Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
Key: khaki:verbs, red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
BrLXXἸδοὺ πόλις αὕτη ἐγγὺς τοῦ καταφυγεῖν με ἐκεῖ, ἥ ἐστι μικρά· καὶ ἐκεῖ διασωθήσομαι· οὐ μικρά ἐστι; καὶ ζήσεται ἡ ψυχή μου ἕνεκέν σου. (Idou polis hautaʸ engus tou katafugein me ekei, haʸ esti mikra; kai ekei diasōthaʸsomai; ou mikra esti; kai zaʸsetai haʸ psuⱪaʸ mou heneken sou. )
BrTrBehold this city is near for me to escape thither, which is a small one, and there shall I be preserved, is it not little? and my soul shall live because of thee.
ULTBehold, please: That town there is near to flee to, and it is a little one. Please let me escape there. Is it not a little one? Then my life will live.”
USTSo listen to this please: That town up ahead is near enough to run to in time, and it isjust a small town. Please let us run there, and do not destroy it. After all, it is very small. Then we can stay alive.”
BSBLook, there is a town nearby where I can flee, and it is a small place. Please let me flee there—is it not a small place? Then my life will be saved.”
OEBSee now, this village is near enough to run to, and it is small. Oh, let me escape there, and my life will be saved.’
WEBBESee now, this city is near to flee to, and it is a little one. Oh let me escape there (isn’t it a little one?), and my soul will live.”
NETLook, 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.”
LSVnow behold, this city [is] near to flee there, and it [is] little; please let me escape there (is it not little?) that my soul may live.”
FBVLook, there's a town nearby that's close enough to run to, and it's so small. Please let me run there—it's really very small. It would save my life.”
T4TBut listen to me. There is a town nearby. Let me run to that small town. Let me go there now. It is a small town, but our lives will be saved if we go there.”
LEBBehold, this city is near enough to flee there, and it is a little one. Please, let me flee there. Is it not a little one? Then my life shall be saved.”
BBEThis town, now, is near, and it is a little one: O, let me go there (is it not a little one?) so that my life may be safe.
JPSBehold 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.'
ASVbehold 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.
DRAThere is this city here at hand, to which I may flee, it is a little one, and I shall be saved in it: is it not a little one, and my soul shall live?
YLTlo, I pray thee, this city [is] near to flee thither, and it [is] little; let me escape, I pray thee, thither, (is it not little?) and my soul doth live.'
DrbyBehold now, this city is near to flee to, and it is small: I pray thee, let me escape thither — is it not small? — and my soul shall live.
RVbehold 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.
WbstrBehold now, this city is near to flee to, and it is a small one: Oh, let me escape thither! (Is it not a small one?) and my soul shall live.
KJB-1769Behold 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. (Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither/there, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live. )
KJB-1611Behold now, this citie is neere to flee vnto, and it is a litle one: Oh let me escape thither, (is it not a litle one?) and my soule shall liue. (Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh let me escape thither/there, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall liue.)
BshpsBeholde here is a citie by to flee vnto, euen yonder litle one: Oh let me escape thyther: Is it not a litle one, and my soule shall lyue? (Behold here is a city by to flee unto, even yonder little one: Oh let me escape thither/there: Is it not a little one, and my soul shall lyue?)
GnvaSee nowe this citie hereby to flee vnto, which is a litle one: Oh let me escape thither: is it not a litle one, and my soule shall liue? (See now this city hereby to flee unto, which is a little one: Oh let me escape thither/there: is it not a little one, and my soul shall liue? )
CvdlBeholde, here is a cite by, that I maye flye vnto, and it is a litle one: let me saue myself there in. Is it not a litle one, that my soule maye lyue? (Behold, here is a cite by, that I may flee unto, and it is a little one: let me save myself there in. Is it not a little one, that my soul may lyue?)
