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Abraham Lies to Abimelech

¹ And Abraham journeyed from ^(C1)there toward the land of ^(C2)the ^(F1)Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in ^(C3)Gerar.² And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, "^(C1)She is my sister." So ^(C2)Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.^3 (C1)But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night and said to him, "Behold, ^(C2)you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is ^(F1)married."⁴ (Now Abimelech had not come near her.) Then he said, "Lord, ^(C1)will You kill a nation, even though righteous?⁵ "Did he not himself say to me, 'She is my sister'? And she ^(C1)herself also said, 'He is my brother.' In ^(C2)the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my ^(F1)hands I have done this."⁶ Then God said to him in the dream, "Indeed, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also ^(F1)(C1)held you back from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her.⁷ "So now, return the man's wife, for ^(C1)he is a prophet, and he will pray for you, and you will live. But if you do not return 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 afraid.^9 (C1)Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, "What have you done to us? And ^(F1)how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom ^(C2)a great sin? You have done to me ^(F2)things that ought not to be done."¹⁰ And Abimelech said to Abraham, "What have you seen, that you have done this thing?"¹¹ And Abraham said, "Because I said, surely there is no ^(C1)fear of God in this place, and ^(C2)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 happened when ^(C1)God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said to her, 'This is ^(F1)the lovingkindness which you will show to me: ^(F2)everywhere we go, ^(C2)say of me, "He is my brother."'"^14 (C1)Abimelech then took sheep and oxen and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham and returned his wife Sarah to him.¹⁵ And Abimelech said, "^(C1)Behold, my land is before you; ^(F1)settle wherever it is good in your sight."¹⁶ To Sarah he said, "Behold, I have given your ^(C1)brother one thousand pieces of silver; behold, it is ^(F1)your vindication before all who are with you, and before all you are ^(F2)cleared."^17 (C1)And Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maidservants, so that they bore children.^18 (C1)For Yahweh had utterly shut all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.