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Genesis 20
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
Genesis 20
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
Sarah Rescued from Abimelech
20 From there Abraham travelled to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was staying in Gerar,(A) 2 Abraham said about his wife Sarah, ‘She is my sister.’(B) So King Abimelech of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.
3 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.’[a]
4 Now Abimelech had not approached her, so he said, ‘Lord, would you destroy a nation even though it is innocent? 5 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[b] and clean[c] hands.’
6 Then God said to him in the dream, ‘Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience.[d] I have also kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I have not let you touch her. 7 Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet,(C) 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.’
8 Early in the morning Abimelech got up, called all his servants together, and personally[e] told them all these things, and the men were terrified.
9 Then Abimelech called Abraham in and said to him, ‘What have you done to us? How did I sin against you that you have brought such enormous guilt on me and on my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.’(D) 10 Abimelech also asked Abraham, ‘What made you do this? ’
11 Abraham replied, ‘I thought, “There is absolutely no fear of God in this place.(E) They will kill me because of my wife.” 12 Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. 13 So when God made me wander from my father’s house,(F) I said to her: Show your loyalty to me wherever we go and say about me, “He’s my brother.” ’(G)
14 Then Abimelech took flocks and herds and male and female slaves, gave them to Abraham, and returned his wife Sarah to him. 15 Abimelech said, ‘Look, my land is before you.(H) Settle wherever you want.’[f] 16 And he said to Sarah, ‘Look, I am giving your brother one thousand pieces of silver. It is a verification of your honour[g] to all who are with you. You are fully vindicated.’
17 Then Abraham prayed to God,(I) and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female slaves so that they could bear children, 18 for the Lord had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech’s household on account of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
Genesis 20
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Genesis 20
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 20
Abraham at Gerar.[a] 1 From there Abraham journeyed on to the region of the Negeb, where he settled between Kadesh and Shur.[b] While he resided in Gerar as an alien, 2 Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent and took Sarah. 3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream one night and said to him: You are about to die because of the woman you have taken, for she has a husband. 4 Abimelech, who had not approached her, said: “O Lord, would you kill an innocent man? 5 Was he not the one who told me, ‘She is my sister’? She herself also stated, ‘He is my brother.’ I acted with pure heart and with clean hands.” 6 [c]God answered him in the dream: Yes, I know you did it with a pure heart. In fact, it was I who kept you from sinning against me; that is why I did not let you touch her. 7 So now, return the man’s wife so that he may intercede for you, since he is a prophet,[d] that you may live. If you do not return her, you can be sure that you and all who are yours will die.
8 Early the next morning Abimelech called all his servants and informed them of everything that had happened, and the men were filled with fear. 9 Then Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him: “What have you done to us! What wrong did I do to you that you would have brought such great guilt on me and my kingdom? You have treated me in an intolerable way. 10 What did you have in mind,” Abimelech asked him, “that you would do such a thing?” 11 Abraham answered, “I thought there would be no fear of God[e] in this place, and so they would kill me on account of my wife. 12 Besides, she really is my sister,[f] but only my father’s daughter, not my mother’s; and so she became my wife. 13 When God sent me wandering from my father’s house, I asked her: ‘Would you do me this favor? In whatever place we come to, say: He is my brother.’”(A)
14 Then Abimelech took flocks and herds and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham; and he restored his wife Sarah to him. 15 Then Abimelech said, “Here, my land is at your disposal; settle wherever you please.” 16 To Sarah he said: “I hereby give your brother a thousand shekels of silver. This will preserve your honor before all who are with you and will exonerate you before everyone.” 17 Abraham then interceded with God, and God restored health to Abimelech, to his wife, and his maidservants, so that they bore children; 18 for the Lord had closed every womb in Abimelech’s household on account of Abraham’s wife Sarah.
Footnotes
- 20:1–18 Abraham again passes off his wife Sarah as his sister to escape trouble in a foreign land (cf. 12:10–13:1, the J source). The story appears to be from a different source (according to some, E) and deals with the ethical questions of the incident. Gn 26:6–11 is yet another retelling of the story, but with Isaac and Rebekah as characters instead of Abraham and Sarah.
- 20:1 Kadesh and Shur: Kadesh-barnea was a major oasis on the southernmost border of Canaan, and Shur was probably the “way to Shur,” the road to Egypt. Gerar was a royal city in the area, but has not been identified with certainty.
