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Genesis 20:3
ESV But God came to Abimelech in a dream by 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.”
NIV But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, 'You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.'
NASB 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 married.'
CSB But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, "You are about to die because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman."
NLT But that night God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, 'You are a dead man, for that woman you have taken is already married!'
KJV 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.

What does Genesis 20:3 mean?

As He often does in the Bible, God appears to someone in a nighttime dream. God very matter-of-factly tells Abimelech, king of Gerar, that he is a dead man. He is guilty of adultery because Sarah is another man's wife. Abimelech had apparently been quite ill—a disease sent by God specifically as a warning about the situation with Sarah (Genesis 20:17). Later verses also indicate that all of the women in Abimelech's household were afflicted with barrenness, for the same reason (Genesis 20:18).

As the following verses will reveal, even the pagan Abimelech understood adultery to be a great sin. Abimelech will defend himself to God based on two main claims: that he had not actually yet slept with Sarah, and that he did not know she was married (Genesis 20:4–5). After God reassures him that the situation can be resolved, Abimelech will scold Abraham for his lie, demanding an explanation for why such a thing was done (Genesis 20:9).
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