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
19:9 “Out of our way!” 4 they cried, and “This man came to live here as a foreigner, 5 and now he dares to judge us! 6 We’ll do more harm 7 to you than to them!” They kept 8 pressing in on Lot until they were close enough 9 to break down the door.
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 Heb “approach out there” which could be rendered “Get out of the way, stand back!”
5 tn Heb “to live as a resident alien.”
6 tn Heb “and he has judged, judging.” The infinitive absolute follows the finite verbal form for emphasis. This emphasis is reflected in the translation by the phrase “dares to judge.”
7 tn The verb “to do wickedly” is repeated here (see v. 7). It appears that whatever “wickedness” the men of Sodom had intended to do to Lot’s visitors – probably nothing short of homosexual rape – they were now ready to inflict on Lot.
8 tn Heb “and they pressed against the man, against Lot, exceedingly.”
9 tn Heb “and they drew near.”
10 tn Heb “and Reuben said to them.”
11 sn The verbs translated shed, throw, and lay sound alike in Hebrew; the repetition of similar sounds draws attention to Reuben’s words.
12 tn The words “Reuben said this” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
13 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
14 tn Heb “from their hands” (cf. v. 21). This expression has been translated as “them” here for stylistic reasons.