Remember Lot’s wife.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jesus' sharp command to "Remember Lot's wife" isn't just a warning against looking back, but a profound reminder that our hearts must be fully detached from the past, even when that past is familiar and comfortable. Her fatal glance revealed that her inner self was still clinging to the condemned city, proving that true escape requires more than just physical flight; it demands a complete surrender of what we've left behind.
Remember Lot’s wife.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jesus is warning his disciples about the suddenness of his return and the judgment that will come, comparing it to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. He urges them not to hesitate or look back at the life they're leaving behind but to escape quickly, using Lot's wife as a stark example of the fatal consequences of lingering attachment to the past.
Why would a simple glance backwards be so catastrophic? It wasn't just curiosity; it was a heart still tied to what God was destroying.
Jesus' brief command, 'Remember Lot's wife,' carries immense weight. The story, found in Genesis 19, tells of Lot's wife looking back at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. This 'looking back' wasn't innocent sightseeing.
Jesus links Lot's wife's fate directly to the disciples' need to flee during the coming destruction. It's about urgent escape, not packing souvenirs.
In the context of Jesus' discourse on the end times and the destruction of Jerusalem, 'Remember Lot's wife' is a powerful call to immediate action.
Ask a follow-up
The story of Lot's wife, a vivid and tragic example of disobedience and attachment to the past, serves as a stark warning from Jesus about the importance of complete commitment and detachment when facing God's judgment.
c. 2000 BC
Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
God destroyed the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and brimstone. Lot and his family were warned to flee and not look back.
c. 2000 BC— this verse
Lot's wife looks back
While fleeing the destruction of Sodom, Lot's wife disobeyed God by looking back at the cities and was turned into a pillar of salt.
c. 1450 BC
Deuteronomy mentions Lot's wife
The Book of Deuteronomy refers to Lot's wife as a cautionary example of disobedience after the Israelites witnessed God's judgment.
c. 30 BC - AD 50
Wisdom of Solomon reference
The apocryphal book of Wisdom of Solomon uses Lot's wife as a symbol of an unbelieving soul, preserved as a monument.
c. AD 30-33
Jesus' teaching on judgment
Jesus, in his Olivet Discourse, warns his disciples about the suddenness of God's judgment, using the examples of Noah and Lot.
This is the primary source for the story of Lot's wife; it directly states she looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt, serving as the foundational 'why' for Jesus' warning.
Matthew 24:17-18Jesus gives a similar warning in the context of the destruction of Jerusalem, telling people not to go back to get their belongings, which echoes the 'don't look back' theme inherent in remembering Lot's wife.
This ancient Jewish text explicitly calls Lot's wife a 'monument of an unbelieving soul' because she looked back, showing how this event was understood as a cautionary tale of faithlessness even before Jesus' time.
Paul's exhortation to 'forget what is behind and strain toward what is ahead' directly contrasts with Lot's wife's fatal backward glance, highlighting the importance of forward-looking faith.
Deuteronomy 29:22-23This passage describes God's destruction of cities with sulfur and salt, similar to the fate of Sodom and Lot's wife, reinforcing the theme of divine judgment on sinful places and people who are unwilling to depart.
calvinLuke 17:26-37: "And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man."
- But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38. For as in the days that came before the deluge, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, till the day when Noah entered into the ark, 39. And knew not until the deluge came, [160] and took them all away: so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 40. Two men shall then be in the field…
barnesLuke 17:32: "Remember Lot's wife."
Remember Lot's wife - See Genesis 19:26 . "She" looked back - she delayed - perhaps she "desired" to take something with her, and God made her a monument of his displeasure. Jesus directed his disciples, when they saw the calamities coming upon the Jews, to flee to the mountains, Matthew 24:16 . He here charges them to be in haste - not to look back - not to delay - but to escape quickly, and to remember that by delaying the wife of Lot lost her life.
Jesus' sharp command to "Remember Lot's wife" isn't just a warning against looking back, but a profound reminder that our hearts must be fully detached from the past, even when that past is familiar and comfortable. Her fatal glance revealed that her inner self was still clinging to the condemned city, proving that true escape requires more than just physical flight; it demands a complete surrender of what we've left behind.
Jesus is warning his disciples about the suddenness of his return and the judgment that will come, comparing it to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. He urges them not to hesitate or look back at the life they're leaving behind but to escape quickly, using Lot's wife as a stark example of the fatal consequences of lingering attachment to the past.
Jesus is warning his disciples about the suddenness of his return and the judgment that will come, comparing it to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. He urges them not to hesitate or look back at the life they're leaving behind but to escape quickly, using Lot's wife as a stark example of the fatal consequences of lingering attachment to the past.
"Remember Lot’s wife." — Jesus' sharp command to "Remember Lot's wife" isn't just a warning against looking back, but a profound reminder that our hearts must be fully detached from the past, even when that past is familiar…
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Last reviewed October 2026