Genesis 20 | King James Version

King James Version

1 And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar. 2 And 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 but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man' wife. 4 But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? 5 Said 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. 6 And 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. 7 Now 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 servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid. 9 Then Abimelech 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. 10 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing? 11 And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife' sake. 12 And 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. 13 And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father' house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother. 14 And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife. 15 And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee. 16 And 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. 17 So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children . 18 For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham' wife.

New International Reader’s Version

Abraham and Abimelek

1 Abraham moved south into the Negev Desert. He lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar. 2 There Abraham said about his wife Sarah, ‘She’s my sister.’ Then Abimelek, the king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her. 3 So God appeared to Abimelek in a dream one night. He said to him, ‘You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken. She is already married.’ 4 But Abimelek hadn’t gone near her. So he said, ‘Lord, will you destroy a nation that hasn’t done anything wrong? 5 Didn’t Abraham say to me, “She’s my sister”? And didn’t she also say, “He’s my brother”? I had no idea I was doing anything wrong.’ 6 Then God spoke to him in the dream. He said, ‘Yes, I know you had no idea you were doing anything wrong. So I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. 7 Now return the man’s wife to him. He is a prophet. So he will pray for you, and you will live. But what if you do not return her? Then you can be sure that you and all your people will die.’ 8 Early the next morning Abimelek sent for all his officials. When he told them everything that had happened, they were really afraid. 9 Then Abimelek called Abraham in. Abimelek said, ‘What have you done to us? Have I done something wrong to you? Why have you brought so much guilt on me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.’ 10 Abimelek also asked Abraham, ‘Why did you do this?’ 11 Abraham replied, ‘I thought, “There is no respect for God in this place. They will kill me because of my wife.” 12 Besides, she really is my sister. She’s the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother. And she became my wife. 13 God caused me to wander away from my father’s house. So I said to her, “Here is how you can show your love to me. Everywhere we go, say about me, ‘He’s my brother.’ ” ’ 14 Then Abimelek gave Abraham sheep and cattle and male and female slaves. He also returned his wife Sarah to him. 15 Abimelek said, ‘Here is my land. Live anywhere you want to.’ 16 He said to Sarah, ‘I’m giving your brother 12 kilograms of silver. This will show everyone with you that I am sorry for what I did to you. You haven’t done anything wrong.’ 17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek. He also healed his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again. 18 The LORD had kept all the women in Abimelek’s house from having children. He had done it because of Abraham’s wife Sarah.