Genesis 12

¹Now Jehovah said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto the land that I will show thee:

²and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou a blessing:

³and I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

⁴So Abram went, as Jehovah had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.

⁵And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

⁶And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Shechem, unto the oak of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.

⁷And Jehovah appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto Jehovah, who appeared unto him.

⁸And he removed from thence unto the mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Ai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto Jehovah, and called upon the name of Jehovah.

⁹And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.

¹⁰And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was sore in the land.

¹¹And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:

¹²and it will come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they will say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.

¹³Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister; that it may be well with me for thy sake, and that my soul may live because of thee.

¹⁴And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair.

¹⁵And the princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.

¹⁶And he dealt well with Abram for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he-asses, and men-servants, and maid-servants, and she-asses, and camels.

¹⁷And Jehovah plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.

¹⁸And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?

¹⁹why saidst thou, She is my sister, so that I took her to be my wife? now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.

²⁰And Pharaoh gave men charge concerning him: and they brought him on the way, and his wife, and all that he had.

Genesis 12

¹Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you.

²I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

³I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”

⁴So Abram departed, as the LORD had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.

⁵And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and people they had acquired in Haran, and set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,

⁶Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the Oak of Moreh at Shechem. And at that time the Canaanites were in the land.

⁷Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

⁸From there Abram moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to the LORD, and he called on the name of the LORD.

⁹And Abram journeyed on toward the Negev.

¹⁰Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.

¹¹As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, I know that you are a beautiful woman,

¹²and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live.

¹³Please say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake, and on account of you my life will be spared.”

¹⁴So when Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.

¹⁵When Pharaoh’s officials saw Sarai, they commended her to him, and she was taken into the palace of Pharaoh.

¹⁶He treated Abram well on her account, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.

¹⁷The LORD, however, afflicted Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Abram’s wife Sarai.

¹⁸So Pharaoh summoned Abram and asked, “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?

¹⁹Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her as my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!”

²⁰Then Pharaoh gave his men orders concerning Abram, and they sent him away with his wife and all his possessions.