Genesis 20:1–8

SARAH RESCUED FROM ABIMELECH

20From there Abraham traveled to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was staying in Gerar,^{c 2}Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.”^d So King Abimelech of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.

³But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “You are about to die because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”^C

⁴Now Abimelech had not approached her, so he said, “Lord, would you destroy a nation even though it is innocent? ⁵Didn’t he himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ I did this with a clear conscience^D and clean^E hands.”

⁶Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience.^F I have also kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I have not let you touch her. ⁷Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet,^e and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, know that you will certainly die, you and all who are yours.”

⁸Early in the morning Abimelech got up, called all his servants together, and personally^G told them all these things, and the men were terrified.