Genesis — Chapter 20

1Now Abraham journeyed from there to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was staying in Gerar,

2Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.

3One night, however, God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”

4Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he replied, “Lord, would You destroy a nation even though it is innocent?

5Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this in the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands.”

6Then God said to Abimelech in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against Me. That is why I did not let you touch her.

7Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet; he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, be aware that you will surely die—you and all who belong to you.”

8Early the next morning Abimelech got up and summoned all his servants; and when he described to them all that had happened, the men were terrified.

9Then Abimelech called Abraham and asked, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought such tremendous guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done.”

10Abimelech also asked Abraham, “What prompted you to do such a thing?”

11Abraham replied, “I thought to myself, ‘Surely there is no fear of God in this place. They will kill me on account of my wife.’

12Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father—though not the daughter of my mother—and she became my wife.

13So when God had me journey from my father’s house, I said to Sarah, ‘This is how you can show your loyalty to me: Wherever we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”

14So Abimelech brought sheep and cattle, menservants and maidservants, and he gave them to Abraham and restored his wife Sarah to him.

15And Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you. Settle wherever you please.”

16And he said to Sarah, “See, I am giving your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is your vindication before all who are with you; you are completely cleared.”

17Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maidservants, so that they could again bear children—

18for on account of Abraham’s wife Sarah, the LORD had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech’s household.

1And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.

2And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.

3But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man’s wife.

4But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?

5Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.

6And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.

7Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.

8Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid.

9Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.

10And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?

11And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife’s sake.

12And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.

13And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.

14And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.

15And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee.

16And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved.

17So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.

18For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham’s wife.

1And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the land of the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur. And he sojourned in Gerar.

2And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister. And Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.

3But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, because of the woman whom thou hast taken. For she is a man`s wife.

4Now Abimelech had not come near her. And he said, Lord, wilt thou slay even a righteous nation?

5Said he not himself unto me, She is my sister? And she, even she herself said, He is my brother. In the integrity of my heart and the innocency of my hands have I done this.

6And God said unto him in the dream, Yea, I know that in the integrity of thy heart thou has done this, and I also withheld thee from sinning against me. Therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.

7Now therefore restore the man`s wife. For he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live. And if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.

8And Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ear. And the men were sore afraid.

9Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? And wherein have I sinned against thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? Thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.

10And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?

11And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place. And they will slay me for my wife`s sake.

12And moreover she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife:

13and it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father`s house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt show unto me. At every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.

14And Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and men-servants and women-servants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.

15And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee. Dwell where it pleaseth thee.

16And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver. Behold, it is for thee a covering of the eyes to all that are with thee. And in respect of all thou art righted.

17And Abraham prayed unto God. And God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maid-servants. And they bare children.

18For Jehovah had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah, Abraham`s wife.

1Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident in Gerar,

2Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her.

3But God appeared to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.”

4Now Abimelech had not gone near her. He said, “Lord, would you really slaughter an innocent nation?

5Did Abraham not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience and with innocent hands!”

6Then in the dream God replied to him, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience. That is why I have kept you from sinning against me and why I did not allow you to touch her.

7But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed he is a prophet and he will pray for you; thus you will live. But if you don’t give her back, know that you will surely die along with all who belong to you.”

8Early in the morning Abimelech summoned all his servants. When he told them about all these things, they were terrified.

9Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? What sin did I commit against you that would cause you to bring such great guilt on me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done!”

10Then Abimelech asked Abraham, “What prompted you to do this thing?”

11Abraham replied, “Because I thought, ‘Surely no one fears God in this place. They will kill me because of my wife.’

12What’s more, she is indeed my sister, my father’s daughter, but not my mother’s daughter. She became my wife.

13When God made me wander from my father’s house, I told her, ‘This is what you can do to show your loyalty to me: Every place we go, say about me, “He is my brother.”’”

14So Abimelech gave sheep, cattle, and male and female servants to Abraham. He also gave his wife Sarah back to him.

15Then Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you; live wherever you please.”

16To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given 1,000 pieces of silver to your ‘brother.’ This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.”

17Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, as well as his wife and female slaves so that they were able to have children.

18For the Lord had caused infertility to strike every woman in the household of Abimelech because he took Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

1Abraham traveled from there toward the land of the South, and lived between Kadesh and Shur. He lived as a foreigner in Gerar.

2Abraham said about Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.

3But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man, because of the woman whom you have taken. For she is a man’s wife.”

4Now Abimelech had not come near her. He said, “Lord, will you kill even a righteous nation?

5Didn’t he tell me, ‘She is my sister?’ She, even she herself, said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.”

6God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also withheld you from sinning against me. Therefore I didn’t allow you to touch her.

7Now therefore, restore the man’s wife. For he is a prophet, and he will pray for you, and you will live. If you don’t restore her, know for sure that you will die, you, and all who are yours.”

8Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ear. The men were very scared.

9Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said to him, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me that ought not to be done!”

10Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you have done this thing?”

11Abraham said, “Because I thought, ‘Surely the fear of God is not in this place. They will kill me for my wife’s sake.’

12Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.

13When God caused me to wander from my father’s house, I said to her, ‘This is your kindness which you shall show to me. Everywhere that we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”

14Abimelech took sheep and cattle, male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and restored Sarah, his wife, to him.

15Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you. Dwell where it pleases you.”

16To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. Behold, it is for you a covering of the eyes to all that are with you. In front of all you are vindicated.”

17Abraham prayed to God. God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his female servants, and they bore children.

18For Yahweh had closed up tight all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.