Genesis 12-13

GOD’S WORD Translation

The Lord’s First Promise to Abram

12 The Lord said to Abram,

The Lord’s Second Promise to Abram

⁴ So Abram left, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran. ⁵ Abram set out for Canaan. He took along his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the servants they had acquired in Haran.

⁶ They arrived in Canaan, and Abram traveled through the land to the oak tree belonging to Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. ⁷ Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I’m going to give this land to your descendants.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

⁸ He moved on to the hills east of Bethel, and he put up his tent—with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. He also built an altar to the Lord there and worshiped the Lord. ⁹ Abram kept moving toward the Negev.

Abram Deceives Pharaoh

¹⁰ There was a famine in the land. Abram went to Egypt to stay awhile because the famine was severe. ¹¹ When he was about to enter Egypt, Abram said to his wife Sarai, “I know that you’re a beautiful woman. ¹² When the Egyptians see you, they’ll say, ‘This is his wife!’ Then they’ll kill me but let you live. ¹³ Please say that you’re my sister. Then everything will be alright for me, and because of you I will live.”

¹⁴ When Abram arrived in Egypt, the Egyptians saw how very beautiful his wife was. ¹⁵ When Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they raved about her to Pharaoh, so Sarai was taken to Pharaoh’s palace. ¹⁶ Everything went well for Abram because of her, and he was given sheep, cattle, donkeys, male and female slaves, and camels.

¹⁷ However, the Lord struck Pharaoh and his household with terrible plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. ¹⁸ Then Pharaoh called for Abram. “What have you done to me?” he asked. “Why didn’t you tell me that she’s your wife? ¹⁹ Why did you say, ‘She’s my sister’ and allow me to take her for my wife? Here’s your wife! Take her and go!” ²⁰ Pharaoh gave his men orders concerning Abram. They sent Abram away with his wife and everything that he had.

Abram and Lot Separate

13 Abram left Egypt with his wife and everything he had and went to the Negev. Lot was with him. ² Abram was very rich because he had livestock, silver, and gold. ³ He traveled from place to place. He went from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the area between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been originally, ⁴ where he had first made an altar. There Abram worshiped the Lord.

⁵ Lot, who had been traveling with Abram, also had his own sheep, cattle, and tents. ⁶ There wasn’t enough pastureland for both of them. They had so many possessions that they were unable to remain together. ⁷ Quarrels broke out between Abram’s herders and Lot’s herders. (Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in that area.)

⁸ Abram said to Lot, “Please, let’s not have any more quarrels between us or between our herders. After all, we’re relatives. ⁹ Isn’t all this land yours also? Let’s separate. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right, and if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.” ¹⁰ Then Lot looked in the direction of Zoar as far as he could see. He saw that the whole Jordan Plain was well-watered like the Lord’s garden or like Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)

¹¹ Lot chose the whole Jordan Plain for himself. He moved toward the east. They each went their own way. ¹² Abram lived in Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain, moving his tents as far as Sodom. ¹³ (The people who lived in Sodom were very wicked. They committed terrible sins against the Lord.)

The Lord’s Third Promise to Abram

¹⁴ After Lot left, the Lord said to Abram, “Look north, south, east, and west of where you are. ¹⁵ I will give all the land you see to you and to your descendants for an indefinite period of time. ¹⁶ I will also give you as many descendants as the dust of the earth. If anyone could count the dust of the earth, then he could also count your descendants. ¹⁷ Go! Walk back and forth across the entire land because I will give it to you.” ¹⁸ So Abram moved his tents and went to live by the oak trees belonging to Mamre at Hebron. There he built an altar for the Lord.