Genesis 19:17 kjv
And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.
Genesis 19:17 nkjv
So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed."
Genesis 19:17 niv
As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, "Flee for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!"
Genesis 19:17 esv
And as they brought them out, one said, "Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away."
Genesis 19:17 nlt
When they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, "Run for your lives! And don't look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away!"
Genesis 19 17 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 19:26 | But Lot's wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. | Consequence of disobeying the command to not look back. |
| Lk 17:28-32 | "...as it was in the days of Lot... Even so shall it be when the Son of man is revealed. In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop... Remember Lot’s wife." | Jesus references Lot's escape and wife's fate as a warning for His return. |
| Lk 9:62 | "No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." | Warning against spiritual hesitation and longing for the past. |
| Phil 3:13-14 | "...forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark..." | Apostolic example of pressing forward, not looking back. |
| 2 Cor 6:17 | "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing..." | Command for spiritual separation from the world. |
| Rev 18:4 | "And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." | Command to flee spiritual Babylon to avoid judgment. |
| Heb 6:18 | "...that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:" | Describes fleeing to God as refuge, parallel to physical escape. |
| Heb 2:1-3 | "Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip... How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation...?" | Warning against neglecting salvation, urging urgent attention. |
| Isa 2:10-11 | "Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD... The lofty looks of man shall be humbled..." | Call to hide from divine judgment and pride. |
| Matt 3:7 | "But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" | John the Baptist warns of fleeing coming wrath, an urgent command. |
| 2 Pet 2:6-7 | "And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; And delivered just Lot..." | Sodom's destruction as an example of divine judgment, Lot's deliverance. |
| Jude 1:7 | "Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." | Highlights Sodom's judgment as a clear warning. |
| Ps 46:1 | "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." | God Himself is the ultimate refuge, akin to the mountain. |
| Ps 91:1 | "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." | Finding safety and security in God's presence. |
| Prov 6:3-5 | "...go, humble thyself... Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the snare of the fowler." | Metaphor for urgently escaping danger without lingering. |
| Jer 51:6 | "Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity..." | Call to escape spiritual corruption and impending doom. |
| Zech 2:7 | "Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon." | A divine call for God's people to escape from captivity and influence. |
| Ezek 16:49-50 | "Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness... and she did not strengthen the hand of the poor... they were haughty..." | Explains Sodom's sin that led to its judgment. |
| Rom 12:2 | "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind..." | A call for transformation rather than adherence to worldly ways. |
| 1 Jn 2:15 | "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." | Warning against attachment to worldly things. |
| Heb 12:22-24 | "But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem..." | Contrasts the physical mountain with the spiritual "mountain" of God's presence. |
Genesis 19 verses
Genesis 19 17 Meaning
Genesis 19:17 records a direct command from the angel of the Lord to Lot and his family as they are being delivered from the destruction of Sodom. The verse emphasizes immediate, unquestioning obedience and complete separation from the doomed plain to find safety in the mountains. It conveys a clear and urgent warning of divine judgment and the necessity of not looking back or lingering when escaping the corruption and consequences of a fallen world.
Genesis 19 17 Context
Genesis chapter 19 describes the events leading to the divine judgment and destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah due to their pervasive wickedness. Angels, sent by the Lord, arrive in Sodom and are hosted by Lot. The depravity of the city is immediately apparent when the men of Sodom surround Lot's house, demanding that the visitors (the angels) be brought out for perverse sexual acts. The angels strike the mob with blindness, revealing their divine power and intent. In verse 15, the angels urgently command Lot, his wife, and two daughters to flee the city before its impending destruction. Verse 16 highlights Lot's initial hesitation ("while he lingered"), underscoring human reluctance even in the face of imminent divine intervention. It is in this precise moment of imminent danger and Lot's lingering that the angels physically grasp them and bring them out of the city, leading directly into the critical command in verse 17, setting the absolute conditions for their survival.
Genesis 19 17 Word analysis
And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said,:
- They: Refers to the two angels.
- Them: Refers to Lot, his wife, and their two daughters.
- Brought forth abroad: Indicates that the angels had physically removed them from within the city walls to an open space outside the city. This signifies an act of divine rescue, a forceful intervention for their salvation.
- He said: Refers to one of the angels, delivering the direct, authoritative command.
