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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
Easy-to-Read Version
Genesis 20
Easy-to-Read Version
Abraham Goes to Gerar
20 Abraham left that place and traveled to the Negev. He settled in the city of Gerar, between Kadesh and Shur. While in Gerar, 2 Abraham told people that Sarah was his sister. King Abimelech of Gerar heard this. Abimelech wanted Sarah, so he sent some servants to take her. 3 But one night God spoke to Abimelech in a dream and said, “You will die. The woman you took is married.”
4 But Abimelech had not yet slept with Sarah, so he said, “Lord, I am not guilty. Would you kill an innocent man? 5 Abraham himself told me, ‘This woman is my sister,’ and she also said, ‘This man is my brother.’ I am innocent. I did not know what I was doing.”
6 Then God said to Abimelech in a dream, “Yes, I know that you are innocent and that you did not know what you were doing. I saved you. I did not allow you to sin against me. I was the one who did not allow you to sleep with her. 7 So give Abraham his wife again. He is a prophet. He will pray for you, and you will live. But if you don’t give Sarah back to him, I promise that you will die. And all your family will die with you.”
8 So very early the next morning, Abimelech called all his servants and told them about the dream. The servants were very afraid. 9 Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “Why have you done this to us? What wrong did I do to you? Why did you lie and say that she was your sister? You brought great trouble to my kingdom. You should not have done this to me. 10 What were you afraid of? Why did you do this to me?”
11 Then Abraham said, “I thought no one in this place respected God. I thought someone would kill me to get Sarah. 12 She is my wife, but she is also my sister. She is the daughter of my father but not the daughter of my mother. 13 God led me away from my father’s house. He led me to wander to many different places. When that happened, I told Sarah, ‘Do something for me. Wherever we go, tell people you are my sister.’”
14 So Abimelech gave Sarah back to Abraham. Abimelech also gave Abraham some sheep, cattle, and slaves. 15 And Abimelech said, “Look all around you. This is my land. You may live any place you want.”
16 Abimelech said to Sarah, “I gave your brother Abraham 1000 pieces of silver. I did this to show that I am very sorry. I want everyone to see that I did the right thing.”
17-18 The Lord made all the women in Abimelech’s family not able to have children. God did this because Abimelech had taken Sarah, Abraham’s wife. But Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his servant girls.
Genesis 20
English Standard Version
Genesis 20
English Standard Version
Abraham and Abimelech
20 From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between (A)Kadesh and Shur; and he (B)sojourned in (C)Gerar. 2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, (D)“She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3 (E)But God came to Abimelech (F)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.” 4 Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, (G)“Lord, will you kill an innocent people? 5 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.” 6 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 (H)against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. 7 Now then, return the man's wife, (I)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 (J)and all who are yours.”
8 So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid. 9 Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.” 10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you did this thing?” 11 Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, (K)‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and (L)they will kill me because of my wife.’ 12 Besides, (M)she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. 13 And when (N)God caused me to wander from my father's house, I said to her, ‘This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, (O)say of me, “He is my brother.”’”
14 Then Abimelech (P)took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelech said, “Behold, (Q)my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” 16 To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given (R)your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is (S)a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all[a] who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.” 17 Then (T)Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. 18 For the Lord (U)had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.
Footnotes
- Genesis 20:16 Hebrew It is a covering of eyes for all
New International Version (NIV) 
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Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
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English Standard Version (ESV) 
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.