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Righteousness reference pages

Matthew 25:31-45
31  “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels withhim, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32  Before him all the nationswill be gathered, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherdseparates the sheep from the goats. 33  He will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34  Then the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from thefoundation of the world; 35  for I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I wasthirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in. 36  I wasnaked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and youcame to me.’
37  “Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see youhungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? 38  When did we see youas a stranger and take you in, or naked and clothe you? 39  When did we see yousick or in prison and come to you?’
40  “The King will answer them, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you did itto one of the least of these my brothers,§ you did it to me.’ 41  Then he will sayalso to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal firewhich is prepared for the devil and his angels; 42  for I was hungry, and youdidn’t give me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink; 43  I was astranger, and you didn’t take me in; naked, and you didn’t clothe me; sick, andin prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
44  “Then they will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, orthirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn’t help you?’
45  “Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because youdidn’t do it to one of the least of these, you didn’t do it to me.’ 46  These will goaway into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Matthew 7:21-23
21  “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom ofHeaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22  Many willtell me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, in your namecast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?’ 23  Then I will tellthem, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity.’

 

Book of Jasher, Chapter 18

1 And Abraham rose and did all that God had ordered him, and he took the men of his household and those bought with his money, and he circumcised them as the Lord had commanded him.2 And there was not one left whom he did not circumcise, and Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised in the flesh of their foreskin; thirteen years old was Ishmael when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.3 And in the third day Abraham went out of his tent and sat at the door to enjoy the heat of the sun, during the pain of his flesh.4 And the Lord appeared to him in the plain of Mamre, and sent three of his ministering angels to visit him, and he was sitting at the door of the tent, and he lifted his eyes and saw, and lo three men were coming from a distance, and he rose up and ran to meet them, and he bowed down to them and brought them into his house.5 And he said to them, If now I have found favor in your sight, turn in and eat a morsel of bread; and he pressed them, and they turned in and he gave them water and they washed their feet, and he placed them under a tree at the door of the tent.6 And Abraham ran and took a calf, tender and good, and he hastened to kill it, and gave it to his servant Eliezer to dress.7 And Abraham came to Sarah into the tent, and he said to her, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it and make cakes to cover the pot containing the meat, and she did so.8 And Abraham hastened and brought before them butter and milk, beef and mutton, and gave it before them to eat before the flesh of the calf was sufficiently done, and they did eat.9 And when they had done eating one of them said to him, I will return to thee according to the time of life, and Sarah thy wife shall have a son.10 And the men afterward departed and went their ways, to the places to which they were sent.11 In those days all the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, and of the whole five cities, were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord and they provoked the Lord with their abominations, and they strengthened in aging abominably and scornfully before the Lord, and their wickedness and crimes were in those days great before the Lord.12 And they had in their land a very extensive valley, about half a day’s walk, and in it there were fountains of water and a great deal of herbage surrounding the water.13 And all the people of Sodom and Gomorrah went there four times in the year, with their wives and children and all belonging to them, and they rejoiced there with timbrels and dances.14 And in the time of rejoicing they would all rise and lay hold of their neighbor’s wives, and some, the virgin daughters of their neighbors, and they enjoyed them, and each man saw his wife and daughter in the hands of his neighbor and did not say a word.15 And they did so from morning to night, and they afterward returned home each man to his house and each woman to her tent; so they always did four times in the year.16 Also when a stranger came into their cities and brought goods which he had purchased with a view to dispose of there, the people of these cities would assemble, men, women and children, young and old, and go to the man and take his goods by force, giving a little to each man until there was an end to all the goods of the owner which he had brought into the land.17 And if the owner of the goods quarreled with them, saying, What is this work which you have done to me, then they would approach to him one by one, and each would show him the little which he took and taunt him, saying, I