Genesis 20
20
Abraham and Abimelech
1And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar. 2#Gen 12.13; 26.7. And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abim´elech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah. 3But God came to Abim´elech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife. 4But Abim´elech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? 5Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this. 6And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not 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.
8Therefore Abim´elech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid. 9Then Abim´elech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done. 10And Abim´elech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, 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 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 thy kindness which thou shalt show unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother. 14And Abim´elech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife. 15And Abim´elech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth 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 are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved. 17So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abim´elech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children. 18For the Lord had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abim´elech, because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.
King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
Genesis 20
20
1And Abraham departed thence towards the south country, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned at Gerar. 2And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister. And Abimelech the king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.
3But God#GodHebrew: Elohim came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, because of the woman that thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife. 4But Abimelech had not come near her. And he said, Lord, wilt thou also kill a righteous nation? 5Did he not say to me, She is my sister? and she, even she said, He is my brother. In the integrity of my heart and in the innocency of my hands have I done this. 6And God#GodHebrew: Elohim said to him in a dream, I also knew that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart, and I, too, have withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore have I not suffered thee to touch her. 7And now, restore the man's wife; for he is a prophet, and will pray for thee, that thou mayest live. And if thou do not restore her, know that thou shalt certainly die, thou and all that is thine.
8And Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and spoke all these words in their ears; and the men were greatly afraid. 9And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, What hast thou done to us? And in what have I sinned against thee, that thou hast brought on me, and on my kingdom, a great sin? Thou hast done to me deeds that ought not to be done. 10And Abimelech said to Abraham, What hast thou seen that thou hast done this? 11And Abraham said, Because I said, Surely the fear of God#GodHebrew: Elohim is not in this place, and they will kill me for my wife's sake. 12But she is also truly my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. 13And it came to pass when God#GodHebrew: Elohim caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said to her, Let this be thy kindness which thou shalt shew to me: at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.
14And Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and bondmen and bondwomen, and gave them to Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife. 15And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it is good in thine eyes. 16And to Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver; behold, let that be to thee a covering of the eyes, in respect of all that are with thee, and with all; and she was reproved. 17And Abraham prayed to God#GodHebrew: Elohim and God#GodHebrew: Elohim healed Abimelech, and his wife and his handmaids, and they bore children. 18For Jehovah had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah Abraham's wife.
First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.