Genesis 20:4-14
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 20
4Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, 'Lord, will You kill a nation, even though blameless? 5Did he himself not 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.' 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 kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. 7Now then, 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.'
8So Abimelech got up early in the morning and called all his servants, and told all these things in their presence; and the people were greatly frightened.
9Then 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 on my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.'
10And Abimelech said to Abraham, 'What have you encountered, that you have done this thing?'
11Abraham said, 'Because I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.
12Besides, 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 God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is the kindness which you will show to me: everywhere we go, say of me, 'He is my brother.'?’?'
14Abimelech then took sheep and oxen and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned his wife Sarah to him.
King James Version
Chapter 20
4But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? 5Said 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.
6And 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.
7Now 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.
8Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid.
9Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.
10And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?
11And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake.
12And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.
13And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 20
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 and clean hands."
6Then 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.
7Now 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."
9Then 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."
10Abimelech also asked Abraham, "What made you do this?"
11Abraham replied, "I thought, ‘There is absolutely no fear of God in this place. They will kill me because of my wife.’
12Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife.
13So when God had me wander from my father’s house, I said to her: Show your loyalty to me wherever we go and say about me: ‘He’s my brother.’"
New Living Translation
Chapter 20
4But Abimelech had not slept with her yet, so he said, 'Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? 5Didn’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.'
6In 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.
7Now 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.'
8Abimelech got up early the next morning and quickly called all his servants together. When he told them what had happened, his men were terrified.
9Then Abimelech called for Abraham. 'What have you done to us?' he demanded. 'What crime have I committed that deserves treatment like this, making me and my kingdom guilty of this great sin? No one should ever do what you have done!
10Whatever possessed you to do such a thing?'
11Abraham replied, 'I thought, ‘This is a godless place. They will want my wife and will kill me to get her.’
12And she really is my sister, for we both have the same father, but different mothers. And I married her.
13When God called me to leave my father’s home and to travel from place to place, I told her, ‘Do me a favor. Wherever we go, tell the people that I am your brother.’'
English Standard Version
Chapter 20
4Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, "Lord, will you kill an innocent people? 5Did 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." 6Then 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. 7Now 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."
8So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid.
9Then 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."
10And Abimelech said to Abraham, "What did you see, that you did this thing?"
11Abraham said, "I did it because I thought, ‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’
12Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife.
13And when 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, say of me, "He is my brother."’"
New International Version
Chapter 20
4Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, "Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? 5Did 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."
6Then 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.
7Now 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."
8Early the next morning Abimelek summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid.
9Then 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."
10And Abimelek asked Abraham, "What was your reason for doing this?"
11Abraham replied, "I said to myself, ‘There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’
12Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife.
13And when God had me wander from my father’s household, I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, "He is my brother." ’ "
New King James Version
Chapter 20
4But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also? 5Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.”
6And God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her.
7Now therefore, restore the man’s wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”
8So 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.
9And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? How have I offended you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me that ought not to be done.”
10Then Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you have in view, that you have done this thing?”
11And Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will kill me on account of my wife.
12But indeed she is truly my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.
13And it came to pass, when 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, say of me, “He is my brother.” ’ ”