only took that little which thou didst give me; and when he heard this from them all, he would arise and go from them in sorrow and bitterness of soul, when they would all arise and go after him, and drive him out of the city with great noise and tumult.18 And there was a man from the country of Elam who was leisurely going on the road, seated upon his ass, which carried a fine mantle of divers colors, and the mantle was bound with a cord upon the ass.19 And the man was on his journey passing through the street of Sodom when the sun set in the evening, and he remained there in order to abide during the night, but no one would let him into his house; and at that time there was in Sodom a wicked and mischievous man, one skillful to do evil, and his name was Hedad.20 And he lifted up his eyes and saw the traveler in the street of the city, and he came to him and said, Whence comest thou and whither dost thou go?21 And the man said to him, I am traveling from Hebron to Elam where I belong, and as I passed the sun set and no one would suffer me to enter his house, though I had bread and water and also straw and provender for my ass, and am short of nothing.22 And Hedad answered and said to him, All that thou shalt want shall be supplied by me, but in the street thou shalt not abide all night.23 And Hedad brought him to his house, and he took off the mantle from the ass with the cord, and brought them to his house, and he gave the ass straw and provender whilst the traveler ate and drank in Hedad’s house, and he abode there that night.24 And in the morning the traveler rose up early to continue his journey, when Hedad said to him, Wait, comfort thy heart with a morsel of bread and then go, and the man did so; and he remained with him, and they both ate and drank together during the day, when the man rose up to go.25 And Hedad said to him, Behold now the day is declining, thou hadst better remain all night that thy heart may be comforted; and he pressed him so that he tarried there all night, and on the second day he rose up early to go away, when Hedad pressed him, saying, Comfort thy heart with a morsel of bread and then go, and he remained and ate with him also the second day, and then the man rose up to continue his journey.26 And Hedad said to him, Behold now the day is declining, remain with me to comfort thy heart and in the morning rise up early and go thy way.27 And the man would not remain, but rose and saddled his ass, and whilst he was saddling his ass the wife of Hedad said to her husband, Behold this man has remained with us for two days eating and drinking and he has given us nothing, and now shall he go away from us without giving anything? and Hedad said to her, Be silent.28 And the man saddled his ass to go, and he asked Hedad to give him the cord and mantle to tie it upon the ass.29 And Hedad said to him, What sayest thou? And he said to him, That thou my lord shalt give me the cord and the mantle made with divers colors which thou didst conceal with thee in thy house to take care of it.30 And Hedad answered the man, saying, This is the interpretation of thy dream, the cord which thou didst see, means that thy life will be lengthened out like a cord, and having seen the mantle colored with all sorts of colors, means that thou shalt have a vineyard in which thou wilt plant trees of all fruits.31 And the traveler answered, saying, Not so my lord, for I was awake when I gave thee the cord and also a mantle woven with different colors, which thou didst take off the ass to put them by for me; and Hedad answered and said, Surely I have told thee the interpretation of thy dream and it is a good dream, and this is the interpretation thereof.32 Now the sons of men give me four pieces of silver, which is my charge for interpreting dreams, and of thee only I require three pieces of silver.33 And the man was provoked at the words of Hedad, and he cried bitterly, and he brought Hedad to Serak judge of Sodom.34 And the man laid his cause before Serak the judge, when Hedad replied, saying, It is not so, but thus the matter stands; and the judge said to the traveler, This man Hedad telleth thee truth, for he is famed in the cities for the accurate interpretation of dreams.35 And the man cried at the word of the judge, and he said, Not so my Lord, for it was in the day that I gave him the cord and mantle which was upon the ass, in order to put them by in his house; and they both disputed before the judge, the one saying, Thus the matter was, and the other declaring otherwise.36 And Hedad said to the man, Give me four pieces of silver that I charge for my interpretations of dreams; I will not make any allowance; and give me the expense of the four meals that thou didst eat in my house.37 And the man said to Hedad, Truly I will pay thee for what I ate in thy house, only give me the cord and mantle which thou didst conceal in thy house.38 And Hedad replied before the judge and said to the man, Did I not tell thee the interpretation of thy dream? the cord means that thy days shall be prolonged like a cord, and the mantle, that thou wilt have a vineyard in which thou wilt plant all kinds of fruit trees.39 This is the proper interpretation of thy dream, now give me the four pieces of silver that I require as a compensation, for I will make thee no allowance.40 And the man cried at the words of Hedad and they both quarreled before the judge, and the judge gave orders to his servants, who drove them rashly from the house.41 And they went away quarreling from the judge, when the people of Sodom heard them, and they gathered about them and they exclaimed against the stranger, and they drove him rashly from the city.42 And the man continued his journey upon his ass with bitterness of soul, lamenting and weeping.43 And whilst he was going along he wept at what had happened to him in the corrupt city of Sodom.

