| Chapter 20 |
1 | And Abraham journeyeth from thence toward the land of the south, and dwelleth between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourneth in Gerar;
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2 | and Abraham saith concerning Sarah his wife, 'She is my sister;' and Abimelech king of Gerar sendeth and taketh Sarah.
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3 | And God cometh in unto Abimelech in a dream of the night, and saith to him, 'Lo, thou [art] a dead man, because of the woman whom thou hast taken -- and she married to a husband.'
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4 | And Abimelech hath not drawn near unto her, and he saith, 'Lord, also a righteous nation dost thou slay?
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5 | hath not he himself said to me, She [is] my sister! and she, even she herself, said, He [is] my brother; in the integrity of my heart, and in the innocency of my hands, I have done this.'
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6 | And God saith unto him in the dream, 'Yea, I -- I have known that in the integrity of thy heart thou hast done this, and I withhold thee, even I, from sinning against Me, therefore I have not suffered thee to come against her;
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7 | and now send back the man's wife, for he [is] inspired, and he doth pray for thee, and live thou; and if thou do not send back, know that dying thou dost die, thou, and all that thou hast.'
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8 | And Abimelech riseth early in the morning, and calleth for all his servants, and speaketh all these words in their ears; and the men fear exceedingly;
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9 | and Abimelech calleth for Abraham, and saith to him, 'What hast thou done to us? and what have I sinned against thee, that thou hast brought upon me, and upon my kingdom, a great sin? works which are not done thou hast done with me.'
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10 | Abimelech also saith unto Abraham, 'What hast thou seen that thou hast done this thing?'
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11 | And Abraham saith, 'Because I said, 'Surely the fear of God is not in this place, and they have slain me for the sake of my wife;
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12 | and also, truly she is my sister, daughter of my father, only not daughter of my mother, and she becometh my wife;
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13 | and it cometh to pass, when God hath caused me to wander from my father's house, that I say to her, This [is] thy kindness which thou dost with me: at every place whither we come, say of me, He [is] my brother.'
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14 | And Abimelech taketh sheep and oxen, and servants and handmaids, and giveth to Abraham, and sendeth back to him Sarah his wife;
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15 | and Abimelech saith, 'Lo, my land [is] before thee, where it is good in thine eyes, dwell;'
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16 | and to Sarah he hath said, 'Lo, I have given a thousand silverlings to thy brother; lo, it is to thee a covering of eyes, to all who are with thee;' and by all this she is reasoned with.
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17 | And Abraham prayeth unto God, and God healeth Abimelech and his wife, and his handmaids, and they bear:
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18 | for Jehovah restraining had restrained every womb of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.
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