complete verse (Genesis 19:25)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 19:25:

  • Kankanaey: “And everything that was in the plain and those two towns, including all the people and everything also that was-growing there was-burned-up.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Newari: “He also destroyed the neighboring [lit.: right and left] villages as well as everything there that bore fruit.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The LORD destroyed the two towns and the entire valley/flat-area. All who lived there died including all the plants.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “In that way, he destroyed those cities and all the people who were living in those cities. He also destroyed everything in the valley, including all the plants/vegetation.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Genesis 19:25

And he overthrew those cities: those cities refers to Sodom and Gomorrah. Overthrew, the same term as in verse 21, means “he destroyed.” In the light of the previous verse, some translations prefer to say “he burned up….”

And all the valley: that is, the valley or low-lying land where the cities are located. The same word is used in verse 17.

And all the inhabitants of the cities: translators may find it is clearer to link this statement to the destruction of the cities, and the final clause of the verse with all the valley. We may then translate “He destroyed those cities and their people [all the people who lived in them] and destroyed everything that grew in the entire valley.”

The lines of this verse follow the pattern a-b-a-b, in which a refers to the cities and b to the valley and land.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .