New Living Translation
Genesis 20:7
7Now return the woman to her husband, and he will pray for you, for he is a prophet. Then you will live. But if you don’t return her to him, you can be sure that you and all your people will die.”
Genesis 20:7 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.
- New International Version (NIV)Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Now then, return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Now therefore, restore 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 who are yours.”
Context of Genesis 20:7
5Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘Yes, he is my brother.’ I acted in complete innocence! My hands are clean.” 6In the dream God responded, “Yes, I know you are innocent. That’s why I kept you from sinning against me, and why I did not let you touch her. Now return the woman to her husband, and he will pray for you, for he is a prophet. Then you will live. But if you don’t return her to him, you can be sure that you and all your people will die.” 8Abimelech got up early the next morning and quickly called all his servants together. When he told them what had happened, his men were terrified. 9Then Abimelech called for Abraham. “What have you done to us?” he demanded. “What crime have I committed that deserves treatment like this, making me and my kingdom guilty of this great sin? No one should ever do what you have done!
Read all of Genesis 20Genesis 20:7 word by word
וְעַתָּ֗ה הָשֵׁ֤ב אֵֽשֶׁת־הָאִישׁ֙ כִּֽי־נָבִ֣יא ה֔וּא וְיִתְפַּלֵּ֥ל בַּֽעַדְךָ֖ וֶֽחְיֵ֑ה וְאִם־אֵֽינְךָ֣ מֵשִׁ֗יב דַּ֚ע כִּי־מ֣וֹת תָּמ֔וּת אַתָּ֖ה וְכָל־אֲשֶׁר־לָֽךְ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Now therefore restoreשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
- the manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- wifeאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: wifeH802
- a prophetנָבִיאnâbîy' · prophetH5030
- and he shall prayפָּלַלpâlal · to prayH6419
- for theeבַּ֫עַדbe‛ad · about/through/forH1157
- and thou shalt liveחָיָהchâyâh · to liveH2421
- not, knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
- thou that thou shalt surelyמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
Cross-references for Genesis 20:7
- 1 Samuel 10:1Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it over Saul’s head. He kissed Saul and said, “I am doing this because the Lord has appointed you to be the ruler over Israel, his special possession.
- 1 Kings 18:1Later on, in the third year of the drought, the Lord said to Elijah, “Go and present yourself to King Ahab. Tell him that I will soon send rain!”
- 1 Corinthians 14:4A person who speaks in tongues is strengthened personally, but one who speaks a word of prophecy strengthens the entire church.
- Exodus 4:16Aaron will be your spokesman to the people. He will be your mouthpiece, and you will stand in the place of God for him, telling him what to say.
- Exodus 7:1Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pay close attention to this. I will make you seem like God to Pharaoh, and your brother, Aaron, will be your prophet.
- Exodus 12:1While the Israelites were still in the land of Egypt, the Lord gave the following instructions to Moses and Aaron:
- Exodus 18:17“This is not good!” Moses’ father-in-law exclaimed.
- 1 Chronicles 16:22“Do not touch my chosen people, and do not hurt my prophets.”
- Psalms 25:14The Lord is a friend to those who fear him. He teaches them his covenant.
- Psalms 105:9This is the covenant he made with Abraham and the oath he swore to Isaac.
- Hebrews 1:1Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets.
- Leviticus 6:4If you have sinned in any of these ways, you are guilty. You must give back whatever you stole, or the money you took by extortion, or the security deposit, or the lost property you found,
- 1 Samuel 7:5Then Samuel told them, “Gather all of Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.”
- 1 Samuel 12:19“Pray to the Lord your God for us, or we will die!” they all said to Samuel. “For now we have added to our sins by asking for a king.”
- 2 Samuel 24:17When David saw the angel, he said to the Lord, “I am the one who has sinned and done wrong! But these people are as innocent as sheep—what have they done? Let your anger fall against me and my family.”
- 1 Kings 13:6The king cried out to the man of God, “Please ask the Lord your God to restore my hand again!” So the man of God prayed to the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored and he could move it again.
Commentaries on Genesis 20:7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7He is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee - The word prophet, which we have from the Greek , and which is compounded of , before, and , I speak, means, in its general acceptation, one who speaks of things before they happen, i.e., one who foretells future events. But that this was not the original notion of the word, its use in this place sufficiently proves. Abraham certainly was not a prophet in the present general acceptation of the term, and for the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-18Verses 1-18 - Abraham in Gerar 2. אבימלך .2 'ǎbı̂ymelek Abimelekh, “father of the king.” 7. נביא nābı̂y' “prophet,” he who speaks by God, of God, and to God, who declares to people not merely things future, but also things past and present, that are not obvious to the sense or the reason; related: “flow, go forth.” 13. התעוּ hı̂t‛û is plural in punctuation, agreeing grammatically with אלהים 'ĕlohı̂ym ו (w), however, may be regarded as the third…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7Abraham's prayer saved the king's life and restored his family (20:17–18). Abimelech learned that Abraham's God was sovereign (meaning God has complete power and authority over everything). Abraham, as God's prophet, received God's messages and would pray for others (see Numbers 12:13; Deuteronomy 9:20). This was true even if he did not always act like a prophet.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-181. Abraham journeyed from thence ... and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur--Leaving the encampment, he migrated to the southern border of Canaan. In the neighborhood of Gerar was a very rich and well-watered pasture land.Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 20:7
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Genesis 20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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