Book of Jasher, Chapter 19

1 And the cities of Sodom had four judges to four cities, and these were their names, Serak in the city of Sodom, Sharkad in Gomorrah, Zabnac in Admah, and Menon in Zeboyim.2 And Eliezer Abraham’s servant applied to them different names, and he converted Serak to Shakra, Sharkad to Shakrura, Zebnac to Kezobim, and Menon to Matzlodin.3 And by desire of their four judges the people of Sodom and Gomorrah had beds erected in the streets of the cities, and if a man came to these places they laid hold of him and brought him to one of their beds, and by force made him to lie in them.4 And as he lay down, three men would stand at his head and three at his feet, and measure him by the length of the bed, and if the man was less than the bed these six men would stretch him at each end, and when he cried out to them they would not answer him.5 And if he was longer than the bed they would draw together the two sides of the bed at each end, until the man had reached the gates of death.6 And if he continued to cry out to them, they would answer him, saying, Thus shall it be done to a man that cometh into our land.7 And when men heard all these things that the people of the cities of Sodom did, they refrained from coming there.8 And when a poor man came to their land they would give him silver and gold, and cause a proclamation in the whole city not to give him a morsel of bread to eat, and if the stranger should remain there some days, and die from hunger, not having been able to obtain a morsel of bread, then at his death all the people of the city would come and take their silver and gold which they had given to him.9 And those that could recognize the silver or gold which they had given him took it back, and at his death they also stripped him of his garments, and they would fight about them, and he that prevailed over his neighbor took them.10 They would after that carry him and bury him under some of the shrubs in the deserts; so they did all the days to any one that came to them and died in their land.11 And in the course of time Sarah sent Eliezer to Sodom, to see Lot and inquire after his welfare.12 And Eliezer went to Sodom, and he met a man of Sodom fighting with a stranger, and the man of Sodom stripped the poor man of all his clothes and went away.13 And this poor man cried to Eliezer and supplicated his favor on account of what the man of Sodom had done to him.14 And he said to him, Why dost thou act thus to the poor man who came to thy land?15 And the man of Sodom answered Eliezer, saying, Is this man thy brother, or have the people of Sodom made thee a judge this day, that thou speakest about this man?16 And Eliezer strove with the man of Sodom on account of the poor man, and when Eliezer approached to recover the poor man’s clothes from the man of Sodom, he hastened and with a stone smote Eliezer in the forehead.17 And the blood flowed copiously from Eliezer’s forehead, and when the man saw the blood he caught hold of Eliezer, saying, Give me my hire for having rid thee of this bad blood that was in thy forehead, for such is the custom and the law in our land.18 And Eliezer said to him, Thou hast wounded me and requirest me to pay thee thy hire; and Eliezer would not hearken to the words of the man of Sodom.19 And the man laid hold of Eliezer and brought him to Shakra the judge of Sodom for judgment.20 And the man spoke to the judge, saying, I beseech thee my lord, thus has this man done, for I smote him with a stone that the blood flowed from his forehead, and he is unwilling to give me my hire.21 And the judge said to Eliezer, This man speaketh truth to thee, give him his hire, for this is the custom in our land; and Eliezer heard the words of the judge, and he lifted up a stone and smote the judge, and the stone struck on his forehead, and the blood flowed copiously from the forehead of the judge, and Eliezer said, If this then is the custom in your land give thou unto this man what I should have given him, for this has been thy decision, thou didst decree it.22 And Eliezer left the man of Sodom with the judge, and he went away.23 And when the kings of Elam had made war with the kings of Sodom, the kings of Elam captured all the property of Sodom, and they took Lot captive, with his property, and when it was told to Abraham he went and made war with the kings of Elam, and he recovered from their hands all the property of Lot as well as the property of Sodom.24 At that time the wife of Lot bare him a daughter, and he called her name Paltith, saying, Because God had delivered him and his whole household from the kings of Elam; and Paltith daughter of Lot grew up, and one of the men of Sodom took her for a wife.25 And a poor man came into the city to seek a maintenance, and he remained in the city some days, and all the people of Sodom caused a proclamation of their custom not to give this man a morsel of bread to eat, until he dropped dead upon the earth, and