But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
Parallel translations
- WEB But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
- KJV But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
- NKJV But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
- NASB But Lot’s wife, from behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
- NLT But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt.
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
Lot's wife looks back and becomes a pillar of salt.
Overview
Her backward look, defying the angels' command, reveals a heart still bound to Sodom and brings sudden judgment. She becomes a perpetual warning against half-hearted escape from sin. Jesus points to her as a caution to those tempted to turn back on the day of judgment (Luke 17:32).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Luke 17:31–32On that day, let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve his possessions. Likewise, let no one in the field return for anything he has left behind.
- Gen 19:17As soon as the men had brought them out, one of them said, “Run for your lives! Do not look back, and do not stop anywhere on the plain! Flee to the mountains, or you will be swept away!”
- Heb 10:38But My righteous one will live by faith; and if he shrinks back, I will take no pleasure in him.”
- Prov 14:14The backslider in heart receives the fill of his own ways, but a good man is rewarded for his ways.
- Num 16:38As for the censers of those who sinned at the cost of their own lives, hammer them into sheets to overlay the altar, for these were presented before the LORD, and so have become holy. They will serve as a sign to the Israelites.”
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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 19:26 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
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