Wycla litil citee is here bisidis, to which Y may fle, and Y schal be saued ther ynne; where it is not a litil citee? and my soule schal lyue ther ynne. (a little city is here besides, to which I may fle, and I shall be saved there ynne; where it is not a little citee? and my soul shall live there ynne.)
LuthSiehe, da ist eine Stadt nahe, darein ich fliehen mag, und ist klein, daselbst will ich mich erretten; ist sie doch klein, daß meine SeeLE lebendig bleibe. (See, there is one city nahe, darein I fliehen mag, and is klein, there will I me erretten; is they/she/them though/but klein, that my SeeLE lifedig bleibe.)
ClVgest civitas hæc juxta, ad quam possum fugere, parva, et salvabor in ea: numquid non modica est, et vivet anima mea?[fn] (est city these_things yuxta, to how possum fugere, parva, and salvabor in ea: numquid not/no modica it_is, and vivet anima mea? )
19.20Est civitas, etc. ISID. Allegorice. Sodoma interpretatur cæcitas, et exprimit mundana desideria: altitudo montium, speculatio perfectorum. Sed quia multi mundi illecebras fugiunt, tamen in actione positi contemplationis apicem subire nequeunt, exivit Lot a Sodomis, sed ad montana non pervenit. Unde Lot ait: Est civitas hæc juxta, etc. Juxta dicitur, et tamen ad salutem tuta, quia activa vita nec a mundi curis ex toto discreta, nec a gaudio æternæ salutis est aliena. Ad quam possum, etc. Qui ad contemplativam ascendere non sufficiunt, ad activam vitam confugiunt, in qua salvantur. GREG., Past. 3, 28 Moral. Ardentem Sodomam fugere, etc., uque ad unde ad Lot dicitur:
19.20Est civitas, etc. ISID. Allegorice. Sodoma interpretatur cæcitas, and exprimit mundana desideria: altitudo montium, speculatio perfectorum. But because multi mundi illecebras fugiunt, tamen in actione positi contemplationis apicem subire nequeunt, exivit Lot from Sodomis, but to montana not/no arrived. Unde Lot he_said: Est city these_things yuxta, etc. Yuxta it_is_said, and tamen to salutem tuta, because activa vita but_not from mundi curis from toto discreta, but_not from gaudio æternæ salutis it_is aliena. Ad how possum, etc. Who to contemplativam ascendere not/no sufficiunt, to activam life confugiunt, in which salvantur. GREG., Past. 3, 28 Moral. Ardentem Sodomam fugere, etc., uque ad whence to Lot it_is_said:
19:1-38 The Canaanites were an evil, corrupting people. God judged their morally bankrupt civilization and warned others against becoming like them. It was difficult to get Lot and his family out of Sodom; it was more difficult to get Sodom out of Lot and his family. This chapter helped later Israelites to understand the moral and spiritual threat of the peoples living in and around the Promised Land, such as the Canaanites and Lot’s descendants, the Moabites and the Ammonites (see Num 22–25; Deut 23:3-6; Josh 24:9; Judg 10:7-9; 11:4-5; 1 Sam 10:27; 1 Kgs 11:1-3; 2 Kgs 24:2).
Consider again how you translated Behold, please in verses 2, 8, 19-20. It may be necessary to translate it in slightly different ways, depending on the context.
הָעִ֨יר הַזֹּ֧את & שָׁ֖מָּה
the=city the,this & there,to
The Hebrew word for town here (and in verses 21-23) can refer to either a city or a town, depending on the context. Many translations have “town,” or even “village,” here because the place was very small (verses 20, 22). Many other translations have “city” here instead, but that does not fit the context. Alternate translation: “That town over there”
קְרֹבָ֛ה לָנ֥וּס
near to,flee
Alternate translation: “is close enough to run to in time,”
וְהִ֣יא מִצְעָ֑ר
and=she small
Alternate translation: “and it is only a small town.” or “and it is little”
אִמָּלְטָ֨ה נָּ֜א שָׁ֗מָּה
escape please there,to
Alternate translation: “Please let us flee there, and do not destroy it.”
