3:1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus ¹  for the sake of you Gentiles – 3:2 if indeed ²  you have heard of the stewardship ³  of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3:3 that ⁴  by revelation the divine secret ⁵  was made known to me, as I wrote before briefly. ⁶  3:4 When reading this, ⁷  you will be able to ⁸  understand my insight into this secret ⁹  of Christ. 3:5 Now this secret ¹⁰  was not disclosed to people ¹¹  in former ¹²  generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by ¹³  the Spirit, 3:6 namely, that through the gospel ¹⁴  the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members ¹⁵  of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus. 3:7 I became a servant of this gospel ¹⁶  according to the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by ¹⁷  the exercise of his power. ¹⁸  3:8 To me – less than the least of all the saints ¹⁹  – this grace was given, ²⁰  to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ 3:9 and to enlighten ²¹  everyone about God’s secret plan ²²  – a secret that has been hidden for ages ²³  in God ²⁴  who has created all things. 3:10 The purpose of this enlightenment is that ²⁵  through the church the multifaceted wisdom ²⁶  of God should now be disclosed to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly realms. 3:11 This was according to ²⁷  the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 3:12 in whom we have boldness and confident access ²⁸  to God ²⁹  because of ³⁰  Christ’s ³¹  faithfulness. ³²  3:13 For this reason I ask you ³³  not to lose heart because of what I am suffering for you, ³⁴  which ³⁵  is your glory. ³⁶ 

3:14 For this reason ³⁷  I kneel ³⁸  before the Father, ³⁹  3:15 from ⁴⁰  whom every family ⁴¹  in heaven and on the earth is named. 3:16 I pray that ⁴²  according to the wealth of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person, 3:17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, so that, because you have been rooted and grounded in love, 3:18 you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ⁴³  3:19 and thus to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled up to ⁴⁴  all the fullness of God.

3:20 Now to him who by the power that is working within us ⁴⁵  is able to do far beyond ⁴⁶  all that we ask or think, 3:21 to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev ¹  region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident ²  in Gerar, 20:2 Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her.

20:3 But God appeared ³  to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead ⁴  because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.” ⁵ 

20:4 Now Abimelech had not gone near her. He said, “Lord, ⁶  would you really slaughter an innocent nation? ⁷  20:5 Did Abraham ⁸  not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ⁹  ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience ¹⁰  and with innocent hands!”

20:6 Then in the dream God replied to him, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience. ¹¹  That is why I have kept you ¹²  from sinning against me and why ¹³  I did not allow you to touch her. 20:7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed ¹⁴  he is a prophet ¹⁵  and he will pray for you; thus you will live. ¹⁶  But if you don’t give her back, ¹⁷  know that you will surely die ¹⁸  along with all who belong to you.”

20:8 Early in the morning ¹⁹  Abimelech summoned ²⁰  all his servants. When he told them about all these things, ²¹  they ²²  were terrified. 20:9 Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? What sin did I commit against you that would cause you to bring such great guilt on me and my kingdom? ²³  You have done things to me that should not be done!” ²⁴  20:10 Then Abimelech asked ²⁵  Abraham, “What prompted you to do this thing?” ²⁶ 

20:11 Abraham replied, “Because I thought, ²⁷  ‘Surely no one fears God in this place. They will kill me because of ²⁸  my wife.’ 20:12 What’s more, ²⁹  she is indeed my sister, my father’s daughter, but not my mother’s daughter. She became my wife. 20:13 When God made me wander ³⁰  from my father’s house, I told her, ‘This is what you can do to show your loyalty to me: ³¹  Every place we go, say about me, “He is my brother.”’”

20:14 So Abimelech gave ³²  sheep, cattle, and male and female servants to Abraham. He also gave his wife Sarah back to him. 20:15 Then Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you; live wherever you please.” ³³ 

20:16 To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver ³⁴  to your ‘brother.’ ³⁵  This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.” ³⁶ 

20:17 Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, as well as his wife and female slaves so that they were able to have children. 20:18 For the Lord ³⁷  had caused infertility to strike every woman ³⁸  in the household of Abimelech because he took ³⁹  Sarah, Abraham’s wife.