Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ear. The men were very scared.
Parallel translations
- KJV Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid.
- BSB Early the next morning Abimelech got up and summoned all his servants; and when he described to them all that had happened, the men were terrified.
- NKJV So Abimelech rose early in the morning, called all his servants, and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were very much afraid.
- NASB So Abimelech got up early in the morning and called all his servants, and told all these things in their presence; and the people were greatly frightened.
- NLT Abimelech got up early the next morning and quickly called all his servants together. When he told them what had happened, his men were terrified.
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 rises early, tells his servants everything, and they are gripped with fear. The royal household responds with reverent dread before God.
Overview
Abimelech acts promptly in obedience to the divine warning, and the fear that grips his court reflects a proper response to encountering the living God. This Gentile household's reverence stands as a quiet rebuke to Abraham's lack of faith and honesty. The scene illustrates that the fear of the Lord can be found beyond the covenant family, and that God's word commands respect wherever it comes.
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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 20:8 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
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