Genesis 20

Legacy Standard Bible

Abraham Lies to Abimelech

20 And Abraham journeyed from ^(A)there toward the land of ^(B)the ^[a]Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in ^(C)Gerar. ² And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “^(D)She is my sister.” So ^(E)Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. ^3 (F)But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night and said to him, “Behold, ^(G)you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is ^[b]married.” ⁴ (Now Abimelech had not come near her.) Then he said, “Lord, ^(H)will You kill a nation, even though righteous? ⁵ Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she ^(I)herself also said, ‘He is my brother.’ In ^(J)the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my ^[c]hands I have done this.” ⁶ Then God said to him in the dream, “Indeed, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also ^[d](K)held you back from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. ⁷ So now, return the man’s wife, for ^(L)he is a prophet, and he will pray for you, and you will live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”

⁸ So Abimelech arose early in the morning and called all his servants and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were greatly afraid. ^9 (M)Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And ^[e]how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom ^(N)a great sin? You have done to me ^[f]things that ought not to be done.” ¹⁰ And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What have you seen, that you have done this thing?” ¹¹ And Abraham said, “Because I said, surely there is no ^(O)fear of God in this place, and ^(P)they will kill me because of my wife. ¹² Besides, she actually is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife; ¹³ and it happened when ^(Q)God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is ^[g]the lovingkindness which you will show to me: ^[h]everywhere we go, ^(R)say of me, “He is my brother.”’” ^14 (S)Abimelech then took sheep and oxen and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham and returned his wife Sarah to him. ¹⁵ And Abimelech said, “^(T)Behold, my land is before you; ^[i]settle wherever it is good in your sight.” ¹⁶ To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your ^(U)brother one thousand pieces of silver; behold, it is ^[j]your vindication before all who are with you, and before all you are ^[k]cleared.” ^17 (V)And Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maidservants, so that they bore children. ^18 (W)For Yahweh had utterly shut all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.