New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 From there Abraham journeyed toward the region of the Negeb, and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While residing in Gerar as an alien,
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And Abraham went on his way from there to the land of the South, and was living between Kadesh and Shur, in Gerar.
2 Abraham said of his wife Sarah, "She is my sister." And King Abimelech of Gerar sent and took Sarah.
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And Abraham said of Sarah, his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent and took Sarah.
3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, "You are about to die because of the woman whom you have taken; for she is a married woman."
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But God came to Abimelech in a dream in the night, and said to him, Truly 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 approached her; so he said, "Lord, will you destroy an innocent people?
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Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, Lord, will you put to death an upright nation?
5 Did he not himself say to me, "She is my sister'? And she herself said, "He is my brother.' I did this in the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands."
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Did he not say to me himself, She is my sister? and she herself said, He is my brother: with an upright heart and clean hands have I done this.
6 Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart; furthermore it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her.
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And God said to him in the dream, I see that you have done this with an upright heart, and I have kept you from sinning against me: for this reason I did not let you come near her.
7 Now then, return the man's wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all that are yours."
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So now, give the man back his wife, for he is a prophet, and let him say a prayer for you, so your life may be safe: but if you do not give her back, be certain that death will come to you and all your house.
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.
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So Abimelech got up early in the morning and sent for all his servants and gave them word of these things, and they were full of fear.
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 such great guilt on me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that ought not to be done."
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Then Abimelech sent for Abraham, and said, What have you done to us? what wrong have I done you that you have put on me and on my kingdom so great a sin? You have done to me things which are not to be done.
10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, "What were you thinking of, that you did this thing?"
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And Abimelech said to Abraham, Why did you do this thing?
11 Abraham said, "I did it because I thought, There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.
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And Abraham said, Because it seemed to me that there was no fear of God in this place, and that they might put me to death because of my wife.
12 Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.
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And, in fact, she is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife:
13 And when God 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, say of me, He is my brother.' "
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And when God sent me wandering from my father's house, I said to her, Let this be the sign of your love for me; wherever we go, say of me, He is my brother.
14 Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male and female slaves, and gave them to Abraham, and restored his wife Sarah to him.
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Then Abimelech gave to Abraham sheep and oxen and men-servants and women-servants, and gave him back his wife Sarah.
15 Abimelech said, "My land is before you; settle where it pleases you."
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And Abimelech said, See, all my land is before you; take whatever place seems good to you.
16 To Sarah he said, "Look, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; it is your exoneration before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated."
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And he said to Sarah, See, I have given to your brother a thousand bits of silver so that your wrong may be put right; now your honour is clear in the eyes of all.
17 Then Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children.
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Then Abraham made prayer to God, and God made Abimelech well again, and his wife and his women-servants, so that they had children.
18 For the Lord had closed fast all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.
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For the Lord had kept all the women of the house of Abimelech from having children, because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.