HOLY BIBLE: Genesis 20 (original) (raw)

1 καὶ ἐκίνησεν ἐκεῖθεν Αβρααμ εἰς γῆν πρὸς λίβα καὶ ᾤκησεν ἀνὰ μέσον Καδης καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον Σουρ καὶ παρῴκησεν ἐν Γεραροις 2 εἶπεν δὲ Αβρααμ περὶ Σαρρας τῆς γυναικὸς αὐτοῦ ὅτι ἀδελφή μού ἐστιν ἐφοβήθη γὰρ εἰπεῖν ὅτι γυνή μού ἐστιν μήποτε ἀποκτείνωσιν αὐτὸν οἱ ἄνδρες τῆς πόλεως δ{I'} αὐτήν ἀπέστειλεν δὲ Αβιμελεχ βασιλεὺς Γεραρων καὶ ἔλαβεν τὴν Σαρραν 3 καὶ εἰσῆλθεν ὁ θεὸς πρὸς Αβιμελεχ ἐν ὕπνῳ τὴν νύκτα καὶ εἶπεν ἰδοὺ σὺ ἀποθνῄσκεις περὶ τῆς γυναικός ἧς ἔλαβες αὕτη δέ ἐστιν συνῳκηκυῖα ἀνδρί 4 Αβιμελεχ δὲ οὐχ ἥψατο αὐτῆς καὶ εἶπεν κύριε ἔθνος ἀγνοοῦν καὶ δίκαιον ἀπολεῖς 5 οὐκ αὐτός μοι εἶπεν ἀδελφή μού ἐστιν καὶ αὐτή μοι εἶπεν ἀδελφός μού ἐστιν ἐν καθαρᾷ καρδίᾳ καὶ ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ χειρῶν ἐποίησα τοῦτο 6 εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ θεὸς κα{Q'} ὕπνον κἀγὼ ἔγνων ὅτι ἐν καθαρᾷ καρδίᾳ ἐποίησας τοῦτο καὶ ἐφεισάμην ἐγώ σου τοῦ μὴ ἁμαρτεῖν σε εἰς ἐμέ ἕνεκεν τούτου οὐκ ἀφῆκά σε ἅψασθαι αὐτῆς 7 νῦν δὲ ἀπόδος τὴν γυναῖκα τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ὅτι προφήτης ἐστὶν καὶ προσεύξεται περὶ σοῦ καὶ ζήσῃ εἰ δὲ μὴ ἀποδίδως γνῶθι ὅτι ἀποθανῇ σὺ καὶ πάντα τὰ σά 8 καὶ ὤρθρισεν Αβιμελεχ τὸ πρωὶ καὶ ἐκάλεσεν πάντας τοὺς παῖδας αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐλάλησεν πάντα τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα εἰς τὰ ὦτα αὐτῶν ἐφοβήθησαν δὲ πάντες οἱ ἄνθρωποι σφόδρα 9 καὶ ἐκάλεσεν Αβιμελεχ τὸν Αβρααμ καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ τί τοῦτο ἐποίησας ἡμῖν μή τι ἡμάρτομεν εἰς σέ ὅτι ἐπήγαγες ἐ{P'} ἐμὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν βασιλείαν μου ἁμαρτίαν μεγάλην ἔργον ὃ οὐδεὶς ποιήσει πεποίηκάς μοι 10 εἶπεν δὲ Αβιμελεχ τῷ Αβρααμ τί ἐνιδὼν ἐποίησας τοῦτο 11 εἶπεν δὲ Αβρααμ εἶπα γάρ ἄρα οὐκ ἔστιν θεοσέβεια ἐν τῷ τόπῳ τούτῳ ἐμέ τε ἀποκτενοῦσιν ἕνεκεν τῆς γυναικός μου 12 καὶ γὰρ ἀληθῶς ἀδελφή μού ἐστιν ἐκ πατρός ἀλ{L'} οὐκ ἐκ μητρός ἐγενήθη δέ μοι εἰς γυναῖκα 13 ἐγένετο δὲ ἡνίκα ἐξήγαγέν με ὁ θεὸς ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ πατρός μου καὶ εἶπα αὐτῇ ταύτην τὴν δικαιοσύνην ποιήσεις ἐ{P'} ἐμέ εἰς πάντα τόπον οὗ ἐὰν εἰσέλθωμεν ἐκεῖ εἰπὸν ἐμὲ ὅτι ἀδελφός μού ἐστιν

