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12 And the Lord said to Abram: Go forth out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and out of thy father's house, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.

And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and magnify thy name, and thou shalt be blessed.

I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee, and IN THEE shall all the kindred of the earth be blessed:

So Abram went out as the Lord had commanded him, and Lot went with him: Abram was seventy-five years old when he went forth from Haran.

And he took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all the substance which they had gathered, and the souls which they had gotten in Haran: and they went out to go into the land of Chanaan. And when they were come into it,

Abram passed through the country into the place of Sichem, as far as the noble vale: now the Chanaanite was at that time in the land.

And the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him: To thy seed will I give this land. And he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

And passing on from thence to a mountain, that was on the east side of Bethel, he there pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east; he built there also an altar to the Lord, and called upon his name.

And Abram went forward, going, and proceeding on to the south.

10 And there came a famine in the country; and Abram went down into Egypt, to sojourn there: for the famine was very grievous in the land.

11 And when he was near to enter into Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife: I know that thou art a beautiful woman:

12 And that when the Egyptians shall see thee, they will say: She is his wife: and they will kill me, and keep thee.

13 Say, therefore, I pray thee, that thou art my sister: that I may be well used for thee, and that my soul may live for thy sake.

14 And when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians saw the woman that she was very beautiful.

15 And the princes told Pharao, and praised her before him: and the woman was taken into the house of Pharao.

16 And they used Abram well for her sake. And he had sheep and oxen, and he asses, and menservants and maidservants, and she asses, and camels.

17 But the Lord scourged Pharao and his house with most grievous stripes for Sarai, Abram's wife.

18 And Pharao called Abram, and said to him: What is this that thou hast done to me? Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?

19 For what cause didst thou say, she was thy sister, that I might take her to my wife? Now, therefore, there is thy wife, take her, and go thy way.

20 And Pharao gave his men orders concerning Abram: and they led him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

Abram Journeys to Egypt

12 Now (A)the Lord said to Abram,

“Go from your country,
And from your relatives
And from your father’s house,
To the land which I will show you;
And (B)I will make you into a great nation,
And (C)I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And you shall (D)be a blessing;
And (E)I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who [a]curses you I will [b]curse.
(F)And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

So Abram went away as the Lord had spoken to him; and (G)Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot, and all their (H)possessions which they had accumulated, and (I)the [c]people which they had acquired in Haran, and they [d]set out for the land of Canaan; (J)so they came to the land of Canaan. Abram passed through the land as far as the site of (K)Shechem, to the [e]oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanites were in the land at that time. And the Lord (L)appeared to Abram and said, “(M)To your [f]descendants I will give this land.” So he built (N)an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him. Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent with (O)Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and (P)called upon the name of the Lord. Then Abram journeyed on, continuing toward (Q)the [g]Negev.

10 Now there was (R)a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a time, because the famine was (S)severe in the land. 11 It came about, when he [h]was approaching Egypt, that he said to his wife Sarai, “See now, I know that you are a [i](T)beautiful woman; 12 (U)and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 Please say that you are (V)my sister so that it may go well for me because of you, and that [j](W)I may live on account of you.” 14 Now it came about, when Abram entered Egypt, that the Egyptians [k]saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15 Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and (X)the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16 Therefore (Y)he treated Abram well for her sake; and [l](Z)he gave him sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

17 But the Lord (AA)struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18 Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, “(AB)What is this that you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for myself as a wife? Now then, [m]here is your wife, take her and go!” 20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they [n]escorted him away, with his wife and all that belonged to him.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 12:3 Or reviles
  2. Genesis 12:3 Or bind under a curse
  3. Genesis 12:5 Lit souls
  4. Genesis 12:5 Lit went forth to go to
  5. Genesis 12:6 Or terebinth
  6. Genesis 12:7 Lit seed
  7. Genesis 12:9 I.e., South country
  8. Genesis 12:11 Lit came near to enter
  9. Genesis 12:11 Lit woman of beautiful appearance
  10. Genesis 12:13 Lit my soul
  11. Genesis 12:14 Lit saw the woman that she was
  12. Genesis 12:16 Lit there was to him
  13. Genesis 12:19 Or behold
  14. Genesis 12:20 Lit sent

The Call of Abram

12 Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’[a]

So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak[b] of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and said, ‘To your offspring[c] I will give this land.’ So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. From there he moved on to the hill country on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and invoked the name of the Lord. And Abram journeyed on by stages towards the Negeb.

Abram and Sarai in Egypt

10 Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to reside there as an alien, for the famine was severe in the land. 11 When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, ‘I know well that you are a woman beautiful in appearance; 12 and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, “This is his wife”; then they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, so that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared on your account.’ 14 When Abram entered Egypt the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15 When the officials of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16 And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female slaves, female donkeys, and camels.

17 But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18 So Pharaoh called Abram, and said, ‘What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, “She is my sister”, so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and be gone.’ 20 And Pharaoh gave his men orders concerning him; and they set him on the way, with his wife and all that he had.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 12:3 Or by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves
  2. Genesis 12:6 Or terebinth
  3. Genesis 12:7 Heb seed