Genesis 20:1–18

Abraham’s Treachery

¹Now Abraham journeyed from ^athere toward the land of ^bthe ¹Negev, and ²settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in ^cGerar.

²Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “^aShe is my sister.” So ^bAbimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.

^3aBut God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, “Behold, ^byou are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is ¹married.”

⁴Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, ^awill You slay a nation, even though ¹blameless?

⁵“Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she ^aherself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In ^bthe integrity of my heart and the innocence of my ¹hands I have done this.”

⁶Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also ^1akept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her.

⁷“Now therefore, restore the man’s wife, for ^ahe is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”

⁸So Abimelech arose early in the morning and called all his servants and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were greatly frightened.

^9aThen Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And ¹how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom ^ba great sin? You have done to me ²things that ought not to be done.”

¹⁰And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What have you ¹encountered, that you have done this thing?”

¹¹Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely there is no ^afear of God in this place, and ^bthey will kill me because of my wife.

¹²“Besides, she actually is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife;

¹³and it came about, when ^aGod caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is ¹the kindness which you will show to me: ²everywhere we go, ^bsay of me, “He is my brother.” ’ ”

^14aAbimelech then took sheep and oxen and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and restored his wife Sarah to him.

¹⁵Abimelech said, “^aBehold, my land is before you; ¹settle wherever ²you please.”

¹⁶To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your ^abrother a thousand pieces of silver; behold, it is ¹your vindication before all who are with you, and before all men you are cleared.”

^17aAbraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maids, so that they bore children.

^18aFor the Lord had closed fast all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.