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24 and the Lord rained down sulfur upon Sodom and Gomorrah, fire from the Lord out of heaven.(A) 25 He overthrew[a] those cities and the whole Plain, together with the inhabitants of the cities and the produce of the soil.(B)

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Footnotes

  1. 19:25 Overthrew: this term, lit., “turned upside down,” is used consistently to describe the destruction of the cities of the Plain. The imagery of earthquake and subsequent fire fits the geology of this region.

24 Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur(A) on Sodom and Gomorrah(B)—from the Lord out of the heavens.(C) 25 Thus he overthrew those cities(D) and the entire plain,(E) destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land.(F)

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Likewise, Sodom, Gomorrah, and the surrounding towns, which, in the same manner as they, indulged in sexual promiscuity and practiced unnatural vice,[a] serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 7 Practiced unnatural vice: literally, “went after alien flesh.” This example derives from Gn 19:1–25, especially 4–11, when the townsmen of Sodom violated both hospitality and morality by demanding that Lot’s two visitors (really messengers of Yahweh) be handed over to them so that they could abuse them sexually. Unnatural vice: this refers to the desire for intimacies by human beings with angels (the reverse of the example in Jude 6). Sodom (whence “sodomy”) and Gomorrah became proverbial as object lessons for God’s punishment on sin (Is 1:9; Jer 50:40; Am 4:11; Mt 10:15; 2 Pt 2:6).

In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah(A) and the surrounding towns(B) gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.(C)

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