis 19:12-23

The visitors now take steps for the deliverance of Lot and his kindred before the destruction of the cities. All that are related to him are included in the offer of deliverance. There is a blessing in being connected with the righteous, if men will but avail themselves of it. Lot seems bewildered by the contemptuous refusal of his connections to leave the place. His early choice and his growing habits have attached him to the place, notwithstanding its temptations. His married daughters, or at least the intended husbands of the two who were at home (“who are here”), are to be left behind. But though these thoughts make him linger, the mercy of the Lord prevails. The angels use a little violence to hasten their escape. The mountain was preserved by its elevation from the flood of rain, sulphur, and fire which descended on the low ground on which the cities were built. Lot begs for a small town to which he may retreat, as he shrinks from the perils of a mountain dwelling, and his request is mercifully granted.

Genesis 19:24-26

Then follows the overthrow of the cities. “The Lord rained brimstone and fire from the Lord from the skies.” Here the Lord is represented as present in the skies, whence the storm of desolation comes, and on the earth where it falls. The dale of Siddim, in which the cities were, appears to have abounded in asphalt and other combustible materials Genesis 14:10. The district was liable to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions from the earliest to the latest times. We read of an earthquake in the days of king Uzziah Amos 1:1. An earthquake in 1759 destroyed many thousands of persons in the valley of Baalbec. Josephus (De Bell. Jud. iii. 10, 7) reports that the Salt Sea sends up in many places black masses of asphalt, which are not unlike headless bulls in shape and size. After an earthquake in 1834, masses of asphalt were thrown up from the bottom, and in 1837 a similar cause was attended with similar effects.

The lake lies in the lowest part of the valley of the Jordan, and its surface is about thirteen hundred feet below the level of the sea. In such a hollow, exposed to the burning rays of an unclouded sun, its waters evaporate as much as it receives by the influx of the Jordan. Its present area is about forty-five miles by eight miles. A peninsula pushes into it from the east called the Lisan, or tongue, the north point of which is about twenty miles from the south end of the lake. North of this point the depth is from forty to two hundred and eighteen fathoms. This southern part of the lake seems to have been the original dale of Siddim, in which were the cities of the vale. The remarkable salt hills lying on the south of the lake are still called Khashm Usdum (Sodom). A tremendous storm, accompanied with flashes of lightning, and torrents of rain, impregnated with sulphur, descended upon the doomed cities.

From the injunction to Lot to “flee to the mountain,” as well as from the nature of the soil, we may infer that at the same time with the awful conflagration there was a subsidence of the ground, so that the waters of the upper and original lake flowed in upon the former fertile and populous dale, and formed the shallow southern part of the present Salt Sea. In this pool of melting asphalt and sweltering, seething waters, the cities seem to have sunk forever, and left behind them no vestiges of their existence. Lot’s wife lingering behind her husband, and looking back, contrary to the express command of the Lord, is caught in the sweeping tempest, and becomes a pillar of salt: so narrow was the escape of Lot. The dashing spray of the salt sulphurous rain seems to have suffocated her, and then encrusted her whole body. She may have burned to a cinder in the furious conflagration. She is a memorable example of the indignation and wrath that overtakes the halting and the backsliding.

Genesis 19:27-29

Abraham rises early on the following morning, to see what had become of the city for which he had interceded so earnestly, and views from afar the scene of smoking desolation. Remembering Abraham, who was Lot’s uncle, and had him probably in mind in his importunate pleading, God delivered Lot from this awful overthrow. The Eternal is here designated by the name Elohim, the Everlasting, because in the war of elements in which the cities were overwhelmed, the eternal potencies of his nature were signally displayed.

Genesis 19:30-38

The descendants of Lot. Bewildered by the narrowness of his escape, and the awful death of his wife, Lot seems to have left Zoar, and taken to the mountain west of the Salt Sea, in terror of impending ruin. It is not improbable that all the inhabitants of Zoar, panic-struck, may have fled from the region of danger, and dispersed themselves for a time through the adjacent mountains. He was now far from the habitations of people, with his two daughters as his only companions. The manners of Sodom here obtrude themselves upon our view. Lot’s daughters might seem to have been led to this unnatural project, first, because they thought the human race extinct with the exception of themselves, in which case their conduct may have seemed a work of justifiable necessity; and next, because the degrees of kindred within which it was unlawful to marry had not been determined by an express law. But they must have seen some of the inhabitants of Zoar after the destruction of the cities; and carnal intercourse between parent and offspring must have been always repugnant to nature. “Unto this day.” This phrase indicates a variable period, from a few years to a few centuries: a few years; not more than seven, as Joshua 22:3; part of a lifetime, as Numbers 22:30; Joshua 6:25; Genesis 48:15; and some centuries, as Exodus 10:6. This passage may therefore have been written by one much earlier than Moses. Moab afterward occupied the district south of the Arnon, and east of the Salt Sea. Ammon dwelt to the northeast of Moab, where they had a capital called Rabbah. They both ultimately merged into the more general class of the Arabs, as a second Palgite element.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Genesis 19:16. While he lingered — Probably in affectionate though useless entreaties to prevail on the remaining parts of his family to escape from the destruction that was now descending; laid hold upon his hand - pulled them away by mere force, the Lord being merciful; else they had been left to perish in their lingering, as the others were in their gainsaying.


 
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