In this verse and the next, Lot is singled out to show that God does make a distinction between righteous and wicked people, and that he does rescue the righteous from danger. The story of Lot is found in Gen 19.1-29.

Rescued can also mean “delivered,” “saved,” “preserved a person from someone or something,” “set free.” It is not the same word as “preserved” in verse 5.

Lot is here described as righteous, a word with many meanings but which in this context means “good” (Good News Translation), “upright,” or perhaps “doing God’s will.” Lot himself is not described as a good man in the Genesis account; in fact the actions recounted there show Lot not as righteous but as a person of questionable character. There are, however, references in some literature, both Jewish and Christian, that refer to Lot as righteous. The best-known passage is Wisdom of Solomon 10.6: “Wisdom rescued a righteous man when the ungodly were perishing; he escaped the fire that descended on the Five Cities.” The phrase righteous Lot (Good News Translation “Lot, a good man”) may be rendered in certain languages as “the good man Lot.”

Lot’s attitude toward the conditions of his environment is now described: he was greatly distressed by the licentiousness of the wicked. This can be treated simply as a description of Lot or as a reason for Lot being regarded as righteous: he deserves to be called righteous because of his attitude toward evil; this latter possibility relates this verse to verse 8, which has further descriptions of Lot as a righteous man.

The expression greatly distressed is the passive form of a verb that means “subdue,” “torment,” “wear out,” “oppress,” “wear down.” In some languages this idea can be expressed idiomatically. Examples are “had a tormented heart or liver,” “his heart or liver was very heavy,” or “press hard upon his heart or liver.”

Licentiousness is the same word found in 2 Peter 2.2. See comments there for discussion.

The wicked translates a term that can mean “unprincipled,” “lawless” (Good News Translation), “morally corrupt,” and is used of people who disregarded divine and human laws and ordinances. This term is only used here and in 3.17 (“lawless”), and nowhere else in the New Testament.

Alternative translation models for this verse are:
• And if God rescued the good man Lot, whose heart (or, liver) was tormented by the indecent conduct of lawless men….

Or:
• God rescued the good man Lot, whose heart (or, liver) was every heavy when he saw the indecent actions of morally corrupt men.

Or:
• God rescued Lot, who, because he was good, had a very heavy heart (or, liver) when he saw …

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Second Letter from Peter. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .