Genesis 12
The Voice
12 One day, the Eternal One called out to Abram.
Eternal One: Abram, get up and go! Leave your country. Leave your relatives and your father’s home, and travel to the land I will show you.[a] Don’t worry—I will guide you there. 2 I have plans to make a great people from your descendants. And I am going to put a special blessing on you and cause your reputation to grow so that you will become a blessing and example to others. 3 I will also bless those who bless you and further you in your journey, and I’ll trip up those who try to trip you along the way. Through your descendants, all of the families of the earth will find their blessing in you.[b]
Out of all the descendants of Noah, God chooses Abram to have a special relationship with Him. He calls Abram to enter into a particular kind of relationship that changes the course of his life and the lives of his people forever. God has a plan to rescue the world from sin and destruction, and that plan begins with one man. He promises to make Abram a great nation, to bless and protect him, and ultimately to bring true and lasting blessing to the world through his children. To enter into that promise, Abram must do something daring; he must leave everything he knows and put his trust in God.
4-5 Without any hesitation, Abram went. He did exactly as the Eternal One asked him to do. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran. He took with him his wife Sarai, his brother’s son Lot, all of their possessions, and all of the persons they had acquired for their household while in Haran; and they all set off toward the land of Canaan. When they reached Canaan, 6 Abram kept going through it to a sacred place called Shechem where the oak of Moreh stood. (At this time, the Canaanite people were living on this land, so Abram could not take it as his own.) 7 There the Eternal appeared to Abram.
Eternal One: I am going to give this land to your future generations.[c]
So, out of honor and respect, there Abram built an altar table to the Eternal One, who had appeared to him and spoken these words of promise. 8 After that, Abram traveled on to the hill country east of Bethel, and there he pitched a tent and made a home for himself and his family between Bethel in the west and Ai in the east. Here Abram built another altar table for the Eternal One, where he called upon the name of the Eternal frequently. 9 Then Abram journeyed south toward the Negev region.
This is the southernmost part of the land God promises to give Abram. One day his children will possess it.
10 Now at this time, there came a severe famine in the land of Canaan. Food was scarce, so Abram made his way to Egypt to live there for a while as a foreigner. 11 As Abram was about to enter Egypt, he pulled Sarai his wife aside.
Abram: Sarai, you are a very beautiful woman, and I am well aware that 12 when the Egyptians see you, they will say, “Look, she’s his wife”; then they will kill me and let you live so they can have you for themselves. 13 Tell them you are my sister so that nothing will happen to me because of you. In this way you can save my life.
Sarai is an unusually attractive woman. Even at her age of 65, Abram is afraid of what the Egyptian men might do when they see her and desire her. So he takes matters into his own hands and devises a half-truth to conceal their marriage. We learn later—when Abram repeats this half-truth to Abimelech (chapter 20)—that Sarai and Abram have the same father but a different mother.
14 So when Abram came into Egypt with Sarai and his family, the Egyptians did indeed see that Sarai was very beautiful. 15 And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they told Pharaoh just how beautiful she was. So Sarai was taken into Pharaoh’s house and made part of his harem. 16 She pleased the Pharaoh, so he treated Abram very well, giving him gifts of sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels. 17 But the Eternal One was not pleased and began afflicting the Pharaoh and his household with skin diseases because of what was happening to Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram to come before him.
Pharaoh: What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me this woman was your wife? 19 Why did you say she was only your sister, so that I felt free to take her to be one of my wives? Here she is—take your wife, and get out of here!
20 And Pharaoh gave his men orders to make sure Abram went on his way along with his wife and all of his belongings.
Footnotes
Genesi 12
La Nuova Diodati
12 Ora l'Eterno disse ad Abramo: «Vattene dal tuo paese, dal tuo parentado e dalla casa di tuo padre, nel paese che io ti mostrerò.
2 Io farò di te una grande nazione e ti benedirò e renderò grande il tuo nome e tu sarai una benedizione.
3 E benedirò quelli che ti benediranno e maledirò chi ti maledirà; e in te saranno benedette tutte le famiglie della terra.
