Passage

Genesis 20.3

Book: Genesis · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the land of the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. 2. 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 of the night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, because of the woman whom thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife."

"4. Now Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay even a righteous nation? 5. Said he not himself unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and the innocency of my hands have I done this." (Genesis 20:1-5, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"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 I have done this.”" (Genesis 20:1-5, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar. 2. 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, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife. ^{a man's: Heb. married to an husband}"

"4. But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? 5. Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this. ^{integrity: or, simplicity, or, sincerity}" (Genesis 20:1-5, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. And Abraham journeyeth from thence toward the land of the south, and dwelleth between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourneth in Gerar; 2. and Abraham saith concerning Sarah his wife, 'She is my sister;' and Abimelech king of Gerar sendeth and taketh Sarah."

"3. And God cometh in unto Abimelech in a dream of the night, and saith to him, 'Lo, thou [art] a dead man, because of the woman whom thou hast taken, and she married to a husband.'"

"4. And Abimelech hath not drawn near unto her, and he saith, 'Lord, also a righteous nation dost thou slay? 5. hath not he himself said to me, She [is] my sister! and she, even she herself, said, He [is] my brother; in the integrity of my heart, and in the innocency of my hands, I have done this.'" (Genesis 20:1-5, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: Moses (traditional authorship) / narrator
Audience: Israelite congregation post-Exodus
Location: various ANE settings (Eden → Mesopotamia → Canaan → Egypt)
Time period: events c. creation-c. 1800 BC; composed c. 1446-1406 BC

Theological reading

Key words

H0430 - elohim, elohim (Strong's H430). Also appears in: Genesis 1.1, Genesis 1.2, Genesis 1.14-19.
H4191 - mut, mut (Strong's H4191). Also appears in: Genesis 2.16-17, Genesis 3, Genesis 7.17-23.

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.