The question in this verse is more direct, in that the king cites Abram’s own words: Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’? If the direct quotation must be adjusted, we may say “Why did you say that she was your sister?” Some languages prefer to say “You said to me ‘Sarai is my sister.’ Why did you say that?” or “… why did you not tell the truth?” or idiomatically “Why did your tongue not speak straight?” or “Why did you talk with a double tongue?”

So that I took her for my wife: this clause must fit with what comes before it in both logic and style. Note Good News Translation “and let me take her as my wife.” The narrator thus presents the Egyptian king as morally superior to the shamed Abram, who remains speechless.

The transition in the second part of the verse represents the climax of the episode. It introduces the king’s decision. Revised Standard Version represents it as Now then …. In some languages an expression like “That is all,” “I have spoken,” “Your ears have heard my words,” will be appropriate. Some languages will emphasize the swiftness of the king’s judgment without any kind of verbal transition. Good News Translation “Here is your wife…” is an example, as is New English Bible “Here she is….”

Here is your wife: the narrator gives a picture of Sarai as being silently close by, to be handed over to Abram.

Take her, and be gone: the swift closing of the king’s speech brings the tense scene to an end. Good News Translation is appropriate with “Take her and get out.” Since Sarai is present while the king is speaking, many languages will find it more natural to include her in the order to go: “Take your wife, and you-two go!”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .