Chapter 20

¹ And Abraham removed thence to the southern country, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar. ² And Abraham said concerning Sarah his wife, She is my sister, for he feared to say, She is my wife, lest at any time the men of the city should kill him for her sake. So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. ³ And God came to Abimelech by night in sleep, and said, Behold, thou diest for the woman, whom thou hast taken, whereas she has lived with a husband. ⁴ But Abimelech had not touched her, and he said, Lord, wilt thou destroy an ignorantly [sinning] and just nation? ⁵ Said he not to me, She is my sister, and said she not to me, He is my brother? with a pure heart and in the righteousness of my hands have I done this. ⁶ And God said to him in sleep, Yea, I knew that thou didst this with a pure heart, and I spared thee, so that thou shouldest not sin against me, therefore I suffered thee not to touch her. ⁷ But now return the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live; but if thou restore her not, know that thou shalt die and all thine. ⁸ And Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and he spoke all these words in their ears, and all the men feared exceedingly. ⁹ And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, What is this that thou hast done to us? Have we sinned against thee, that thou hast brought upon me and upon my kingdom a great sin? Thou hast done to me a deed, which no one ought to do. ¹⁰ And Abimelech said to Abraham, What hast thou seen in [me] that thou hast done this? ¹¹ And Abraham said, Why I said, Surely there is not the worship of God in this place, and they will slay me because of my wife. ¹² For truly she is my sister by my father, but not by my mother, and she became my wife. ¹³ And it came to pass when God brought me forth out of the house of my father, that I said to her, This righteousness thou shalt perform to me, in every place into which we may enter, say of me, He is my brother. ¹⁴ And Abimelech took a thousand pieces of silver, and sheep, and calves, and servants, and maidservants, and gave them to Abraham, and he returned him Sarah his wife. ¹⁵ And Abimelech said to Abraham, Behold, my land is before thee, dwell wheresoever it may please thee. ¹⁶ And to Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver, those shall be to thee for the price of thy countenance, and to all the women with thee, and speak the truth in all things. ¹⁷ And Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his women servants, and they bore children. ¹⁸ Because the Lord had fast closed from without every womb in the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham’s wife.

