Genesis 19 - 20 - Legacy Standard Bible

Genesis 19 - 20

Yahweh Destroys Sodom and Gomorrah

Then the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. Lot saw them and rose to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. 2 And he said, “Now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your servant’s house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.” They said however, “No, but we shall spend the night in the square.” 3 Yet he pressed them strongly, so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he made a feast for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. 4 Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, from young to old, all the people from every quarter; 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.” 6 But Lot went out to them at the doorway and shut the door behind him, 7 and said, “Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly. 8 Now behold, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them what is good in your eyes; only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shelter of my roof.” 9 But they said, “Step aside.” Furthermore, they said, “This one came to sojourn, and already he is persistently acting like a judge; now we will treat you more wickedly than them.” So they pressed hard against Lot and stepped up to break the door. 10 But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. 11 And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, from small to great, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway. 12 Then the two men said to Lot, “Whom else have you here? A son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and everyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place; 13 for we are about to destroy this place because their outcry has become great before Yahweh, so Yahweh has sent us to destroy it.” 14 And Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, and said, “Get up, get out of this place, for Yahweh will destroy the city.” But he appeared to his sons-in-law to be jesting. 15 Now at the breaking of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Get up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 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. 17 Now it happened, as they brought them outside, one said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, lest you be swept away.” 18 But Lot said to them, “Oh no, my lords! 19 Now behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your lovingkindness, which you have shown me by preserving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest calamity overtake me and I die; 20 now behold, this town is near enough to flee to, and it is small. Please, let me escape there (is it not small?) that my life may be preserved.” 21 And he said to him, “Behold, I grant you this request also, that I will not overthrow the city of 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 over the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24 And Yahweh rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Yahweh out of heaven, 25 and He overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 Then his wife, from behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. 27 Now Abraham arose early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before Yahweh; 28 and he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the valley, and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace. 29 Thus it happened, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, that God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.

Lot and His Daughters

30 And Lot went up from Zoar and stayed in the mountains, and his two daughters with him; for he was afraid to stay in Zoar; and he stayed in a cave, he and his two daughters. 31 Then the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of the earth. 32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and let us lie with him that we may preserve our seed through our father.” 33 So they made their father drink wine that night, and the firstborn went in and lay with her father; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. 34 Now it happened on the following day, that the firstborn said to the younger, “Behold, I lay last night with my father; let us make him drink wine tonight also; and you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve our seed through our father.” 35 So 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. 36 Thus both the daughters of Lot conceived by their father. 37 And the firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. 38 As for the younger, she also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi; he is the father of the sons of Ammon to this day.

Abraham Lies to Abimelech

And Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in Gerar. 2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married.” 4 (Now Abimelech had not come near her.) Then he said, “Lord, will You kill a nation, even though righteous? 5 Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself also said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” 6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Indeed, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also held you back from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. 7 So now, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you, and you will live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.” 8 So Abimelech arose early in the morning and called all his servants and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were greatly afraid. 9 Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.” 10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What have you seen, that you have done this thing?” 11 And Abraham said, “Because I said, surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife. 12 Besides, she actually is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife; 13 and it happened when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is the lovingkindness which you will show to me: everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’” 14 Abimelech then took sheep and oxen and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham and returned his wife Sarah to him. 15 And Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you; settle wherever it is good in your sight.” 16 To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother one thousand pieces of silver; behold, it is your vindication before all who are with you, and before all you are cleared.” 17 And Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maidservants, so that they bore children. 18 For Yahweh had utterly shut all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

Matthew 14:1 - 15:28

John the Baptist Beheaded

At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, 2 and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.” 3 For when Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. 4 For John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 And although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they were regarding John as a prophet. 6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod, 7 so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8 Now having been prompted by her mother, she *said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” 9 And although he was grieved, the king commanded it to be given because of his oaths, and because of his dinner guests. 10 And he sent and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 And his disciples came and took away the body and buried it; and they went and reported to Jesus.

Jesus Feeds Five Thousand

13 Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by Himself; and when the crowds heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. 14 And when He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick. 15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and the hour is already late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!” 17 But they *said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” 18 And He said, “Bring them here to Me.” 19 And ordering the crowds to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food. And breaking the loaves, He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds, 20 and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets. 21 And there were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.

Jesus Walks on the Sea

22 Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. 23 And after He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. 24 But the boat was already many stadia away from the land, being battered by the waves; for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. 26 Now when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” 28 And Peter answered and said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” 29 And He said, “Come!” And getting out of the boat, Peter walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” 31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are truly God’s Son!” 34 And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent word into all that surrounding district and brought to Him all who were sick; 36 and they were pleading with Him that they might just touch the fringe of His garment; and as many as touched it were cured.

God’s Commandments, Man’s Traditions

Then some Pharisees and scribes *came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” 3 And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother is to be put to death.’ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever you might benefit from me is given to God,” 6 he need not honor his father.’ And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: 8

‘This people honors Me with their lips,

But their heart is far away from Me.

But in vain do they worship Me,

Teaching as doctrines the commands of men.’”

10 After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand. 11 It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.” 12 Then the disciples *came and *said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?” 13 But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

The Heart of Man

15 Now Peter answered and said to Him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 And Jesus said, “Are you still lacking in understanding also? 17 Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and goes into the sewer? 18 But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false witness, slanders. 20 These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”

The Canaanite Woman

21 And going away from there, Jesus withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.” 23 But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and were pleading with Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us.” 24 But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and was bowing down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” 26 And He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 But she said, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.

Psalm 10

Do Not Forget the Afflicted

ל Lamedh

Why do You stand afar off, O Yahweh?

Why do You hide Yourself in times of distress?

In his lofty pride the wicked hotly pursues the afflicted;

Let them be caught in the thoughts which they have devised.

For the wicked boasts of his soul’s desire,

And the greedy man curses and spurns Yahweh.

The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, does not seek Him.

All his thoughts are, “There is no God.”

His ways prosper at all times;

Your judgments are on high, out of his sight;

As for all his adversaries, he snorts at them.

He says in his heart, “I will not be shaken;

From generation to generation I will not be in adversity.”

פ Pe

His mouth is full of curses and deceit and oppression;

Under his tongue is mischief and wickedness.

ע Ayin

He sits in the places of the villages where one lies in wait;

In the hiding places he kills the innocent;

His eyes stealthily watch for the unfortunate.

He lies in wait in a hiding place as a lion in his lair;

He lies in wait to catch the afflicted;

He catches the afflicted when he draws him into his net.

He crouches, he bows down,

And the unfortunate fall by his mighty ones.

He says in his heart, “God has forgotten;

He has hidden His face; He will never see it.”

ק Qoph

Arise, O Yahweh; O God, lift up Your hand.

Do not forget the afflicted.

Why has the wicked spurned God?

He has said in his heart, “You will not require it.”

ר Resh

You have seen it, for You have beheld mischief and vexation to take it into Your hand.

The unfortunate commits himself to You;

You have been the helper of the orphan.

שׁ Shin

Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer,

Seek out his wickedness until You find none.

Yahweh is King forever and ever;

Nations have perished from His land.

ת Tav

O Yahweh, You have heard the desire of the humble;

You will strengthen their heart, You will cause Your ear to give heed

To give justice to the orphan and the oppressed,

So that man who is of the earth will no longer cause terror.