Genesis 20

CHAPTER 20

1Abraham went forth from thence into the land of the south, and dwelled betwixt Kadesh and Shur, and was a pilgrim in Gerar;

2and he said of Sarah, his wife, She is my sister. Therefore Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent, and took her.

3Soothly God came to Abimelech by a sweven in the night, and said to him, Lo! thou shalt die, for the woman which thou hast taken, for she hath an husband.

4Forsooth Abimelech [had] touched not her; and he said, Lord, whether thou shalt slay a folk unknowing and just [or rightwise]?

5Whether he said not to me, She is my sister, and she said, He is my brother? In the simpleness of mine heart, and in the cleanness of mine hands, I did this.

6And the Lord said to him, And I know that thou didest by simple heart, and therefore I kept thee, lest thou didest sin against me, and I suffered not that thou touchedest her;

7now therefore yield thou the wife to her husband, for he is a prophet; and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live; soothly if thou wilt not yield her, know thou that thou shalt die by death, thou, and all things that be thine.

8And at once Abimelech rose by night, and called all his servants, and spake all these words in the ears of them; and all men dreaded greatly.

9Soothly Abimelech called also Abraham, and said to him, What hast thou done to us? what sinned we against thee, that thou hast brought in on me and on my realm such a great sin? thou hast done to us which things thou oughtest not to do.

10And again Abimelech asked, and said, What thing sawest thou, that thou wouldest do this?

11Abraham answered, I thought within me, and said, In hap the dread of God is not in this place; and they shall slay me for my wife;

12in other manner forsooth and she is my sister verily, the daughter of my father, and not the daughter of my mother; and I wedded her into wife;

13soothly after that God led me out of the house of my father, I said to her, Thou shalt do this mercy with me in each place to which we shall enter; thou shalt say, that I am thy brother.

14Therefore Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and servants, and handmaids, and gave to Abraham; and he yielded to him Sarah, his wife,

15and said, The land is before you; dwell thou, wherever it pleaseth thee.

16Forsooth Abimelech said to Sarah, Lo! I gave a thousand pieces of silver to thy brother; this shall be to thee into a covering of eyes, to all men that be with thee; and whither ever thou goest, have thou mind that thou art taken.

17Soothly for Abraham prayed, God cured Abimelech, and his wife, and handmaids, and they childed;

18for God had closed each womb of the house of Abimelech, for Sarah, the wife of Abraham.

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Genesis 20

Abraham and Sarah visit Gerar

1Abraham traveled from there toward the land of the arid southern plain, and he settled as an immigrant in Gerar, between Kadesh and Shur. 2Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She’s my sister.” So King Abimelech of Gerar took her into his household.

3But 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.”

4Now Abimelech hadn’t gone near her, and he said, “Lord, will you really put an innocent nation to death? 5Didn’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.”

6God 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. 7Now 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!”

8Abimelech got up early in the morning and summoned all of his servants. When he told them everything that had happened, the men were terrified. 9Then 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?” 10Abimelech said to Abraham, “What were you thinking when you did this thing?”

11Abraham said, “I thought to myself, No one reveres God here and they will kill me to get my wife. 12She is, truthfully, my sister—my father’s daughter but not my mother’s daughter—and she’s now my wife. 13When 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.”’”

14Abimelech took flocks, cattle, male servants, and female servants, and gave them to Abraham; and Abimelech returned his wife Sarah. 15Abimelech said, “My land is here available to you. Live wherever you wish.” 16To 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.” 17Abraham prayed to God; and God restored Abimelech, his wife, and his women servants to health, and they were able to have children. 18Because 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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