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Genesis Chapter 20 (ACV)

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Genesis Chapter 20 (ACV)
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1 And Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur. And he sojourned in Gerar.

2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister. And Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.

3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, Behold, thou are but a dead man, because of the woman whom thou have taken, for she is a man's wife.

4 Now Abimelech had not come near her. And he said, Lord, will thou slay even a righteous nation?

5 Did he not himself say to me, She is my sister? And she, even she herself said, He is my brother. In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.

6 And God said to him in the dream, Yes, I know that in the integrity of thy heart thou have done this. And I also withheld thee from sinning against me. Therefore I did not allow thee to touch her.

7 Now therefore restore the man's wife. For he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shall live. And if thou do not restore her, know thou that thou shall surely die, thou, and all that are thine.

8 And Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ear. And the men were exceedingly afraid.

9 Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said to him, What have thou done to us? And in what have I sinned against thee, that thou have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? Thou have done deeds to me that ought not to be done.

10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, What did thou see, that thou have done this thing?

11 And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.

12 And moreover she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife.

13 And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said to her, This is thy kindness which thou shall show to me. At every place where we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.

14 And Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and men-servants and women-servants, and gave them to Abraham, and restored to him Sarah his wife.

15 And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee. Dwell where it pleases thee.

16 And to Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver. Behold, it is for thee a covering of the eyes to all who are with thee. And in regard to all thou are righted.

17 And Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maid-servants. And they bore sons.

18 For Jehovah had closed up fast all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens between Abraham and Abimelech in Genesis 20?
Abraham again tells a foreign king, Abimelech of Gerar, that Sarah is his sister, and Abimelech takes her; God warns Abimelech in a dream that she is a married woman, so Abimelech restores Sarah untouched, gives Abraham gifts, and Abraham prays for God to heal Abimelech's household, which had been struck with barrenness.
How did God protect Sarah in Abimelech's house?
Verse 6 says God kept Abimelech from touching her, telling him in a dream 'I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.'
Why did Abraham say Sarah was his sister again?
Verse 11 has Abraham explain he assumed 'the fear of God is not in this place' and feared being killed for his wife's sake, and verse 12 notes she was technically his half-sister, sharing his father but not his mother.

Today's Verse

but there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and he hath made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these:

Daniel 2:28 | ASV

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