Genesis 20

1¶ And Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev and dwelt 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.

3¶ But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, Behold, thou art a dead man, for the woman whom 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 person?

5Did he not say unto me, She is my sister? And she, even she herself said, He is my brother; in the simplicity of my heart and cleanness of my hands I have done this.

6And God said unto him in a dream, Yes, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me; therefore I did not allow thee 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.

8¶ Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his slaves and told all these things in their ears; and the men feared greatly.

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

10And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What didst thou see 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 also 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 the mercy which thou shalt show unto me: at every place where we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.

14¶ Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen and menslaves and womenslaves and gave them unto Abraham and restored him Sarah his wife.

15And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee; dwell where it pleases 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 were with thee and with everyone: thus she was reproved.

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

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

The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International

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Genesis 20

Abraham and Abimelek

1Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, 2and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, ‘She is my sister.’ Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.

3But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, ‘You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.’

4Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, ‘Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? 5Did he not say to me, “She is my sister,” and didn’t she also say, “He is my brother”? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.’

6Then God said to him in the dream, ‘Yes, I know 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, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die.’

8Early the next morning Abimelek summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. 9Then Abimelek called Abraham in and said, ‘What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.’ 10And Abimelek asked Abraham, ‘What was your reason for doing this?’

11Abraham replied, ‘I said to myself, “There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.” 12Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. 13And when God caused me to wander from my father’s household, I said to her, “This is how you can show your love to me: everywhere we go, say of me, ‘He is my brother.’ ” ’

14Then Abimelek brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. 15And Abimelek said, ‘My land is before you; live wherever you like.’

16To Sarah he said, ‘I am giving your brother a thousand shekels#20:16 That is, about 12 kilograms of silver. This is to cover the offence against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated.’

17Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again, 18for the Lord had kept all the women in Abimelek’s household from conceiving because of Abraham’s wife Sarah.

The Holy Bible, New International Version® (Anglicised), NIV®

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