ΚΑΙ ἐκίνησεν ἐκεῖθεν Ἁβραὰμ εἰ γῆν πρὸς λίβα καὶ ᾤκησεν ἀνὰ μέσον Κάδης καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον Σούρ. καὶ παρῴκησεν ἐν Γεράροις. εἶπε δὲ Ἁβραὰμ περὶ Σάρρας τῆς γυναικὸς αὐτοῦ, ὅτι ἀδελφή μου ἐστίν· ἐφοβήθη γὰρ εἰπεῖν ὅτι γυνή μου ἐστί, μή ποτε ἀποκτείνωσιν αὐτὸν οἱ ἄνδρες τῆς πόλεως δι᾿ αὐτήν. ἀπέστειλε δὲ Ἀβιμέλεχ, βασιλεὺς Γεράρων, καὶ ἔλαβε τὴν Σάρραν. καὶ εἰσῆλθεν ὁ Θεὸς πρὸς Ἀβιμέλεχ ἐν ὕπνῳ τὴν νύκτα καὶ εἶπεν· ἰδοὺ σὺ ἀποθνήσκεις περὶ τῆς γυναικός, ἧς ἔλαβες, αὕτη δέ ἐστι συνῳκηυῖα ἀνδρί. Ἀβιμέλεχ δὲ οὐχ ἥψατο αὐτῆς καὶ εἶπε· Κύριε, ἔθνος ἀγνοοῦν καὶ δίκαιον ἀπολεῖς; οὐκ αὐτός μοι εἶπεν, ἀδελφή μου ἐστί; καὶ αὕτη μοι εἶπεν, ἀδελφός μου ἐστίν; ἐν καθαρᾷ καρδίᾳ καὶ ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ χειρῶν ἐποίησα τοῦτο. λίγο εἶπε δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ Θεὸς καθ᾿ ὕπνον· κἀγὼ ἔγνων ὅτι ἐν καθαρᾷ καρδίᾳ ἐποίησας τοῦτο, καὶ ἐφεισάμην σου τοῦ μὴ ἁμαρτεῖν σε εἰς ἐμέ· ἕνεκα τούτου οὐκ ἀφῆκά σε ἅψασθαι αὐτῆς. νῦν δὲ ἀπόδος τὴν γυναῖκα τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ, ὅτι προφήτης ἐστὶ καὶ προσεύξεται περὶ σοῦ καὶ ζήσῃ· εἰ δὲ μὴ ἀποδίδως, γνώσῃ ὅτι ἀποθανῇ σὺ καὶ πάντα τὰ σά. καὶ ὤρθρισεν Ἀβιμέλεχ τῷ πρωΐ καὶ ἐκάλεσε πάντας τοὺς παῖδας αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐλάλησε πάντα τὰ ρήματα ταῦτα εἰς τὰ ὦτα αὐτῶν, ἐφοβήθησαν δὲ πάντες οἱ ἄνθρωποι σφόδρα. καὶ ἐκάλεσεν Ἀβιμέλεχ τὸν Ἁβραάμ, καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· τί τοῦτο ἐποίησας ἡμῖν; μήτι ἡμάρτομεν εἰς σέ, ὅτι ἐπήγαγες ἐπ᾿ ἐμὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν βασιλείαν μου ἁμαρτίαν μεγάλην; ἔργον, ὃ οὐδεὶς ποιήσει, πεποίηκάς μοι. εἶπε δὲ Ἀβιμέλεχ τῷ Ἁβραάμ· τί ἐνιδὼν ἐποίησας τοῦτο; εἶπε δὲ Ἁβραάμ· εἶπα γάρ, ἄρα οὐκ ἔστι θεοσέβεια ἐν τῷ τόπῳ τούτῳ, ἐμέ τε ἀποκτενοῦσιν ἕνεκεν τῆς γυναικός μου. καὶ γὰρ ἀληθῶς ἀδελφή μου ἐστὶν ἐκ πατρός, ἀλλ᾿ οὐκ ἐκ μητρός· ἐγενήθη δέ μοι εἰς γυναῖκα. ἐγένετο δέ, ἡνίκα ἐξήγαγέ με ὁ Θεὸς ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ πατρός μου, καὶ εἶπα αὐτῇ· ταύτην τὴν δικαιοσύνην ποιήσεις εἰς ἐμέ, εἰς πάντα τόπον οὗ ἐὰν εἰσέλθωμεν ἐκεῖ, εἰπὸν ἐμέ, ὅτι ἀδελφός μου ἐστίν. ἔλαβε δὲ Ἀβιμέλεχ χίλια δίδραχμα καὶ πρόβατα καὶ μόσχους καὶ παῖδας καὶ παιδίσκας καὶ ἔδωκε τῷ Ἁβραὰμ καὶ ἀπέδωκεν αὐτῷ Σάρραν τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ. καὶ εἶπεν Ἀβιμέλεχ τῷ Ἁβραάμ· ἰδοὺ ἡ γῆ μου ἐναντίον σου· οὗ ἐάν σοι ἀρέσκῃ, κατοίκει. τῇ δὲ Σάρρᾳ εἶπεν· ἰδοὺ δέδωκα χίλια δίδραχμα τῷ ἀδελφῷ σου· ταῦτα ἔσται σοι εἰς τὴν τιμὴ τοῦ προσώπου σου καὶ πάσαις ταῖς μετὰ σοῦ· καὶ πάντα ἀλήθευσον. προσηύξατο δὲ Ἁβραὰμ πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, καὶ ἰάσατο ὁ Θεὸς τὸν Ἀβιμέλεχ καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰς παιδίσκας αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔτεκον· ὅτι συγκλείων συνέκλεισε Κύριος ἔξωθεν πᾶσαν μήτραν ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ Ἀβιμέλεχ, ἕνεκεν Σάρρας τῆς γυναικὸς Ἁβραάμ.