they did so.26 And Paltith the daughter of Lot saw this man lying in the streets starved with hunger, and no one would give him any thing to keep him alive, and he was just upon the point of death.27 And her soul was filled with pity on account of the man, and she fed him secretly with bread for many days, and the soul of this man was revived.28 For when she went forth to fetch water she would put the bread in the water pitcher, and when she came to the place where the poor man was, she took the bread from the pitcher and gave it him to eat; so she did many days.29 And all the people of Sodom and Gomorrah wondered how this man could bear starvation for so many days.30 And they said to each other, This can only be that he eats and drinks, for no man can bear starvation for so many days or live as this man has, without even his countenance changing; and three men concealed themselves in a place where the poor man was stationed, to know who it was that brought him bread to eat.31 And Paltith daughter of Lot went forth that day to fetch water, and she put bread into her pitcher of water, and she went to draw water by the poor man’s place, and she took out the bread from the pitcher and gave it to the poor man and he ate it.32 And the three men saw what Paltith did to the poor man, and they said to her, It is thou then who hast supported him, and therefore has he not starved, nor changed in appearance nor died like the rest.33 And the three men went out of the place in which they were concealed, and they seized Paltith and the bread which was in the poor man’s hand.34 And they took Paltith and brought her before their judges, and they said to them, Thus did she do, and it is she who supplied the poor man with bread, therefore did he not die all this time; now therefore declare to us the punishment due to this woman for having transgressed our law.35 And the people of Sodom and Gomorrah assembled and kindled a fire in the street of the city, and they took the woman and cast her into the fire and she was burned to ashes.36 And in the city of Admah there was a woman to whom they did the like.37 For a traveler came into the city of Admah to abide there all night, with the intention of going home in the morning, and he sat opposite the door of the house of the young woman’s father, to remain there, as the sun had set when be had reached that place; and the young woman saw him sitting by the door of the house.38 And he asked her for a drink of water and she said to him, Who art thou? and he said to her, I was this day going on the road, and reached here when the sun set, so I will abide here all night, and in the morning I will arise early and continue my journey.39 And the young woman went into the house and fetched the man bread and water to eat and drink.40 And this affair became known to the people of Admah, and they assembled and brought the young woman before the judges, that they should judge her for this act.41 And the judge said, The judgment of death must pass upon this woman because she transgressed our law, and this therefore is the decision concerning her.42 And the people of those cities assembled and brought out the young woman, and anointed her with honey from head to foot, as the judge had decreed, and they placed her before a swarm of bees which were then in their hives, and the bees flew upon her and stung her that her whole body was swelled.43 And the young woman cried out on account of the bees, but no one took notice of her or pitied her, and her cries ascended to heaven.44 And the Lord was provoked at this and at all the works of the cities of Sodom, for they had abundance of food, and had tranquility amongst them, and still would not sustain the poor and the needy, and in those days their evil doings and sins became great before the Lord.45 And the Lord sent for two of the angels that had come to Abraham’s house, to destroy Sodom and its cities.46 And the angels rose up from the door of Abraham’s tent, after they had eaten and drunk, and they reached Sodom in the evening, and Lot was then sitting in the gate of Sodom, and when he saw them he rose to meet them, and he bowed down to the ground.47 And he pressed them greatly and brought them into his house, and he gave them victuals which they ate, and they abode all night in his house.48 And the angels said to Lot, Arise, go forth from this place, thou and all belonging to thee, lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of this city, for the Lord will destroy this place.49 And the angels laid hold upon the hand of Lot and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hands of his children, and all belonging to him, and they brought him forth and set him without the cities.50 And they said to Lot, Escape for thy life, and he fled and all belonging to him.51 Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah and upon all these cities brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven.52 And