Genesis 12:13
11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, I know that you are a beautiful woman,
12 and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live.
Please say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake, and on account of you my life will be spared.”
14 So when Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.
15 When Pharaoh’s officials saw Sarai, they commended her to him, and she was taken into the palace of Pharaoh.
Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- Please say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake, and on account of you my life will be spared.”
- KJV
- Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.
- WEB
- Please say that you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that my soul may live because of you.”
- ASV
- Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister; that it may be well with me for thy sake, and that my soul may live because of thee.
- DARBY
- Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister, that it may be well with me on thy account, and my soul may live because of thee.
- BLB
- Say, please, you [are] my sister, so that it may go well with me for your sake, and my soul may live because of you.”
- ÅB
- Kjære, si at du er min søster, så det kan gå meg vel, og mitt liv kan bli spart for din skyld!
- OTB
- Si derfor at du er min søster, så det går meg godt for din skyld, og jeg får leve på grunn av deg.»
- B1930
- Kjære, si at du er min søster, så det kan gå mig vel, og mitt liv kan bli spart for din skyld!
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Genesis 26:7
But when the men of that place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister.” For he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” since he thought to himself, “The men of this place will kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is so beautiful.”
Read in contextGenesis 20:12–13
Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father—though not the daughter of my mother—and she became my wife.
Read in contextGenesis 20:2
Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.
Read in contextGenesis 20:5
Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this in the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands.”
Read in contextEzekiel 18:4
Behold, every soul belongs to Me; both father and son are Mine. The soul who sins is the one who will die.
Read in contextJeremiah 17:5–8
This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.
Read in contextIsaiah 57:11
Whom have you dreaded and feared, so that you lied and failed to remember Me or take this to heart? Is it not because I have long been silent that you do not fear Me?
Read in contextJohn 8:44
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies.
Read in context