¹ Abraham removed from thence to the south country, and dwelt between Cedes and Sur, and sojourned in Gerara.

² And he said of Sara his wife: She is my sister. So Abimelech the king of Oerara sent, and took her.

³ And God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and he said to him: Lo thou shalt die for the woman thou hast taken: for she hath a husband.

⁴ Now Abimelech had not touched her, and he said : Lord, wilt thou slay a nation, that is ignorant and justl

⁵ Did not he say to me : She is my sister: and she say, He is my brother? in the simplicity of my heart, and cleanness of my hands have I done this.

⁶ And God said to him: And I know that thou didst it with a sincere heart: and therefore I withheld thee from sinning against me, and I suffered thee not to touch her.

⁷ Now therefore restore the man his wife, for he is a prophet: and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: but if thou wilt not restore her, know that thou shalt surely die, thou and all that are thins.

⁸ And Abimelech forthwith rising up in the night, called all his servants: and spoke all these words in their hearing, and all the men were exceedingly afraid.

⁹ And Abimelech called also for Abraham, and said to him: What hast thou done to us? what have we offended thee in, that thou hast brought upon me and upon my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done to us what thou oughtest not to do.

¹⁰ And again he expostulated with him, and said, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this?

¹¹ Abraham answered: I thought with myself, saying: Perhaps there is not the fear of God in this place: and they will kill me for the sake of my wife:

¹² Howbeit, otherwise also she is truly my sister, the daughter of my father, and not the daughter of my mother, and I took her to wife.

¹³ And after God brought me out of my father's house, I said to her: I Thou shalt do me this kindness: In every place, to which we shall come, thou shalt say that I am thy brother.

¹⁴ And Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and servants and handmaids, and gave to Abraham: and restored to him Sara, his wife.

¹⁵ And said: The land is before you, dwell wheresoever it shall please thee.

¹⁶ And to Sara he said: Behold I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: this shall serve thee for a covering of thy eyes to all that are with thee, and whithersoever thou shalt go: and remember thou wast taken.

¹⁷ And when Abraham prayed, God healed Abimelech and his wife, and his handmaids, and they bore children:

¹⁸ For the Lord had closed up every womb of the house of Abimelech on ac- count of Sara, Abraham's wife.

¹ Abraham traveled from there toward the land of the South, and lived between Kadesh and Shur. He lived as a foreigner in Gerar.

² Abraham said about Sarah his wife, "She is my sister." 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 a man's wife."

⁴ Now Abimelech had not come near her. He said, "Lord, will you kill even a righteous nation?

⁵ Didn't he tell me, 'She is my sister?' She, even she herself, said, 'He is my brother.' In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands have I done this."

⁶ God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also withheld you from sinning against me. Therefore I didn't allow you to 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. If you don't restore her, know for sure that you will die, you, and all who are yours."

⁸ Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ear. The men were very scared.

⁹ Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said to him, "What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me that ought not to be done!"

¹⁰ Abimelech said to Abraham, "What did you see, that you have done this thing?"

¹¹ Abraham said, "Because I thought, 'Surely the fear of God is not in this place. They will kill me for my wife's sake.'

¹² Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.

¹³ It happened, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said to her, 'This is your kindness which you shall show to me. Everywhere that we go, say of me, "He is my brother."'"

¹⁴ Abimelech took sheep and cattle, male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and restored Sarah, his wife, to him.

¹⁵ Abimelech said, "Behold, my land is before you. Dwell where it pleases you."

¹⁶ To Sarah he said, "Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. Behold, it is for you a covering of the eyes to all that are with you. In front of all you are vindicated."

¹⁷ Abraham prayed to God. God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his female servants, and they bore children.

¹⁸ For Yahweh had closed up tight all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.