Genesis 18:20
in Genesis 18Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great. Because their sin is so grievous,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
KJV
And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
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This verse in Genesis 18
Commentary
9 notes on this verseNote, Some sins, and the sins of some sinners, cry aloud to heaven for vengeance. The iniquity of Sodom was crying iniquity, that is, it was so very provoking that it even urged God to punish.
This site's exposition
The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great
on Genesis 18:20-21
The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah has reached God, and their sin is called grievous. Genesis used that word of Abel's blood crying from the ground at 4:10, and God says He will go down to see whether their actions justify the outcry. Clarke passes on an older reading, that magistrates examine before deciding.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is multiplied, he said. Well did he say that sins can cry out. Great surely is the cry of sinners as it mounts from earth to heaven. But why does he say that the sins of people cry out?
It was not that God, who had just said, "their sins were very grave," did not know that they had sinned. This was an example to judges not to prejudge a case, even based on very reliable hearsay.
Then, to teach the whole human race that even if their sins are exceedingly great and confessed to be such, he does not pronounce sentence before proof is manifest, he says, "I am going down to see if their deeds correspond to the outcry reaching me, so as to know if it is true or not." What is meant by the deliberation of the expression? "I am going down to see if their deeds correspond to the outcry reaching me, so as to know if it is true or not." What is meant by the considerateness of the expression? "I am going down to see." I mean, does the God of all move from place to place? No indeed! It doesn't mean this; instead, as I have often remarked, he wants to teach us by the concreteness of the expression that there is need to apply precision and that sinners are not condemned on hearsay nor is sentence pronounced without proof.
Now let us see what he means by saying, "I descended to see whether they have done all that the outcry which has come to me indicates; if not, I will know."
The Medieval Church1 voice
The Lord therefore said: "The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah has been multiplied, and their sin has become very grave." He calls the outcry of Sodom the reputation or rather the infamy of their crimes, from which the Apostle, admonishing us, says: "Let all bitterness, …
2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And the Lord said,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah - See note on Gen 13:13.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| זַעֲקַ֛ת | zaakat | [the] outcry of | H2201 → | |
| סְדֹ֥ם | sedom | Sodom | H5467 → | 39 times |
| וַעֲמֹרָ֖ה | vaamorah | and Gomorrah | H6017 → | 19 times |
| כִּי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| רָ֑בָּה | rabah | it is great | H7231 → | |
| וְחַ֨טָּאתָ֔ם | vechatatam | and sin their | H2403 → | 295 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| כָבְדָ֖ה | khavedah | it is heavy | H3513 → | 113 times |
| מְאֹֽד׃ | meod | exceedingly | H3966 → | 300 times |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
זַעֲקַ֛ת[the] outcry of
zaakatH2201 →
סְדֹ֥םSodom
sedomH5467 →39 times
וַעֲמֹרָ֖הand Gomorrah
vaamorahH6017 →19 times
כִּי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
רָ֑בָּהit is great
rabahH7231 →
וְחַ֨טָּאתָ֔םand sin their
vechatatamH2403 →295 times
כִּ֥יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
כָבְדָ֖הit is heavy
khavedahH3513 →113 times
מְאֹֽד׃exceedingly
meodH3966 →300 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 4:10“What have you done?” replied the LORD. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.
it leads to
- Hebrews 12:24
to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
- James 5:4
Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hebrews 11:4
By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous when God gave approval to his gifts. And by faith he still speaks, even though he…
- Psalms 72:14
He will redeem them from oppression and violence, for their blood is precious in his sight.
- Isaiah 5:7
For the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of His delight. He looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but…
- Hebrews 12:24
Through
Genesis 13:13But the men of Sodom were wicked, sinning greatly against the LORD.
it leads to
- Jude 1:7
In like manner, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who indulged in sexual immorality and pursued strange flesh, are on display as an example of those who sustain the punishment of eternal…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Peter 2:10
Such punishment is specially reserved for those who indulge the corrupt desires of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and self-willed, they are unafraid to slander glorious beings.
- Jude 1:7
Through
Isaiah 3:9The expression on their faces testifies against them, and like Sodom they flaunt their sin; they do not conceal it. Woe to them, for they have brought disaster upon themselves.
it leads to
- Genesis 13:13
But the men of Sodom were wicked, sinning greatly against the LORD.
- Genesis 13:13
Where this verse is studied
About Genesis
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 83.6-7; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 16:1; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 42.12; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Salvian the Presbyter, THE GOVERNANCE OF GOD 1.8.