Genesis 20
New King James Version
Abraham and Abimelech
20 And Abraham journeyed from (A)there to the South, and dwelt between (B)Kadesh and Shur, and (C)stayed in Gerar. 2 Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, (D)“She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and (E)took Sarah.
3 But (F)God came to Abimelech (G)in a dream by night, and said to him, (H)“Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is [a]a man’s wife.”
4 But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, (I)will You slay a righteous nation also? 5 Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ (J)In the [b]integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.”
6 And God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For (K)I also withheld you from sinning (L)against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. 7 Now therefore, restore the man’s wife; (M)for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, (N)know that you shall surely die, you (O)and all who are yours.”
8 So Abimelech rose early in the morning, called all his servants, and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were very much afraid. 9 And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? How have I [c]offended you, (P)that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me (Q)that ought not to be done.” 10 Then Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you have in view, that you have done this thing?”
11 And Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely (R)the fear of God is not in this place; and (S)they will kill me on account of my wife. 12 But indeed (T)she is truly my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. 13 And it came to pass, when (U)God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is your kindness that you should do for me: in every place, wherever we go, (V)say of me, “He is my brother.” ’ ”
14 Then Abimelech (W)took sheep, oxen, and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham; and he restored Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelech said, “See, (X)my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” 16 Then to Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; (Y)indeed this [d]vindicates you (Z)before all who are with you and before everybody.” Thus she was [e]rebuked.
17 So Abraham (AA)prayed to God; and God (AB)healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants. Then they bore children; 18 for the Lord (AC)had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
Footnotes
- Genesis 20:3 Lit. married to a husband
- Genesis 20:5 innocence
- Genesis 20:9 sinned against
- Genesis 20:16 Lit. is a covering of the eyes for you to all
- Genesis 20:16 Or justified
Genesis 20
Common English Bible
Abraham and Sarah visit Gerar
20 Abraham traveled from there toward the land of the arid southern plain, and he settled as an immigrant in Gerar, between Kadesh and Shur. 2 Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She’s my sister.” So King Abimelech of Gerar took her into his household.
3 But God appeared to Abimelech that night in a dream and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of this woman you have taken. She is a married woman.”
4 Now Abimelech hadn’t gone near her, and he said, “Lord, will you really put an innocent nation to death? 5 Didn’t he say to me, ‘She’s my sister,’ and didn’t she—even she—say, ‘He’s my brother’? My intentions were pure, and I acted innocently when I did this.”
6 God said to him in the dream, “I know that your intentions were pure when you did this. In fact, I kept you from sinning against me. That’s why I didn’t allow you to touch her. 7 Now return the man’s wife. He’s a prophet; he will pray for you so you may live. But if you don’t return her, know that you and everyone with you will die!”
8 Abimelech got up early in the morning and summoned all of his servants. When he told them everything that had happened, the men were terrified. 9 Then Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? What sin did I commit against you that you have brought this terrible sin to me and my kingdom, by doing to me something that simply isn’t done?” 10 Abimelech said to Abraham, “What were you thinking when you did this thing?”
11 Abraham said, “I thought to myself, No one reveres God here and they will kill me to get my wife. 12 She is, truthfully, my sister—my father’s daughter but not my mother’s daughter—and she’s now my wife. 13 When God led me away from my father’s household, I said to her, ‘This is the loyalty I expect from you: in each place we visit, tell them, “He is my brother.”’”
14 Abimelech took flocks, cattle, male servants, and female servants, and gave them to Abraham; and Abimelech returned his wife Sarah. 15 Abimelech said, “My land is here available to you. Live wherever you wish.” 16 To Sarah, he said, “I’ve given your brother one thousand pieces of silver. It means that neither you nor anyone with you has done anything wrong. Everything has been set right.” 17 Abraham prayed to God; and God restored Abimelech, his wife, and his women servants to health, and they were able to have children. 18 Because of the incident with Abraham’s wife Sarah, the Lord had kept all of the women in Abimelech’s household from having children.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible