And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh said, “Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous,
- BSB Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great. Because their sin is so grievous,
- NKJV And the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave,
- NASB And the Lord said, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave.
- NLT So the Lord told Abraham, “I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The LORD declares that the outcry over Sodom and Gomorrah's grievous sin is great.
Overview
The 'cry' suggests the appeal of victims and the scandal of the cities' wickedness rising before God. Their sin is described as exceedingly serious, warranting divine investigation and judgment. The passage affirms that God takes human evil seriously and will hold it to account.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Gen 19:13For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.
- Ezek 16:49–50Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
- Isa 3:9The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.
- Gen 4:10And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.
- Gen 13:13But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.
- Jas 5:4Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
- Jer 14:7O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name’s sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee.
- Isa 5:7For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 18:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.