4 Allora Abramo partì come l'Eterno gli aveva detto, e Lot andò con lui. Abramo aveva settantacinque anni quando partì da Haran.
5 E Abramo prese Sarai sua moglie e Lot, figlio di suo fratello, e tutti i beni che avevano accumulato e le persone che avevano acquistate in Haran, e partirono per andarsene nel paese di Canaan. Così essi giunsero nel paese di Canaan.
6 Abramo attraversò il paese fino alla località di Sichem, fino alla quercia di Moreh. A quel tempo si trovavano nel paese i Cananei.
7 Allora l'Eterno apparve ad Abramo e disse: «Io darò questo paese alla tua discendenza». Allora Abramo vi costruì un altare all'Eterno che gli era apparso.
8 Di là si spostò verso la montagna a est di Bethel, e piantò le sue tende, avendo Bethel a ovest e Ai a est; e là costruì un altare all'Eterno e invocò il nome dell'Eterno.
9 Poi Abramo si mise in viaggio, continuando a spostarsi verso Neghev. Abramo in Egitto
10 Ora venne nel paese una carestia e Abramo scese in Egitto per dimorarvi, perché nel paese vi era una grande carestia.
11 Ora avvenne che, come stava per entrare in Egitto, disse a Sarai sua moglie: «Ecco, io so che tu sei una donna di bell'aspetto;
12 così avverrà che, quando gli Egiziani ti vedranno, diranno: "Costei è sua moglie"; e uccideranno me, ma lasceranno te in vita.
13 Ti prego, dì che sei mia sorella, perché io sia trattato bene a motivo di te, e la mia vita sia salva per amor tuo».
14 Quando infatti Abramo giunse in Egitto, gli Egiziani videro che la donna era molto bella.
15 La videro anche gli ufficiali del Faraone e la lodarono davanti al Faraone e la donna fu portata in casa del Faraone.
16 Ed egli trattò bene Abramo a motivo di lei. Così Abramo ebbe pecore, buoi, asini, servi, serve, asine e cammelli.
17 Ma l'Eterno colpì Faraone e la sua casa con grandi calamità, a motivo di Sarai, moglie di Abramo.
18 Allora il Faraone chiamò Abramo e disse: «Che cosa mi hai fatto? Perché non mi hai detto che era tua moglie? Perché hai detto:
19 "E' mia sorella"? Così io la presi per essere mia moglie. Ora dunque eccoti tua moglie; prendila e vattene!».
20 Poi il Faraone diede alla sua gente ordini riguardo ad Abramo, ed essi fecero partire lui, sua moglie e tutto quello che aveva.
Genesis 12
New King James Version
Promises to Abram(A)
12 Now the (B)Lord had said to Abram:
“Get (C)out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
2 (D)I will make you a great nation;
(E)I will bless you
And make your name great;
(F)And you shall be a blessing.
3 (G)I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in (H)you all the families of the earth shall be (I)blessed.”
4 So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and (J)the [a]people whom they had acquired (K)in Haran, and they (L)departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. 6 Abram (M)passed through the land to the place of Shechem, (N)as far as [b]the terebinth tree of Moreh. (O)And the Canaanites were then in the land.
7 (P)Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, (Q)“To your [c]descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an (R)altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and (S)called on the name of the Lord. 9 So Abram journeyed, (T)going on still toward the [d]South.
Abram in Egypt
10 Now there was (U)a famine in the land, and Abram (V)went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was (W)severe in the land. 11 And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “Indeed I know that you are (X)a woman of beautiful countenance. 12 Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they (Y)will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 (Z)Please say you are my (AA)sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that [e]I may live because of you.”
14 So it was, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful. 15 The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house. 16 He (AB)treated Abram well for her sake. He (AC)had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
17 But the Lord (AD)plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18 And Pharaoh called Abram and said, (AE)“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’? I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, here is your wife; take her and go your way.” 20 (AF)So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had.
Footnotes
- Genesis 12:5 Lit. souls
- Genesis 12:6 Heb. Alon Moreh
- Genesis 12:7 Lit. seed
- Genesis 12:9 Heb. Negev
- Genesis 12:13 Lit. my soul
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1991 by La Buona Novella s.c.r.l.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
