But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, LORD, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?
Parallel translations
- WEB Now Abimelech had not come near her. He said, “Lord, will you kill even a righteous nation?
- BSB Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he replied, “Lord, would You destroy a nation even though it is innocent?
- NKJV But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also?
- NASB Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, will You kill a nation, even though blameless?
- NLT But Abimelech had not slept with her yet, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Abimelech, who had not touched Sarah, pleads that God would not destroy an innocent nation. He appeals to God's justice over the matter.
Overview
Abimelech's protest reveals he acted in ignorance, deceived by Abraham's words, and he appeals to God as a righteous judge. His question assumes God will not condemn the genuinely innocent, an assumption Scripture affirms of God's just character. The episode shows even a Gentile king possessing a conscience and a sense of God's righteousness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- 2 Sam 4:11How much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed? shall I not therefore now require his blood of your hand, and take you away from the earth?
- Gen 18:23–25And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
- 1 Chr 21:17And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, O LORD my God, be on me, and on my father’s house; but not on thy people, that they should be plagued.
- Gen 19:24Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;
- Gen 20:17–18So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.
- Gen 20:6And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 20:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.