This rhetorical question implies that it will not matter if such a small town like Zoar is not destroyed. Consider whether or not a rhetorical question works well here in your language. Alternate translation: “After all, it is only a small place”
Lot says “my life,” but he is probably also including his family who is with him. Alternate translation: “Then I can stay alive.” or “If you let us go there, then my family and I will live.” or “If you allow that, our lives will be spared.”
Author’s note: This article assumes that Sodom, Gomorrah, and Bela (Zoar) were located at Bab edh-Dhra, Numeira, and Khirbat ash-Sheikh `Isa, respectively. The exact locations of the cities of the plain are widely debated, with the primary dispute centering around whether the cities are to be found in the northern area of the Dead Sea (since Lot headed east from Bethel [Genesis 13]) or the southern area (as the Medeba Map shows). It is beyond the scope of this article to present all the evidence to support a southern location, but many of them are well summarized here: “The Discovery of the Sin Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.” In addition, Eusebius in his Onomasticon describes the Dead Sea as lying between Jericho and Zoar. This author has also recently found that Eusebius notes that Nebereim (Nimrim; see Isaiah 15:6 and Jeremiah 48:34) is located at a village called Bennamareim (likely the site of Gomorrah on this map), which he also says is north of Zoar. Thus, if Eusebius is correct, Zoar is clearly located in the southern area of the Dead Sea, which fits very well with the location shown on this map. Also, Lot’s relocation to Sodom after moving east to the plain of the Jordan suggests that Sodom was located on the east side of the Dead Sea.
The famous cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are first mentioned in Genesis 10:19 in a description of the territory of the Canaanites. The cities are mentioned again in chapter 13, which notes that while Abraham (then called Abram) was living near Bethel (also called Luz), tension began to grow between Abraham’s herders and the herders working for Abraham’s nephew Lot. To resolve the problem, Abraham suggested that he and Lot permanently part ways, and he offered Lot first choice of where to live. Lot chose to move east to the plain of the Jordan, because the land was well watered, and he eventually settled in the city of Sodom. Genesis 14 then describes how Lot was captured by four Mesopotamian kings as they attacked the cities of the plain, but Abraham rescued Lot. Sometime after this Abraham moved to the oaks of Mamre, near Hebron, and three visitors (one of whom is later called “the Lord,” and the other two “angels”) approached his tent. Abraham invited them to share a meal with him and then later accompanied them for the first part of their journey. Along the way the visitors revealed to Abraham that they were going to Sodom to destroy it for its wickedness. Abraham appealed to the Lord to spare the city if even a few righteous lived there, and the Lord agreed and went his way. The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening (Genesis 19:1), presumably the same day they left, although perhaps they actually took more than one day to travel to Sodom, because the distance from Mamre to Sodom is over 35 miles (56 km), and Scripture does not specifically note that it was the same day. The events that followed that evening are well known, and in the morning the angels compelled Lot and his family to flee the city before it was destroyed. The angels instructed them to flee to the hills, but Lot convinced them to allow him to take refuge in a small village on the plain and not destroy it. Genesis 19:23 seems to suggest that it took Lot’s family a full day and night to reach Zoar, which fits well with the 16 mile (25 km) distance from Sodom to Zoar. As they were reaching Zoar, the Lord rained down fire and burning sulfur on Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, completely destroying them. As Lot’s family was still fleeing, Lot’s wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt. That same morning Abraham got up and went to where he had last spoken with the visitors, and when he looked out across the plain he saw columns of smoke rising from the destroyed cities. Later Lot and his daughters moved into the hills and lived in a cave, because they were afraid to remain in Zoar. Fearing they would never marry, Lot’s daughters both got their father drunk and conceived children by him, though he was unaware of it. These children became ancestors of the Moabites and the Ammonites.
