Genesis 19:5

They shouted to Lot, ¹  “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sex ²  with them!”

They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them."

and they called to Lot and said to him, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them."

They shouted to Lot, "Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out so we can have sex with them."

They yelled to Lot, "Where are the men who are staying with you for the night? Bring them out so we can have our sport with them!"

And crying out to Lot, they said, Where are the men who came to your house this night? Send them out to us, so that we may take our pleasure with them.

and they called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, so that we may know them."

And they called to Lot and said to him, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally ."

They shouted to Lot, ¹  “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sex ²  with them!”

¹ tn The Hebrew text adds “and said to him.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

² tn The Hebrew verb יָדַע (yada’, “to know”) is used here in the sense of “to lie with” or “to have sex with” (as in Gen 4:1). That this is indeed the meaning is clear from Lot’s warning that they not do so wickedly, and his willingness to give them his daughters instead.

sn The sin of the men of Sodom is debated. The fact that the sin involved a sexual act (see note on the phrase “have sex” in 19:5) precludes an association of the sin with inhospitality as is sometimes asserted (see W. Roth, “What of Sodom and Gomorrah? Homosexual Acts in the Old Testament,” Explor 1 [1974]: 7-14). The text at a minimum condemns forced sexual intercourse, i.e., rape. Other considerations, though, point to a condemnation of homosexual acts more generally. The narrator emphasizes the fact that the men of Sodom wanted to have sex with men: They demand that Lot release the angelic messengers (seen as men) to them for sex, and when Lot offers his daughters as a substitute they refuse them and attempt to take the angelic messengers by force. In addition the wider context of the Pentateuch condemns homosexual acts as sin (see, e.g., Lev 18:22). Thus a reading of this text within its narrative context, both immediate and broad, condemns not only the attempted rape but also the attempted homosexual act.