Abraham and Abimelech
1
From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between 1Kadesh and Shur; and he 2sojourned in 3Gerar.
2
And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, 4"She is my sister." And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.
3
5But God came to Abimelech 6in 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."
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 8against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her.
7
Now then, return the man's wife, 9for 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 10and 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, 11There is no fear of God at all in this place, and 12they will kill me because of my wife.
12
Besides, 13she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife.
13
And when 14God 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, 15say of me, He is my brother.'"
14
Then Abimelech 16took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him.
16
To Sarah he said, "Behold, I have given 18your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is 19a sign of your innocence in the eyes of alla who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated."
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)