he overthrew these cities, all the plain and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground; and Ado the wife of Lot looked back to see the destruction of the cities, for her compassion was moved on account of her daughters who remained in Sodom, for they did not go with her.53 And when she looked back she became a pillar of salt, and it is yet in that place unto this day.54 And the oxen which stood in that place daily licked up the salt to the extremities of their feet, and in the morning it would spring forth afresh, and they again licked it up unto this day.55 And Lot and two of his daughters that remained with him fled and escaped to the cave of Adullam, and they remained there for some time.56 And Abraham rose up early in the morning to see what had been done to the cities of Sodom; and he looked and beheld the smoke of the cities going up like the smoke of a furnace.57 And Lot and his two daughters remained in the cave, and they made their father drink wine, and they lay with him, for they said there was no man upon earth that could raise up seed from them, for they thought that the whole earth was destroyed.58 And they both lay with their father, and they conceived and bare sons, and the first born called the name of her son Moab, saying, From my father did I conceive him; he is the father of the Moabites unto this day.59 And the younger also called her son Benami; he is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.60 And after this Lot and his two daughters went away from there, and he dwelt on the other side of the Jordan with his two daughters and their sons, and the sons of Lot grew up, and they went and took themselves wives from the land of Canaan, and they begat children and they were fruitful and multiplied.

Genesis 18-19
Yahweh appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat in the tentdoor in the heat of the day. 2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and sawthat three men stood near him. When he saw them, he ran to meet them fromthe tent door, and bowed himself to the earth, 3 and said, “My lord, if now Ihave found favor in your sight, please don’t go away from your servant. 4 Nowlet a little water be fetched, wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 I will get a piece of bread so you can refresh your heart. After that you may goyour way, now that you have come to your servant.”
They said, “Very well, do as you have said.”
6 Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Quickly prepare threeseahs† of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes.” 7 Abraham ran to the herd, andfetched a tender and good calf, and gave it to the servant. He hurried to dress it. 8 He took butter, milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it beforethem. He stood by them under the tree, and they ate.
9 They asked him, “Where is Sarah, your wife?”
He said, “There, in the tent.”
10 He said, “I will certainly return to you at about this time next year; andbehold, Sarah your wife will have a son.”
Sarah heard in the tent door, which was behind him. 11 Now Abraham andSarah were old, well advanced in age. Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. 12 Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old will I havepleasure, my lord being old also?”
13 Yahweh said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Will I really beara child when I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for Yahweh? At the set time I willreturn to you, when the season comes around, and Sarah will have a son.”
15 Then Sarah denied it, saying, “I didn’t laugh,” for she was afraid.
He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
16 The men rose up from there, and looked toward Sodom. Abraham wentwith them to see them on their way. 17 Yahweh said, “Will I hide from Abrahamwhat I do, 18 since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, andall the nations of the earth will be blessed in him? 19 For I have known him, tothe end that he may command his children and his household after him, thatthey may keep the way of Yahweh, to do righteousness and justice; to the endthat Yahweh may bring on Abraham that which he has spoken of him.” 20 Yahweh said, “Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and becausetheir sin is very grievous, 21 I will go down now, and see whether their deedsare as bad as the reports which have come to me. If not, I will know.”
22 The men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, but Abraham stoodyet before Yahweh. 23 Abraham came near, and said, “Will you consume therighteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous within the city? Will you consume and not spare the place for the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 May it be far from you to do things like that, to kill the righteous with thewicked, so that the righteous should be like the wicked. May that be far fromyou. Shouldn’t the Judge of all the earth do right?”
