Abraham and Abimelech

20 Abraham traveled from there to the Negev^[a] and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was living in Gerar as an outsider, ² because Abraham kept saying about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister,” King Abimelech of Gerar summoned them and took Sarah into his household.^[b]

³ But God came to Abimelech in a dream during the night and spoke to him, “Pay attention! You’re about to die, because the woman you have taken is a man’s wife!”

⁴ Now Abimelech had not yet come near her, so he asked, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? ⁵ Didn’t he say to me, ‘She’s my sister’? And she also said, ‘He’s my brother.’ I did this with pure intentions and clean hands.”

⁶ Then God replied to him in the dream, “I know that you did this with pure intentions, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore, I didn’t allow you to touch her. ⁷ Now then, return the man’s wife. As a matter of fact, he’s a prophet and can intercede for you so you’ll live. But if you don’t return her, be aware that you and all who are yours will certainly die.”

⁸ So Abimelech got up early the next morning, summoned all his servants, and told them all these things. The men became terrified.

⁹ Then Abimelech called Abraham and asked him, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought such great sin against me and my kingdom? You’ve done things to me that ought not to have been done.”

¹⁰ Abimelech also asked Abraham, “What could you have been thinking when you did this?”

¹¹ “I thought that there’s no fear of God in this place,” Abraham replied, “and that they would kill me because of my wife. ¹² Besides, she really is my sister—she’s my father’s daughter, but not my mother’s daughter—so she could become my wife. ¹³ When God caused me to journey from my father’s house, I asked her to do me this favor and say,^[c] ‘He’s my brother.’”

¹⁴ So Abimelech took some sheep and oxen, and some male and female servants, gave them to Abraham, returned his wife Sarah to him, ¹⁵ and said, “Look! My land is available to you, so settle wherever you please.”

¹⁶ Abimelech also told Sarah, “Look! I am giving your brother 1,000 pieces of silver to vindicate^[d] you in the eyes of all who are with you. As a result, you will be completely vindicated.”

¹⁷ Then Abraham interceded with God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants so they could bear children, ¹⁸ since the Lord had made all the women barren^[e] in Abimelech’s household on account of Abraham’s wife Sarah.