1 And Abraham {Avraham: Chosen Forefather} set out from there {misham: place of departure} toward the Negev, and he lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he stayed as a sojourner in Gerar.
2 And Abraham said about Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar sent for her and took {vayikach: seized into his household} Sarah {sarah: vulnerable spouse}.
3 But God {Elohim, Sovereign Intervener} came to Abimelech in a night dream and said, “Look, you are a dead {met: under sentence} man because of the woman you have taken, for she is married to a husband.”
4 Now Abimelech had not approached her, and he said, “Lord {Adonai, Supreme Judge}, will You put to death even a righteous {tsaddiq: morally innocent} nation?”
5 Did he not tell me, “She is my sister,” and did she not also say, “He is my brother”? In the integrity {tam: blamelessness} of my heart and in the cleanness {nikyon: moral purity} of my hands I did this.
6 And God {Elohim, Moral Guardian} said to him in a dream, “Truly, I discerned that in the integrity {tam: complete blamelessness} of your heart you acted thus; and I, even I, restrained you from transgressing against Me. Therefore I did not permit you to touch her.”
7 Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet{navi: God's messenger}; he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die{mot tamut: certain judgment}—you and all that are yours.
8 Abimelech {Avimelekh: ruler of Gerar} rose early in the morning, summoned all his servants, and spoke all these words in their ears {oznehem: attentive listening}. And the men were very much afraid.
9 Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? What sin {chatati: personal wrongdoing} have I committed against you, that you have brought upon me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me deeds {maasim: shocking violations} that must not be done.”
10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see {raita: carefully evaluate}, that you did this thing {davar: specific action}?”
11 And Abraham said, “Because I said, ‘Surely there is no fear of God {Elohim, Moral Arbiter} in this place, and they will kill me because of the matter {devar: marital situation} of my wife.’”
12 And also, she is indeed {omnah: emphatic affirmation} my sister—the daughter of my father but not the daughter of my mother—and she became {vatehi: change of status} my wife.
13 And it happened that when God {Elohim, Sovereign Guide} caused me to wander from my father’s house {beit avi: ancestral household}, I said to her, “This is your kindness which you shall do for me: in every place we reach, say of me, ‘He is my brother.’”
14 Then Abimelech {Avimelekh: ruler of Gerar} took sheep {tson: flock animals}, cattle, and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham. He also restored Sarah his wife to him.
15 And Abimelech {Avimelekh: local king} said, “See, my land is set before you; where it is good in your eyes {be’einekha: your perspective}, dwell.”
16 And to Sarah he said, “See, I have given a thousand pieces of silver to your brother. See, it will be for you a covering of the eyes {kesut einayim: public honor restoration} before all who are with you; and before everyone you are vindicated {venokhakhat: publicly declared right}.”
17 Abraham prayed to God {Elohim, Merciful Healer}, and God healed {rapha: restored completely} Abimelech, his wife, and his maidservants, enabling them to bear children.
18 For the LORD {YHWH, Righteous Judge} had entirely restrained every womb {rekhem: capacity for fertility} in the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, the wife of Abraham.