1 There was a time when Abraham made his way from there into the southern country, first settling down between Cades and Sur, then living as a wanderer in Gerara. 2 And of his wife Sara he gave out, She is my sister; whereupon Abimelech, king of Gerara, sent and took her for himself. 3 But God visited Abimelech in a dream by night, and told him, Thy life is forfeit, on account of this woman thou hast taken for thyself; she is wedded to a husband. 4 Abimelech, as yet, had had no intercourse with her. What, Lord, he said, must a nation perish that has done no wrong, except through ignorance? 5 Did he not tell me himself, She is my sister? And she, did not she herself claim him as her brother? My conscience has been clear, my actions honourable, in all I have done. 6 And God said to him, I know that thou hast acted with a clear conscience; that is why I preserved thee from sinning against me, and would not let thee have intercourse with her. 7 But now thou must give her back to her husband; he is a prophet, and will intercede for thy life; if thou dost not restore her, I give thee good warning, thou and thine must perish. 8 So Abimelech rose up at once before dawn of day, and summoned the whole company of his servants to let them hear all this; whereupon they were all overcome with terror. 9 Then Abimelech sent for Abraham too, and asked him, What is this trick thou hast played on us? What wrong have we done thee, that thou shouldst involve me and my kingdom in such guilt? Thou hast treated us amiss. 10 And still he plied him with reproaches; What was in thy mind, that thou shouldst act thus? 11 I thought to myself, answered Abraham, This may be a place where they have no fear of God, and then they will kill me on my wife’s account. 12 Besides, she is indeed my sister, on the father’s side but not on the mother’s, though she is none the less my wedded wife.[1] 13 When God bade me leave my father’s house and go on my travels, I said to her, Do me this kindness; give it out, wherever we go, that I am thy brother.[2]

1 Profectus inde Abraham in terram australem, habitavit inter Cades et Sur: et peregrinatus est in Geraris. 2 Dixitque de Sara uxore suo: Soror mea est. Misit ergo Abimelech rex Geraræ, et tulit eam. 3 Venit autem Deus ad Abimelech per somnium nocte, et ait illi: En morieris propter mulierem quam tulisti: habet enim virum. 4 Abimelech vero non tetigerat eam, et ait: Domine, num gentem ignorantem et justam interficies? 5 nonne ipse dixit mihi: Soror mea est: et ipsa ait: Frater meus est? In simplicitate cordis mei, et munditia manuum mearum feci hoc. 6 Dixitque ad eum Deus: Et ego scio quod simplici corde feceris: et ideo custodivi te ne peccares in me, et non dimisi ut tangeres eam. 7 Nunc ergo redde viro suo uxorem, quia propheta est: et orabit pro te, et vives: si autem nolueris reddere, scito quod morte morieris tu, et omnia quæ tua sunt. 8 Statimque de nocte consurgens Abimelech, vocavit omnes servos suos: et locutus est universa verba hæc in auribus eorum, timueruntque omnes viri valde. 9 Vocavit autem Abimelech etiam Abraham, et dixit ei: Quid fecisti nobis? quid peccavimus in te, quia induxisti super me et super regnum meum peccatum grande? quæ non debuisti facere, fecisti nobis. 10 Rursumque expostulans, ait: Quid vidisti, ut hoc faceres? 11 Respondit Abraham: Cogitavi mecum, dicens: Forsitan non est timor Dei in loco isto: et interficient me propter uxorem meam: 12 alias autem et vere soror mea est, filia patris mei, et non filia matris meæ, et duxi eam in uxorem. 13 Postquam autem eduxit me Deus de domo patris mei, dixi ad eam: Hanc misericordiam facies mecum: in omni loco, ad quem ingrediemur, dices quod frater tuus sim.

[1] Some have thought that Sara was the daughter of Aran, uncle to Abraham, since the Hebrew language does not distinguish between a sister and a cousin. But the more obvious sense is that she was his half-sister.

[2] Cf. 12.13 above.

[3] ‘Will enable thee to look the whole world in the face’; literally, ‘will be a covering of the eyes for thee with all who are in thy company’. ‘Do not forget that thy pretence was discovered’; so the Septuagint Greek interprets, ‘and tell the truth in all things’. The Hebrew text is obscure and perhaps corrupt; the rendering generally given is, ‘and in every way thou hast had right done thee’.

Knox Translation Copyright © 2013 Westminster Diocese
Nihil Obstat. Father Anton Cowan, Censor.
Imprimatur. +Most Rev. Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. 8th January 2012.
Re-typeset and published in 2012 by Baronius Press Ltd