Genesis 19:14-16

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Genesis 19:14 sn The language has to be interpreted in the light of the context and the social customs. The men are called “sons-in-law” (literally “the takers of his daughters”), but the daughters had not yet had sex with a man. It is better to translate the phrase “who were going to marry his daughters.” Since formal marriage contracts were binding, the husbands-to-be could already be called sons-in-law.
2. Genesis 19:14 tn The Hebrew active participle expresses an imminent action.
3. Genesis 19:14 tn Heb “and he was like one taunting in the eyes of his sons-in-law.” These men mistakenly thought Lot was ridiculing them and their lifestyle. Their response illustrates how morally insensitive they had become.
4. Genesis 19:15 tn Heb “When dawn came up.”
5. Genesis 19:15 tn Heb “who are found.” The wording might imply he had other daughters living in the city, but the text does not explicitly state this.
6. Genesis 19:15 tn Or “with the iniquity [i.e., punishment] of the city” (cf. NASB, NRSV).
7. Genesis 19:16 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Lot) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8. Genesis 19:16 tn Heb “in the compassion of the Lord to them.”
9. Genesis 19:16 tn Heb “brought him out and placed him.” The third masculine singular suffixes refer specifically to Lot, though his wife and daughters accompanied him (see v. 17). For stylistic reasons these have been translated as plural pronouns (“them”).