26 Yahweh said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I willspare the whole place for their sake.” 27 Abraham answered, “See now, I havetaken it on myself to speak to the Lord, although I am dust and ashes. 28 What ifthere will lack five of the fifty righteous? Will you destroy all the city for lack offive?”
He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
29 He spoke to him yet again, and said, “What if there are forty found there?”
He said, “I will not do it for the forty’s sake.”
30 He said, “Oh don’t let the Lord be angry, and I will speak. What if there arethirty found there?”
He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
31 He said, “See now, I have taken it on myself to speak to the Lord. What ifthere are twenty found there?”
He said, “I will not destroy it for the twenty’s sake.”
32 He said, “Oh don’t let the Lord be angry, and I will speak just once more. What if ten are found there?”
He said, “I will not destroy it for the ten’s sake.”
33 Yahweh went his way as soon as he had finished communing withAbraham, and Abraham returned to his place.
19
The two angels came to Sodom at evening. Lot sat in the gate of Sodom. Lot saw them, and rose up to meet them. He bowed himself with his faceto the earth, 2 and he said, “See now, my lords, please come into your servant’shouse, stay all night, wash your feet, and you can rise up early, and go on yourway.”
They said, “No, but we will stay in the street all night.”
3 He urged them greatly, and they came in with him, and entered into hishouse. He made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. 4 Butbefore they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded thehouse, both young and old, all the people from every quarter. 5 They called toLot, and said to him, “Where are the men who came in to you this night? Bringthem out to us, that we may have sex with them.”
6 Lot went out to them through the door, and shut the door after himself. 7 He said, “Please, my brothers, don’t act so wickedly. 8 See now, I have twovirgin daughters. Please let me bring them out to you, and you may do to themwhat seems good to you. Only don’t do anything to these men, because theyhave come under the shadow of my roof.”
9 They said, “Stand back!” Then they said, “This one fellow came in to live asa foreigner, and he appoints himself a judge. Now we will deal worse with youthan with them!” They pressed hard on the man Lot, and came near to breakthe door. 10 But the men reached out their hand, and brought Lot into thehouse to them, and shut the door. 11 They struck the men who were at the doorof the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they weariedthemselves to find the door.
12 The men said to Lot, “Do you have anybody else here? Sons-in-law, yoursons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of theplace: 13 for we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them hasgrown so great before Yahweh that Yahweh has sent us to destroy it.”
14 Lot went out, and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry hisdaughters, and said, “Get up! Get out of this place, for Yahweh will destroy thecity!”
But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be joking. 15 When the morning came, then the angels hurried Lot, saying, “Get up! Take your wife and your twodaughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the iniquity of the city.” 16 Buthe lingered; and the men grabbed his hand, his wife’s hand, and his twodaughters’ hands, Yahweh being merciful to him; and they took him out, and sethim outside of the city. 17 It came to pass, when they had taken them out, thathe said, “Escape for your life! Don’t look behind you, and don’t stay anywhere inthe plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be consumed!”
18 Lot said to them, “Oh, not so, my lord. 19 See now, your servant has foundfavor in your sight, and you have magnified your loving kindness, which youhave shown to me in saving my life. I can’t escape to the mountain, lest evilovertake me, and I die. 20 See now, this city is near to flee to, and it is a littleone. Oh let me escape there (isn’t it a little one?), and my soul will live.”
21 He said to him, “Behold, I have granted your request concerning this thingalso, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. 22 Hurry, escape there, for I can’t do anything until you get there.” Therefore the name ofthe city was called Zoar.†
23 The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24 ThenYahweh rained on Sodom and on Gomorrah sulfur and fire from Yahweh out ofthe sky. 25 He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of thecities, and that which grew on the ground. 26 But Lot’s wife looked back frombehind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
27 Abraham went up early in the morning to the place where he had stoodbefore Yahweh. 28 He looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all theland of the plain, and saw that the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of afurnace.
29 When God destroyed the cities of the plain, God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the middle of the overthrow, when he overthrew the citiesin which Lot lived.