Look behind thee not, (אַל-תַּבִּיט אַחֲרֶיךָ - al-tabbiṭ ’aḥărêkā):
- Look behind thee not: An emphatic negative command. Al-tabbiṭ is an imperative verb ("do not look") combined with ’aḥărêkā ("behind you"). It implies not merely turning the head, but lingering mentally or emotionally on what is being left behind.
- Significance: This command prohibits attachment to the doomed place. It foreshadows Lot's wife's fatal disobedience (Gen 19:26) and symbolizes the danger of longing for the world one is called to abandon.
neither stay thou in all the plain; (וְאַל-תַּעֲמֹד בְּכָל-הַכִּכָּר - wə’al-ta‘ămōd bəḵāl-hakkikār):
- Neither stay thou: Another strong negative command (’al-ta‘ămōd meaning "do not stand still," "do not delay" or "do not tarry"). This emphasizes urgency and a complete lack of lingering.
- In all the plain (בְּכָל-הַכִּכָּר - bəḵāl-hakkikār): "The plain" refers to the Jordan valley, specifically the area surrounding Sodom and Gomorrah. It was once seen as well-watered and fruitful like the garden of the Lord (Gen 13:10), a place of earthly prosperity and temptation that Lot chose over dwelling with Abraham. Now it is a zone of judgment and immediate danger. The "all" stresses that no part of this region is safe.
escape to the mountain, (הַמָּרֶה הִמָּלֵט - hāmārâ himmālēṭ):
- Escape (הִמָּלֵט - himmālēṭ): An imperative verb meaning "flee," "deliver yourself," "get away," conveying desperate urgency and a flight for survival.
- To the mountain (הָהָרָה - hâhārâ): The direction for safety. Mountains in biblical narratives often symbolize places of refuge, separation from corrupt lowlands, or divine encounter. It is the designated safe haven, geographically distinct and spiritually purer than the defiled plain.
lest thou be consumed. (פֶּן-תִּסָּפֶה - pen-tissāfeh):
- Lest thou be consumed: A clear warning of the consequence for disobedience. Pen-tissāfeh means "lest you be swept away/perish/be destroyed."
- Significance: It underlines the severity and totality of God's judgment and the immediate threat to life if the commands are not strictly followed. This emphasizes the divine imperative of their flight for their very existence.
Genesis 19 17 Bonus section
The Hebrew phrasing of "Look behind thee not" (al-tabbiṭ ’aḥărêkā) is notably specific. Nabbat, the root for "look," can mean to look intently or stare, implying a deeper engagement than a casual glance. This suggests the prohibition was against a longing gaze, an act rooted in the heart's desire for what was being destroyed, rather than a mere physical turning of the head. This longing reflects a deeper spiritual attachment to the worldly plain over obedience and life in the divine refuge. The phrase itself is sharp and pointed, adding to the urgency of the warning.
Genesis 19 17 Commentary
Genesis 19:17 serves as a powerful testament to the immediacy and completeness required in responding to divine warnings. Having been supernaturally delivered from the condemned city, Lot and his family receive specific, urgent, and non-negotiable instructions for their salvation. The commands "look not behind thee," "neither stay thou," and "escape to the mountain" are not mere suggestions but absolute imperatives for survival.
The prohibition against looking back underscores a crucial spiritual principle: salvation often requires a decisive break from one's past life, especially when that past is intertwined with corruption and the world's allure. Lingering or desiring what is being left behind can prove fatal, as exemplified by Lot's wife, whose fate becomes a chilling lesson in spiritual attachment. The "plain" represents a comfortable, familiar, yet condemned environment, symbolic of the world systems and ways of living that God calls His people to forsake. The command to flee without stopping highlights the need for immediate, wholehearted separation and an unreserved pursuit of the divine refuge.
The "mountain" represents a place of refuge and safety, elevated above the coming destruction, a place appointed by God. Spiritually, it signifies seeking higher ground, a different dwelling place than the world that faces judgment. It's a call to complete abandonment of the familiar and a flight toward a divinely provided haven. This verse is a prototype for the urgency of repentance and faith in the face of judgment, instructing believers to flee sin and find refuge in Christ alone, who is our ultimate High Place. There is no middle ground or compromise; hesitation means destruction.