- 20:6 Abimelech is exonerated of blame, but by that fact not cleared of the consequences of his act. He is still under the sentence of death for abducting another man’s wife; the consequences result from the deed not the intention.
- 20:7 Prophet: only here is Abraham explicitly called “prophet,” Hebrew nabi (cf. Ps 105:15).
- 20:11 Fear of God is the traditional though unsatisfactory rendering of Hebrew yir’at YHWH, literally, “revering Yahweh.” The phrase refers neither to the emotion of fear nor to religious reverence of a general kind. Rather it refers to adherence to a single deity (in a polytheistic culture), honoring that deity with prayers, rituals, and obedience. The phrase occurs again in 26:24; 43:23; and 50:19. It is very common in the wisdom literature of the Bible.
- 20:12 My sister: marrying one’s half sister was prohibited later in Israel’s history.
Genesis 20
New International Version
Genesis 20
New International Version
Abraham and Abimelek(A)
20 Now Abraham moved on from there(B) into the region of the Negev(C) and lived between Kadesh(D) and Shur.(E) For a while(F) he stayed in Gerar,(G) 2 and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.(H)” Then Abimelek(I) king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.(J)
3 But God came to Abimelek(K) in a dream(L) one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead(M) because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”(N)
4 Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation?(O) 5 Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,(P)’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience(Q) and clean hands.(R)”
6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept(S) you from sinning against me.(T) That is why I did not let you touch her. 7 Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet,(U) and he will pray for you(V) 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.”(W)
8 Early the next morning Abimelek summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. 9 Then Abimelek called Abraham in and said, “What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.(X)” 10 And Abimelek asked Abraham, “What was your reason for doing this?”
11 Abraham replied, “I said to myself, ‘There is surely no fear of God(Y) in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’(Z) 12 Besides, she really is my sister,(AA) the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. 13 And when God had me wander(AB) from my father’s household,(AC) I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”
14 Then Abimelek(AD) brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham,(AE) and he returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelek said, “My land is before you; live wherever you like.”(AF)
16 To Sarah he said, “I am giving your brother a thousand shekels[a] of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated.”
17 Then Abraham prayed to God,(AG) and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again, 18 for the Lord had kept all the women in Abimelek’s household from conceiving because of Abraham’s wife Sarah.(AH)
Footnotes
- Genesis 20:16 That is, about 25 pounds or about 12 kilograms
Genesis 20
New King James Version
Genesis 20
New King James Version
Abraham and Abimelech
20 And Abraham journeyed from (A)there to the South, and dwelt between (B)Kadesh and Shur, and (C)stayed in Gerar. 2 Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, (D)“She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and (E)took Sarah.
3 But (F)God came to Abimelech (G)in a dream by night, and said to him, (H)“Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is [a]a man’s wife.”
4 But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, (I)will You slay a righteous nation also? 5 Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ (J)In the [b]integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.”
6 And God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For (K)I also withheld you from sinning (L)against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. 7 Now therefore, restore the man’s wife; (M)for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, (N)know that you shall surely die, you (O)and all who are yours.”
8 So Abimelech rose early in the morning, called all his servants, and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were very much afraid. 9 And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? How have I [c]offended you, (P)that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me (Q)that ought not to be done.” 10 Then Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you have in view, that you have done this thing?”
11 And Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely (R)the fear of God is not in this place; and (S)they will kill me on account of my wife. 12 But indeed (T)she is truly 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 (U)God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is your kindness that you should do for me: in every place, wherever we go, (V)say of me, “He is my brother.” ’ ”
14 Then Abimelech (W)took sheep, oxen, and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham; and he restored Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelech said, “See, (X)my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” 16 Then to Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; (Y)indeed this [d]vindicates you (Z)before all who are with you and before everybody.” Thus she was [e]rebuked.
17 So Abraham (AA)prayed to God; and God (AB)healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants. Then they bore children; 18 for the Lord (AC)had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
Footnotes
- Genesis 20:3 Lit. married to a husband
- Genesis 20:5 innocence
- Genesis 20:9 sinned against
- Genesis 20:16 Lit. is a covering of the eyes for you to all
- Genesis 20:16 Or justified
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised (CSBA)
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New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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