Genesis 20
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Sarah Rescued from Abimelech
20 From there Abraham traveled to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived in Gerar,(A) 2 Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.”(B) So Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.
3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “You are about to die because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”[a]
4 Now Abimelech had not approached her, so he said, “Lord, would You destroy a nation even though it is innocent? 5 Didn’t he himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ I did this with a clear conscience[b] and clean[c] hands.”
6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience.[d] I have also kept you from sinning against Me. Therefore I have not let you touch her. 7 Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet,(C) and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, know that you will certainly die, you and all who are yours.”
8 Early in the morning Abimelech got up, called all his servants together, and personally[e] told them all these things, and the men were terrified.
9 Then Abimelech called Abraham in and said to him, “What have you done to us? How did I sin against you that you have brought such enormous guilt on me and on my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.”(D) 10 Abimelech also said to Abraham, “What did you intend when you did this thing?”
11 Abraham replied, “I thought, ‘There is absolutely no fear of God in this place.(E) They will kill me because of my wife.’ 12 Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. 13 So when God had me wander from my father’s house,(F) I said to her: Show your loyalty to me wherever we go and say about me: ‘He’s my brother.’”(G)
14 Then Abimelech took sheep and cattle and male and female slaves, gave them to Abraham, and returned his wife Sarah to him. 15 Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you.(H) Settle wherever you want.”[f] 16 And he said to Sarah, “Look, I am giving your brother 1,000 pieces of silver. It is a verification of your honor[g] to all who are with you. You are fully vindicated.”
17 Then Abraham prayed to God,(I) and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female slaves so that they could bear children, 18 for the Lord had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech’s household on account of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
Footnotes
- Genesis 20:3 Lit is possessed by a husband
- Genesis 20:5 Lit with integrity of my heart
- Genesis 20:5 Lit cleanness of my
- Genesis 20:6 Lit with integrity of your heart
- Genesis 20:8 Lit in their ears
- Genesis 20:15 Lit Settle in the good in your eyes
- Genesis 20:16 Lit a covering of the eyes
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.
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