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Meanwhile Abraham {and his family} left the place where they were living {and moved south} to the Negev {Desert} area. There they lived between {the cities of} Kadesh and Shur, and they stayed for a while in {the city of} Gerar. 2 {While they were there,} Abraham told {people} that his wife Sarah was his sister. So {one day} Abimelech, {who was} the king of Gerar, had {some of his servants} bring Sarah {to his home} {to be his wife}. 3 But that night God appeared to {King} Abimelech in a dream and said to him, "Listen, you are about to die because the woman whom you have taken {to be your wife} is {already} married to someone else!” 4 However Abimelech had not {yet} slept with Sarah, so he asked {God}, "My Lord, will you kill {me and my} people even if we are innocent? 5 Abraham himself told me that Sarah was his sister. And she herself also said that he was her brother. {So} I took her {to be my wife} with a pure conscience, and I did not know that I was doing anything wrong!” 6 God replied to him in the dream, "Yes, I know that it was with a pure conscience that you took Sarah {to be your wife}, and in fact I {am the one who} kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you sleep with her. 7 So now you must give Abraham's wife back {to him}. He is a prophet {for me}, so he will ask me to be merciful to you, so that you will not die. However if you refuse to give Sarah back {to him}, you can be sure that you and all your people will definitely die!”8 Early the next morning {King} Abimelech got up and called together all of his officials. He told them everything that had happened, and they were very afraid {that God would punish them}. 9 Then the king called in Abraham and said to him, "You have treated us very badly! I never did anything wrong to you, and yet you have caused me and the people whom I rule to be guilty of sinning terribly! You have wronged me in ways that should never be done {to anyone}!” 10 Then {King} Abimelech asked him, "What motivated you to do what you did?” 11 Abraham answered {him}, "{I did it,} because I thought that surely no one in this place reveres God, so they will kill me to get my wife {for themselves}. 12 Besides that, Sarah actually is my half-sister. We had the same father, but different mothers, and {after we grew up,} we got married. 13 {Years} later when God told me to leave my father's family, I asked her to do me a favor and tell people wherever we go that I am her brother.”
14 Then {King} Abimelech brought {many} sheep and cattle and male and female servants {to Abraham} and gave {them all} to him. He {also} gave Abraham's wife Sarah back to him. 15 Then {King} Abimelech said {to him}, "Look, my land is available to you. Live {wherever} you decide is best.” 16 Then he {turned} to Sarah {and} said, "Listen, I am giving 1,000 pieces of silver to your brother. I'm doing this so that everyone knows you did nothing wrong, and to compensate you for everything {that has happened to you}.” 17 Then Abraham prayed to God {for King Abimelech}, so God healed him and his wife and his female servants, so that they could have children {again}. 18 {Previously} Yahweh had kept all the women in Abimelech's household from conceiving because he had taken Abraham's wife Sarah.