^20:3But God appeared³ to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead⁴ because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.”⁵

^20:4Now Abimelech had not gone near her. He said, “Lord,⁶ would you really slaughter an innocent nation?⁷^20:5Did Abraham⁸ not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said,⁹ ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience¹⁰ and with innocent hands!”

^20:6Then in the dream God replied to him, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience.¹¹ That is why I have kept you¹² from sinning against me and why¹³ I did not allow you to touch her. ^20:7But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed¹⁴ he is a prophet¹⁵ and he will pray for you; thus you will live.¹⁶ But if you don’t give her back,¹⁷ know that you will surely die¹⁸ along with all who belong to you.”

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Footnotes

3 Heb “came.”
4 Heb “Look, you [are] dead.” The Hebrew construction uses the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with a second person pronominal particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with by the participle. It is a highly rhetorical expression.
5 Heb “and she is owned by an owner.” The disjunctive clause is causal or explanatory in this case.
6 The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
7 Apparently Abimelech assumes that God’s judgment will fall on his entire nation. Some, finding the reference to a nation problematic, prefer to emend the text and read, “Would you really kill someone who is innocent?” See E. A. Speiser, Genesis (), .
8 Heb “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 Heb “and she, even she.”
10 Heb “with the integrity of my heart.”
11 Heb “with the integrity of your heart.”
12 Heb “and I, even I, kept you.”
13 Heb “therefore.”
14 Or “for,” if the particle is understood as causal (as many English translations do) rather than asseverative.
15 For a discussion of the term prophet see N. Walker, “What is a Nabhi?” 73 (1961): 99–100.
16 After the preceding jussive (or imperfect), the imperative with vav conjunctive here indicates result. He will pray for you that you may live. Abraham was known as a man of God whose prayer would be effectual. Ironically and sadly, he was also known as a liar.
17 Heb “if there is not you returning.” The suffix on the particle becomes the subject of the negated clause.
18 The imperfect is preceded by the infinitive absolute to make the warning emphatic.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, “Lord, will you kill an innocent people? Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. Now then, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”

Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.”

Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

But 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.”

Now Abimelech had not approached her, so he said, “Lord, would you destroy a nation even though it is innocent? Didn’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 and clean hands.”

Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience. I have also kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I have not let you touch her. Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, 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.”

NLTNew Living Translation

But that night God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are a dead man, for that woman you have taken is already married!”

But Abimelech had not slept with her yet, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘Yes, he is my brother.’ I acted in complete innocence! My hands are clean.”

In the dream God responded, “Yes, I know you are innocent. That’s why I kept you from sinning against me, and why I did not let you touch her. Now return the woman to her husband, and he will pray for you, for he is a prophet. Then you will live. But if you don’t return her to him, you can be sure that you and all your people will die.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And God came to Abimelech in a dream at night. And he said to him, “Look, you are a dead man on account of the woman you have taken. For she is a married woman.” Now Abimelech had not approached her, so he said, “my Lord, will you even kill a righteous people?” Did not he himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ With integrity of my heart and with cleanness of my hands I did this.” Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you did this, and I also kept you from sinning against me. Therefore, I did not allow you to touch her. So now, return the wife of the man, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you and you will live. And if you do not return her, know that you will certainly die, and all that are yours.”

KJV 1900King James Version

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’s wife. But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? 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. 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. 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.

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