Genesis 20
20
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
Genesis 20
20
1-2a Abraham traveled from there south to the Negev and settled down between Kadesh and Shur. While he was camping in Gerar, Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She’s my sister.”
2b-3 So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her. But God came to Abimelech in a dream that night and told him, “You’re as good as dead—that woman you took, she’s a married woman.”
4-5Now Abimelech had not yet slept with her, hadn’t so much as touched her. He said, “Master, would you kill an innocent man? Didn’t he tell me, ‘She’s my sister’? And didn’t she herself say, ‘He’s my brother’? I had no idea I was doing anything wrong when I did this.”
6-7God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know your intentions were pure, that’s why I kept you from sinning against me; I was the one who kept you from going to bed with her. So now give the man’s wife back to him. He’s a prophet and will pray for you—pray for your life. If you don’t give her back, know that it’s certain death both for you and everyone in your family.”
8-9Abimelech was up first thing in the morning. He called all his house servants together and told them the whole story. They were shocked. Then Abimelech called in Abraham and said, “What have you done to us? What have I ever done to you that you would bring on me and my kingdom this huge offense? What you’ve done to me ought never to have been done.”
10Abimelech went on to Abraham, “Whatever were you thinking of when you did this thing?”
11-13Abraham said, “I just assumed that there was no fear of God in this place and that they’d kill me to get my wife. Besides, the truth is that she is my half sister; she’s my father’s daughter but not my mother’s. When God sent me out as a wanderer from my father’s home, I told her, ‘Do me a favor; wherever we go, tell people that I’m your brother.’”
14-15Then Abimelech gave Sarah back to Abraham, and along with her sent sheep and cattle and servants, both male and female. He said, “My land is open to you; live wherever you wish.”
16And to Sarah he said, “I’ve given your brother a thousand pieces of silver—that clears you of even a shadow of suspicion before the eyes of the world. You’re vindicated.”
17-18Then Abraham prayed to God and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his maidservants, and they started having babies again. For God had shut down every womb in Abimelech’s household on account of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.