Abraham’s Treachery

¹Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the ^[a]Negev, and ^[b]settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in Gerar. ² Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” So 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, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is ^[c]married.” ⁴ Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, will You slay a nation, even though ^[d]blameless? 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 ^[e]hands I have done this.” ⁶ Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also ^[f]kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. ⁷ Now therefore, restore the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”

⁸ So Abimelech arose early in the morning and called all his servants and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were greatly frightened. ⁹ Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And ^[g]how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me ^[h]things that ought not to be done.” ¹⁰ And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What have you ^[i]encountered, that you have done this thing?” ¹¹ Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife. ¹² Besides, she actually is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife; ¹³ and it came about, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is ^[j]the kindness which you will show to me: ^[k]everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’” ¹⁴ Abimelech then took sheep and oxen and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and restored his wife Sarah to him. ¹⁵ Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you; ^[l]settle wherever ^[m]you please.” ¹⁶ To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; behold, it is ^[n]your vindication before all who are with you, and before all men you are cleared.” ¹⁷ Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maids, so that they bore children. ¹⁸ For the Lord had closed fast all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.