19:2 He said, “Here, my lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house. Stay the night 1 and wash your feet. Then you can be on your way early in the morning.” 2 “No,” they replied, “we’ll spend the night in the town square.” 3
19:3 But he urged 4 them persistently, so they turned aside with him and entered his house. He prepared a feast for them, including bread baked without yeast, and they ate.
1 tn The imperatives have the force of invitation.
2 tn These two verbs form a verbal hendiadys: “you can rise up early and go” means “you can go early.”
3 sn The town square refers to the wide street area at the gate complex of the city.
4 tn The Hebrew verb פָּצַר (patsar, “to press, to insist”) ironically foreshadows the hostile actions of the men of the city (see v. 9, where the verb also appears). The repetition of the word serves to contrast Lot to his world.