Genesis 20:10
New International Version
And Abimelek asked Abraham, “What was your reason for doing this?”

New Living Translation
Whatever possessed you to do such a thing?”

English Standard Version
And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you did this thing?”

Berean Standard Bible
Abimelech also asked Abraham, “What prompted you to do such a thing?”

King James Bible
And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?

New King James Version
Then Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you have in view, that you have done this thing?”

New American Standard Bible
And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What have you encountered, that you have done this thing?”

NASB 1995
And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What have you encountered, that you have done this thing?”

NASB 1977
And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What have you encountered, that you have done this thing?”

Legacy Standard Bible
And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What have you seen, that you have done this thing?”

Amplified Bible
And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What have you encountered or seen [in us or our customs], that you have done this [unjust] thing?”

Christian Standard Bible
Abimelech also asked Abraham, “What made you do this? ”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Abimelech also said to Abraham, “What did you intend when you did this thing?”

American Standard Version
And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And Abimelek said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you have made this response?”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And Abimelech said to Abraam, What hast thou seen in me that thou hast done this?

Contemporary English Version
What were you thinking when you did this?

Douay-Rheims Bible
And again he expostulated with him, and said, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this?

English Revised Version
And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Abimelech also asked Abraham, "What were you thinking when you did this?"

Good News Translation
Why did you do it?"

International Standard Version
Abimelech also asked Abraham, "What could you have been thinking when you did this?"

JPS Tanakh 1917
And Abimelech said unto Abraham: 'What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?'

Literal Standard Version
Abimelech also says to Abraham, “What have you seen that you have done this thing?”

Majority Standard Bible
Abimelech also asked Abraham, “What prompted you to do such a thing?”

New American Bible
What did you have in mind,” Abimelech asked him, “that you would do such a thing?”

NET Bible
Then Abimelech asked Abraham, "What prompted you to do this thing?"

New Revised Standard Version
And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What were you thinking of, that you did this thing?”

New Heart English Bible
Abimelech said to Abraham, "What were you thinking, to do this thing?"

Webster's Bible Translation
And Abimelech said to Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?

World English Bible
Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you have done this thing?”

Young's Literal Translation
Abimelech also saith unto Abraham, 'What hast thou seen that thou hast done this thing?'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Abraham, Sarah, and Abimelech
9Then Abimelech called Abraham and asked, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought such tremendous guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done.” 10Abimelech also asked Abraham, “What prompted you to do such a thing?” 11Abraham replied, “I thought to myself, ‘Surely there is no fear of God in this place. They will kill me on account of my wife.’…

Cross References
Genesis 12:18
So Pharaoh summoned Abram and asked, "What have you done to me? Why didn't you tell me she was your wife?

Genesis 20:9
Then Abimelech called Abraham and asked, "What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought such tremendous guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done."

Genesis 20:11
Abraham replied, "I thought to myself, 'Surely there is no fear of God in this place. They will kill me on account of my wife.'


Treasury of Scripture

And Abimelech said to Abraham, What saw you, that you have done this thing?

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Genesis 20
1. Abraham sojourns at Gerar.
2. Denies his wife, who is taken by Abimelech.
3. Abimelech is reproved for her in a dream.
9. He rebukes Abraham.
14. Restores Sarah;
16. and reproves her.
17. Abimelech and his family are healed at Abraham's prayer.














(10) What sawest thou?--Some modern commentators explain the Hebrew as meaning, What purpose hadst thou? What didst thou look for? But the old rendering is probably right. Abimelech first denies by indignant questions that he had been guilty of any wrong towards Abraham, and then asks what he had seen in the conduct of himself and people to justify such mistrust of them. Throughout, the king speaks as a man conscious that his citizens so respected the rights of a stranger and of marriage, that Sarah would have been perfectly safe had Abraham openly said that she was his wife.

Verse 10. - And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, - either, What hadst thou in view? (Knobel, Delitzsch, Keil, Murphy, et alii), or, What didst thou see? Didst thou see any of my people taking the wives of strangers and murdering their husbands? (Rosenmüller, 'Speaker's Commentary') - that thou hast done this thing?

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Abimelech
אֲבִימֶ֖לֶךְ (’ă·ḇî·me·leḵ)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 40: Abimelech -- 'father is king', a Philistine name, also an Israelite name

also asked
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

Abraham,
אַבְרָהָ֑ם (’aḇ·rā·hām)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 85: Abraham -- 'exalted father', the father of the Jewish nation

“What
מָ֣ה (māh)
Interrogative
Strong's 4100: What?, what!, indefinitely what

prompted
רָאִ֔יתָ (rā·’î·ṯā)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 7200: To see

you to do
עָשִׂ֖יתָ (‘ā·śî·ṯā)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 6213: To do, make

such
הַזֶּֽה׃ (haz·zeh)
Article | Pronoun - masculine singular
Strong's 2088: This, that

a thing?”
הַדָּבָ֥ר (had·dā·ḇār)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1697: A word, a matter, thing, a cause


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OT Law: Genesis 20:10 Abimelech said to Abraham What did you (Gen. Ge Gn)
Genesis 20:9
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